Director David Pagaille and the animation team at Passion Paris conjure 12 full minutes of legend and fantasy for their short film adaptation of an in-game story from Genshin Impact, the adventure RPG published by miHoYo.

Chamseddine Kaddouri, creative producer at Passion Paris: “Moonlit Bamboo Forest is an immersive adventure, playing with ​the boundaries of imagination and reality produced with support from Je Suis Bien Content for HoYoFair, a collection of original creations inspired by the universe of Genshin Impact and other franchises from HoYoverse.

“The film was conceived as a cultural bridge, blending ​traditional Chinese art with David Pagaille’s unique vision, alongside ​influences from Japanese anime and Western illustration.”
 

“Drawing from inspirations like Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke and ​Spirited Away, we aimed to offer a fresh visual take, merging classical ​techniques with modern animation.”

 
“Drawing from inspirations like Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke and ​Spirited Away, we aimed to offer a fresh visual take, merging classical ​techniques with modern animation. The character designs reflect this ​fusion with rounded, expressive faces in the Chinese style, combined with ​vibrant, ink-brush-like outlines.

“The film’s environments take inspiration from traditional Chinese ink-​wash paintings, blending soft watercolor textures with graphic, defined ​elements like rocks and bamboo. Our backgrounds also shift in tone and ​color, mirroring the boy’s emotional journey.

“Moonlit Bamboo Forest represents a deeply personal and ​transformative journey. I’ve always ​trusted David’s ability to transport viewers into a ​world where reality and legend meet. His love for ​themes of personal growth and adventure, along ​with his passion for Asian animation, shines ​through in every scene.”
 
 

 
Client: miHoYo

Production: Passion Paris
Director: David Pagaille
EP/Managing Director: Marc Bodin-Joyeux
EP/Head of Games: Lucie Friar
EP/Creative Producer: Chamseddine Kaddouri
Adapted for screen: David Pagaille, Gabrielle ​D’Andrimont, Chamseddine Kaddouri, Joseph Morpugo
Creative Executive: Yiting Lyu, Mulan Fu, Zhaoyu Zhou
Production Manager: Claire “Paps” Lefranc
1st Assistant Director: Lucie Giros
Production Coordinator: Sara Burgio
Storyboard Artist: David Pagaille, Marlène Beaube, ​Wandrille Maunoury
Editor: Laurent Blot, Patrick Phelpin
Characters/Props Designer: David Pagaille, Marie ​Ecarlat, Claire Magnier
Background Lead Designer: Axel Colin
Background Designer: Justine Thibault, Luc Courtois, ​Justine Chailleux, Hortense Mariano
Colorscript Designer: Fanny Marguerie, David Pagaille
3D Rig/Animation/Layout: Pataz Animation, Sarah ​Feldlaufer
Background Layout Lead: Axel Colin
Background Layout Artist: Léa Alvès, Justine Chalieux, ​Vivienne Chim, Laura Dong, Agathe Leroux, Liia ​Mchedlishvili, Hortense Mariano
Title Designer: Tomoko Yoshida
Brush Designer: Nathan Othano
FX 2D Artists: Olivier Malric, David Pagaille, Silke Czarny, ​Lucas Ponzio
Compositing Lead: Rémy Bonnin
Compositing Artist: Leslie Belot, Maxime Bernard, Lucie ​Ikhennicheu, Gabrielle Locre, Stéphane Coëdel
IT: Emile Chaillou

Animation: Je Suis Bien Content
MD: Marc Jousset
Production Manager: Perrine Capron
Production Coordinator: Daniel Rothstein
Layout Posing Lead: Valentin Stoll
Layout Posing Artist: Mathieu Corbin, Antony Ho Huynh, Louis ​Holmes, Juliette Danesi
Layout Posing Intern: Lisa Funke
2D FX Artists: Sixtine James, Erwin Rieffel, Mouloud Oussid
2D Animation Lead: Rohan Deshchougule, Mourad Seddiki
Animation Artist: Marlène Beaube, Jérémie Becquer, Lora Hristova, ​Laurent Moing, Angsane Sallaud Pujade-Renaud, Hugo Greiner, ​Charlotte Baker, Jon Densk, Amanda Jespersen Holm, Léni Marotte, ​Gemma Roberts, Rohit Kelkar, Florian Perron, Mathieu Corbin
Clean/Ink Lead: Cypria Donato
Clean/Ink Artist: Céline Botté, Amélie Coquelet, Kamila ​Konczewksa, Benjamin Oualid, Anna Šagadin, Eva Lagrange, Manon ​Verrey, Rosalie Perrot, Liam Keller
Colorization Lead: Rosalie Perrot
Colorization Artists: Juliette Cabalery, Lucy Toner, Chhay-Tek Ung
IT Managers: Pascal Lopes, Bruno Le Levier
IT Intern: Avner Sellam

Music: Bran Music
Composers/Musicians: Cécile Corbel, Simon Caby

Sound Studio: Badje
Sound Design Supervisor: Emmanuel Rebaudengo
Sound Design Artist: Thomas Bauduin
Mix Artist: Mickaël Olivier

Voice Director: James Corrigall
Voice Script Supervisor: Jesse Pomo

Voice Cast
The Boy: Ava Le
Lady in white/Elder woman: Elizabeth Charles
Elder men: Kevin Lim