By 中华通讯社记者荣、方正宏 
《The Lavender Girl》Festival Version 多伦多全球首映
Toronto Sisi Productions Inc. 同晚正式成立
【多伦多，2026年8月26日】 由加拿大华裔创作者 Sisi Tesser 原创的科幻IP《The Lavender Girl》于8月26日晚在多伦多举行 Festival Version 全球首映暨新闻发布会。该项目由英文原创科幻小说发展而来，目前已完成10集AI动画 Season One，并首次以约25分钟横屏电影节版本在大银幕与现场观众见面。
同晚，Toronto Sisi Productions Inc. 正式宣布成立，标志着《The Lavender Girl》从原创小说、AI动画系列进一步进入独立影视制作与IP长期开发阶段。
影片融合东方神话、西方科幻、Amish文化、现代科技及加拿大多元文化经验，在奇幻世界之下讨论家庭、母女关系、身份、文化记忆与归属。与许多偏重视觉展示的AI短片不同，《The Lavender Girl》的突出特点在于完整世界观与IP延展能力；其核心情感并非超能力本身，而是一个母亲失去女儿、女儿寻找身份，并最终重新寻找彼此的故事。
影片中的女主角 Angelina 与母亲“百花仙子”均以创作者Sisi Tesser本人作为重要脸模原型，形成“创作者—母亲—女儿”的视觉联系。除Konnex Tech提供AI技术制作支持外，小说改编、剧本、导演与创意统筹、中英文字幕、IP及Universe构建、主要人物视觉设定等大量核心工作均由Tesser本人借助AI工具完成。
在映后Q&A中，Tesser表示：
“For me, AI is a tool. Humanity is the storyteller.”
她强调，AI可以帮助独立创作者降低部分制作门槛，但故事、人物、情感和文化表达仍然必须由人决定。
当晚，Markham Regional Councillor Alan Ho 到场致辞并带来祝贺；Global Short Film Awards Cannes 评审委员 Christina Z. Chang 亦上台讲话。导演王劲林携三人团队出席。Film Festival Connect Toronto相关电影同行 Sameen 上台发言，论坛组织者 Richard Railey 亦亲临现场。Tesser随后获邀参加9月举行的 AI & Film Forum panel discussion，继续讨论AI电影与人类作者性。
首映现场同时收到来自 King Charles III 与 Queen Camilla、加拿大总理 Mark Carney、安大略省省长 Doug Ford、多伦多市长 Olivia Chow，以及Richmond Hill、Markham地区公共事务人士及文化界人士的祝贺信息。
当晚节目结合电影、音乐与时尚。刚从意大利演出归来的歌剧歌唱家 Lily He 演唱原创歌曲；多伦多时尚企业家及设计师 Sara Okafor 携两位模特以原创歌曲 “Chinese Dragon” 呈现时尚走秀；音乐家 Nadya Poklad 亦现场演奏并参与后半场主持。
主持阵容包括资深广播主持人 Sandy Daley、15岁的青年主持 Nathaniel、中文主持 Joan 及Nadya Poklad。Joan为此次中文主持在母亲帮助下练习约半个月，主办方希望借此鼓励加拿大出生的年轻一代继续学习和使用中文。
整晚LED舞台视觉包括由Sisi Tesser本人制作和统筹的26幅主题图片及多段视频；Konnex Tech因无法到场，特别制作祝贺视频在现场播放。
活动最后，Toronto Sisi Productions Inc.公布下一阶段计划：《The Lavender Girl》将继续发展Season Two与Season Three，同时推进约90分钟加拿大真人独立长片 《Where We Belong》，计划于2027年制作。
从一本原创小说，到AI动画系列，再到Festival Version首次登上大银幕，《The Lavender Girl》的首映不仅是一部作品的公开亮相，也开启了Toronto Sisi Productions Inc.下一阶段的影视创作与国际行业交流。
One Story. One Universe. Just the Beginning.
