Patrick Ward’s journey into animation is as unconventional as it is inspiring. Hailing from Waukegan, a suburb of Chicago, and now based in Los Angeles, his path to becoming a director and animator wasn’t shaped by formal education but by curiosity, passion, and a little trial and error.
“I’ve always loved animation but I never studied it,” he admits. When the world came to a standstill in 2020, Patrick seized the opportunity to teach himself animation. Two years later, this creative gamble resulted in David, a short film that is as much a tribute to Italian football culture as it is a showcase of his unique storytelling voice.
The inspiration for David was sparked during Patrick’s trips to Italy, where he immersed himself in the rich heritage of Serie A football and its iconic fan culture.
“Serie A felt hard and brooding. The players were the coolest men I’d ever and would ever see,” he recalls, capturing the mystique and allure that defined Italian football in the 90s and early 2000s. It was a time when the San Siro loomed like a concrete coliseum and ultras filled stadiums with smoke, noise, and an edge of danger. Patrick captures this era’s raw beauty with an artist’s eye and a fan’s reverence, bringing to life a world that feels as vivid as his memories of it.
Throughout our time together, Patrick opens up about the creative process behind David, the influence of his travels to Milan, Turin, Naples, and beyond, and his fascination with football culture that transcends borders.
From recording stadium sounds during matches to weaving in religious imagery inspired by Italian cathedrals, his attention to detail is meticulous. Yet, David is not just about nostalgia.
“There’s something to be said about not living in the past,” he reflects, signalling a narrative that resonates far beyond football fandom.
This conversation offers a glimpse into the mind of a director who is redefining the animation landscape through a lens that is as poetic as it is authentic. With David, Patrick not only pays homage to a bygone era of Italian football but also carves out his own space in the world of animation.
I also wanted to use this opportunity to share a fundraiser I’m organising for those in Los Angeles who were impacted by the recent wildfires–namely artists, local relief efforts, and others who still are in need. I was fortunate to collaborate with the brilliant team at Icarus Football to create a limited run of shirts based on the ones seen in David. 100% of the profits will be donated to support those affected by the fires.
I’m from the U.S., in a suburb of Chicago called Waukegan, but now live in Los Angeles. It was in 2019, that I took a trip to Italy to see several Serie A matches and felt inspired to make something set in a similar setting.
Live-action would have been impossibly expensive, and I was losing interest in that style of filmmaking. I’ve always loved animation but I never studied it. When things slowed down in 2020, I used that time to learn animation via trial and error. Two years later I ended up with David.
However, I would say that the inspiration for David actually started after my first trip to Milan in 2017 with my brother, Ben, who would end up being the film’s background artist.
We took tours of a dozen old churches, including the iconic Duomo. We also saw Da Vinci’s Last Supper, toured the San Siro and its museum, the Triennale museum, and then went to a Juventus game against Chievo in Turin.
Outside the Allianz, I bought a T-shirt with a beautiful graphic design that I became obsessed with. It led to us making that second trip back in 2019 at the end of January. After that, everything I saw got mixed together into what would become David a few years later.
My older brother and I started watching European football around 2003 when I was 13, so I am biased toward that era. I loved the EPL, but Serie A made more of an impression.
The San Siro was so strikingly odd to me. What the hell were they doing over there? All the other Serie A stadiums raised questions: Why were there tracks around the field? Why were there empty seats at the front?
While being such a beautiful country on film, Serie A felt hard and brooding. The players, however, were the coolest men I’d ever and would ever see.
At the time, American sports were leaning hard into a highly commercialised and patriotic direction after 9/11. There was a huge emphasis on safety and order. When I watched Serie A, I was shocked that the fans were allowed to light flares and bombs inside their stadium. Ever since then I’ve been fascinated by what makes it one of the world’s most unique leagues.
I can tear through Wikipedia, Getty Images, and every episode of Campionato Io Ti Amo until I’m sick, but I’m always going to be a total outsider, and I prefer it that way. There will always be something new to discover. That makes for a fun setting.
The fan culture at that time was also a key inspiration. Pre-YouTube, we torrented fan-made highlight reels set to electronic music. I still listen to those songs. One of them almost made it into the film but would have cost over $15,000.
Supporter websites had some amazing one-of-one graphic designs. I later found those designs in the merch stalls outside the San Siro and throughout Italy. When it’s good, I think it’s the peak of the art form. When it’s bad, it’s still interesting. That was highly influential for David.
90% of the crowd noise in my short is from games my brother and I attended in 2017 and 2019. I recorded as much as I could not knowing I’d use it for my animation.
My first Serie A match was in 2017 in Turin, and that was fitting because Juventus were the first club that got me into the sport.
Their new stadium was very nice, but I longed for the old Delle Alpi where I first saw Del Piero and Trezeguet play on TV.
I know the Allianz is an upgrade and my reasoning is nonsensical. Still, I’ll always cherish it as my first match. I’m lucky to have seen Buffon play for Juve, and that T-shirt I bought outside the stadium sparked the inspiration for my short.
At the San Siro in 2019 I captured audio of the reception of Shevchenko who was being honored. Gattuso was managing Milan against Ancelotti who was managing Napoli. Maldini was in the audience.
Even though Del Piero and Buffon got me into the sport, the Ancelotti Milan teams were my favourite. The stadium’s aura and sheer scale was unforgettable. I tried to capture that feeling in the visuals.
I also want to shout out the incredible scene outside the San Siro. Special thanks to the ABC Del Panino truck for inspiring my title sequence.
At the Luigi Ferraris, we sat in the Curva during heavy rain, surrounded by ultras lighting flares and those loud mini-bombs–a first for me.
Fiorentina had beat Roma 7-1 in the Coppa Italia quarter-final. Chiesa had a hat-trick. You can spot us in a Getty image from that night. If I had a bar I’d hang that picture in it. While in Florence, we toured the Galleria dell’Accademia but, ironically, didn’t see the Statue of David.
We took a brief detour through Parma for the food and to check out the Tardini on an off day. The beautiful Parma Cathedral had a huge influence on the religious imagery in David.
The real culture shock came at our last stop, the San Paolo. That was my biggest “Holy shit, where am I?” moment. Security saw the fear in my eyes when they were checking my passport.
We had no business being there, but damn, we were in awe. It was beautiful. I had never seen graffiti inside a stadium before.
The history was still all there. The chewed-up seats with grass growing through cracks felt like they’d been there since the Maradona days.
That match turned out to be Hamsik’s last appearance for Napoli, setting the club record. I tried to recreate that lived-in feeling for David. I’m sure major renovations will come at some point, but I’m happy to have experienced this odd beauty as it was.
Even though there are many historical references in David going all the way back to the Old Testament, there’s something to be said about not living in the past.
