Aiya, a highly sensitive teenage girl locks herself in her room again after being emotionally overwhelmed by the enormous burdens of the world. Meanwhile, Empathica, an aging superhero, hides herself away from the chaos of her city as her powers prove too turbulent to manage. Following these mirrored lives, Aiya and Empathica both struggle to wrestle with the injustice and pain of their worlds. Right when all seems lost, these two encounter each other in a sudden burst of fate that bends time and space to bring their worlds together. In this hybrid live-action/puppet superhero celebration of sensitivity, we will find out whether this seemingly unlikely pair from two different worlds will forge a path of hope ahead.

I was a Highly Sensitive kid. I was a Highly Sensitive teen. I was a Highly Sensitive 20-something. Now I am a Highly Sensitive 30-something with my next decade dangling in front of me, and I can finally say that I am proud of being Super Sensitive.

Within this context, “Empathica” was born. An external manifestation of my own struggles and a way to contextualize my experience—Empathica is a Superhero with Empathic Powers. In writing Empathica, I started to see myself in a different light. I started to see myself as someone who has been given the gift of wisdom into the world around me as opposed to someone cursed with the burden of pain. Empathica channels pain into something strong. She is a vessel where I can see myself without judgement. I collaborated with my dear, talented friend, Danny Bernardo who helped create the sci-fi superhero's journey with craft and expertise.

I have rich experience in puppetry. My first time puppeteering on stage was when I was 15 years old—25 years ago. Since then I have performed and produced on stage and screen and held leadership positions in various puppetry organizations including Co-President of the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry, Director of Education for the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, and Producer of Season 2 of GLOP (Glorious Ladies of Puppetry.) By using puppetry as well as live action actors, these two art forms will collide in a beautiful world that will connect with our audience on different levels. I have been creating stories professionally for decades, my role has most often been facilitating the artistic vision of others. I am now committing myself to telling my own story, in my own way, with the incredible support of you, my community.

So many people need to hear this: Your sensitivity is a gift—a superpower. Sensitivity is not, in itself, a weakness. But dealing with it in a world that tells us that it is, can make living as a Highly Sensitive Person very challenging. Little does the world know that we are people who feel, and people who understand, and people who ultimately really see you. Our sensitivity is our strength.

Our society often tells us to “toughen up” or “grow a thick skin”. Personally, I often felt being so sensitive meant I was broken. This was until I became aware that this was a studied personality trait that not only comes with disadvantages but also powerful, evolutionary advantages. Highy Sensitive People (HSPs) make up about 20% of humans and this trait has also been documented in at least 100 other species. We neurologically process more on a deeper level, which can be draining, but also means we are typically extremely empathetic, perceptive, detail oriented, reflective, good at problem solving, and have capacity to feel good things (and bad) more strongly.

(Seriously, the more I learn about this the cooler it is: Read The Highly Sensitive Person: How To Thrive When The World Overwhelms You by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D. and Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World by Jenn Granneman and Andre Sólo.)

Highly Sensitive People are Superheroes.

In today’s post-pandemic world—defined by division and political turmoil—the need for stories that champion empathy is urgent. Empathica speaks to anyone, especially adolescents, who often feel crushed by overwhelming times.

This film reminds Highly Sensitive People that their gifts matter—and that they’re needed now more than ever! Because compassion is truly the antidote to our times.

Empathica's reality is a gritty, handmade puppet world. Imagine Jessica Jones meets Kevin McTurk. Aiya's world is familiar to us. She is a live action, "fleshy" human in her normal, human bedroom. When Empathica and Aiya finally meet, their worlds collide and Empathica becomes flesh and blood.

Empathica will be played by Elizabeth Laidlaw in full super hero leather, known for Warner Brothers/CBS’s The Red Line. Aiya will be played by the incredibly talented Kylee Rondilla, and Gina Willow (Aiya's mom) will be played by the fabulous Regina Fernandez. Sound and music will play an important role in the film. Featuring Jess Godwin's music as well as an original music and sound score by superstar composer, Tangelene Bolton, with a mix by Grammy Award winning engineer, Jorel Corpus (Taylor's cousin!). Brandon Keith Rogers' choreography will be featured as performed by Kylee. Cinematography will be in the brilliant hands of Christy Chen. The puppets and sets will be both incredible pieces of art/design as well as performing objects that will embody these characters. With puppets by Carol Trobe and Rachel Burson, production design by Kat Deibo and art direction by Lexi Randolph, and puppetry/voice acting by Alissa Hunnicutt, Kate Katz, Liz Hara, and Raymond Carr, Danny Bernardo, and Dan Garza we will truly understand that these are objects that have been created and brought to life over hundreds of hours.

Puppets have always been vessels of supreme depth of expression for me. Whether it is Kermit the Frog, Ines Pasic's "Baby Blue," Nick Lehane’s Chimpanzee or Belova Iacobelli's Chayka, there is a layering of communication based on materials, construction, style, performance, use, context, that are intensely greater than the sum of these components. To my mind, they communicate Truth, as opposed to Reality.

This story is about connection. Painful connection, powerful connection, and life-changing connection. Aiya and Empathica connect somehow. They connect despite living in different worlds, despite being comprised of different conceptual matter. They find each other without knowing they needed each other. There is so much that is unseen, and we as HSPs can see some of that, that others cannot. We are more sensitive to the things between the atoms of everyday reality, and that is where Empathica exists. 

My goal is to use this film to create community, connection, education, and dialogue about Empathy and HSPs. This is just the beginning of an ongoing Empathy and Sensitivity project. Here are some ways to help:

Give money! The money donated will be used to pay the cast and crew, rent gear and locations, puppet and art department materials, feed people on the days of the shoot, pay for costumes, insurance, sound, music, Visual Effects, and all the other things that go into making a movie.

Offer resources! There are some things that we will be renting and would be grateful for in-kind donations of things like camera rental, location rental, food on shoot days, and other things that would help us cut down our budget. Please reach out to me if you have anything you’d like to donate!

Share the campaign! Your community, network, and reach is very special and I ask for you to share this campaign knowing very well that I am asking for your confidence and your special connections. So please share if you believe in HSPs, mental health, connection, super heroes, puppets, dance, these incredible team members, or me.

And lastly, Encourage me! I appreciate your love and encouragement. 

THANK YOU!

Taylor Bibat Lee