I Do it Better (Animatic)
A woman ventures into the desert to claim a microphone, a symbol of her voice and self-realization. Standing in her way is a shape-shifting shadow creature embodying fear, rejection, and anxiety. Armed with a tomahawk and guided by her wolf familiar, she battles her inner darkness and triumphs. Rooted in Indigenous mythology and the myth of two wolves within us all, the story is a journey toward embracing yourself and what you choose to nurture.
Director Biography - Edoardo Boncompagni, Teresa Nicole Suydam
Teresa Suydam is an Indigenous and Filipino musician, artist, and producer who moves fluidly between the roles of artist and businessperson. A Recording Academy voting member and Women in Music board member, she has released several albums and EPs that explore themes of identity, resilience, and heritage. Film found her by chance, and she fell in love. A longtime admirer of animation, Teresa met co-director Edoardo Boncompagni at ECU Film Festival in Paris, where the two began building the shared vision that became this animatic over the following year.
Edoardo Boncompagni is an author, story artist, and animator. Through irony and surreal situations, he explores emotions and, when time allows, the meaning of life. He made a number of life decisions that seemed reasonable at the time and have since proven surprisingly difficult to explain. He also studied character animation in Florence, and now lives in Paris, where he keeps bringing stories to life.
Director Statement
This animatic was built around 'I Do It Better,' a song that left my fans and viewers feeling empowered and inspired. I knew it deserved an animation just as bold and uplifting to carry that feeling forward.
In my search for an animator, I met Edoardo Boncompagni, and our visions aligned almost instantly. I wanted to become animation, to let my Indigenous and Filipino roots shine through the screen. Together, we spent a year shaping every element: how to weave in Indigenous lore, and the teaching of the two wolves within us all. At its heart, this is a story about the journey toward embracing yourself, and choosing what you nurture.
My hope is that audiences walk away feeling empowered by their own strength, with the confidence to follow their own path.
What makes this project especially meaningful to me is where it was born and how it came together: conceived in Paris, then completed across an ocean through messages and video calls, two artists building one shared vision from opposite sides of the world.