The Lavender Girl Festival Version Premieres in Toronto
Toronto Sisi Productions Inc. Officially Launches
TORONTO, August 26, 2026 — The Lavender Girl, an original science-fiction property created by Canadian Chinese writer and producer Sisi Tesser, held the world premiere of its Festival Version in Toronto on August 26.
Developed from Tesser’s original English-language science-fiction novel, the project has expanded into a 10-episode AI-assisted animated Season One and an approximately 25-minute Festival Version for big-screen presentation.
The same evening also marked the official launch of Toronto Sisi Productions Inc., opening the next stage of the project’s development as an independent Canadian screen property.
The film combines Eastern mythology, Western science fiction, Amish culture, contemporary technology and Canada’s multicultural experience. Beneath its fantasy setting, its emotional core centers on family, identity, cultural memory and belonging.
Unlike many AI short films built primarily around visual experimentation, The Lavender Girl is distinguished by its broader world-building and long-term IP structure. Its strongest emotional thread is not superpower spectacle, but the relationship between a mother and daughter separated by circumstance and searching for one another again.
Audience members at the premiere also noticed that both Angelina, the central young woman, and her mother, the Hundred Flowers Fairy, carry facial characteristics derived from Tesser herself. The choice creates a visual connection between creator, mother and daughter and reflects the highly personal authorship behind the project.
While Konnex Tech in Xiamen, China provided AI technology and production support, Tesser carried out much of the project’s core creative development with the assistance of AI tools, including adaptation, script development, directing and creative direction, bilingual subtitles, IP and universe design, and key character visual references.
During the post-screening discussion, Tesser summarized her approach in one sentence:
“For me, AI is a tool. Humanity is the storyteller.”
She emphasized that AI may reduce certain technical and production barriers for independent creators, but story, character, emotion, cultural meaning and creative judgment remain human responsibilities.
The premiere welcomed guests from film, public service, arts, fashion, business and the wider community.
Markham Regional Councillor Alan Ho attended and delivered remarks. Christina Z. Chang, a jury member of the Global Short Film Awards Cannes, also spoke during the event. Director Wang Jinlin attended with a three-person team.
Representatives connected with Film Festival Connect Toronto also participated. Sameen addressed the audience, while forum organizer and fellow filmmaker Richard Railey attended in person. Tesser has since been invited to take part in a September AI & Film Forum panel discussion focused on AI filmmaking, creativity and human authorship.
The event also acknowledged congratulatory messages from public figures including King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, as well as representatives from Richmond Hill, Markham and the cultural community.
The live program brought together film, music and fashion. Opera singer Lily He, recently returned from performances in Italy, performed one of the project’s original songs. Toronto-based fashion entrepreneur and designer Sara Okafor led a runway presentation with two models to the original song “Chinese Dragon.” Composer and pianist Nadya Poklad also performed and later continued part of the post-screening hosting.
The hosting team included experienced broadcaster Sandy Daley, 15-year-old youth co-host Nathaniel, Chinese-language host Joan, and Nadya Poklad.
Joan, a young Canadian raised in Canada, prepared for approximately two weeks with help from her mother. Tesser said the decision to invite her was also intended to encourage younger Canadian-born generations to continue learning and using Chinese.
The venue’s LED presentation featured 26 original visual designs and multiple videos created and curated by Tesser, extending the film’s world into the live premiere environment. Konnex Tech, unable to attend in person, also prepared a congratulatory video that was screened during the event.
Toronto Sisi Productions Inc. also announced plans to continue The Lavender Girl into Season Two and Season Three, while developing a separate approximately 90-minute Canadian live-action feature, Where We Belong, with production planned for 2027.
From an original novel to an AI-assisted animated series and now a Festival Version on the big screen, The Lavender Girl reflects a broader shift in independent filmmaking: emerging tools can expand what small creative teams are able to visualize, but the central questions of cinema remain unchanged.
Why do audiences care about a character?
Why do they remember a story?
And does technology bring filmmaking closer to human experience?
For Tesser, the answer remains clear:
“AI is a tool. Humanity is the storyteller.”
One Story. One Universe. Just the Beginning.
