ASIFA-SF NEWSLETTER
Association International du Film d'Animation
(International Animated Film Association)
November 2009
by Karl CohenNOTE: THE FIRST STORY MAY BE OF INTEREST TO FRIENDS WHO ARE NOT BIG ANIMATION FANS.
THE NEW MUSEUM REALLY IS AN EXCITING PLACE TO VISIT
Diane Disney Miller and the glass wall that faces the Golden Gate Bridge
THE WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUM: AN AMAZING COLLECTION AND MUSEUM EXPERIENCE
While traditional museums present great works of art and historic objects in serene, quiet environments, the new Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco challenges that concept and shows that museums can also be alive with excitement and can be a great deal of fun to visit. When I left I felt I was overwhelmed with joy, having had one of the most remarkable museum experiences of my life! Diane Disney Miller, Walt’s daughter, has spent years working with some of our nation’s top designers, architects and other consultants to develop a truly amazing space that honors the many accomplishments of her father.
First impressions
The museum is in the Presidio, a National Park that was a military base from the 18th century until fairly recently. It is housed in a brick building and from the outside there is nothing to indicate what you are about to experience. Even in the conservative looking lobby you get no sense of what is in store for you as the first things you see behind the information desk is an extremely long row of nine trophy cases that contains 26 Oscars and a small portion of the other nine hundred plus awards that were presented to Walt in his lifetime. (Walt still holds the record for having won the most personal Oscars in his lifetime.) There ! is also a friendly looking fireplace with 19th Century Victorian furniture from his personal apartment located above the firehouse at Disneyland.
The next room has more historic furnishings and objects including Walt’s father’s fiddle and a drawing Walt did for his high school yearbook. There are examples of the kinds of European art Walt admired, a look that Walt would later have his artists create as backgrounds for films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio. There are also three or four large flat video screens that welcome you with some basic background information. The videos include computer graphics and compositing, our first hints that this is going to be more than rooms filled with historic objects.
As you round a corner you discover a beautifully restored World War One military ambulance, the type Walt drove in France just after the war ended. The room behind the ambulance looks like a dead end except for handsome doors that are opened every so often to let guests enter what looks like an eloquent elevator from a swank historic building. It moves so genteelly I had no idea if it was moving, but when the door opens you know you are no longer in an old-fashioned gallery. It is a unique looking space and it is obvious the room was honoring Walt’s start in Hollywood.
The studio’s early films
It was interesting to see all the early artwork and to see photos of Lillian Bounds, an inker at the studio whom Walt married, but what really got my interest was seeing a row of very large flat video screens and realizing the character on the screen on the left was chasing after something and was running past the edge of the screen and then was continuing the chase on the screens to the right. The artwork from the Alice Comedies and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons was a treat to see, but the showstopper was in the next space, the earliest known drawings of Mickey Mouse.
My emotional excitement was heightened when I realized that directly across from the drawing of Mickey, on a long wall covered with 348 still photographs from Steamboat Willie (1928), some of the images were suddenly coming alive! Several groups of photos were not what one expects to see. They looked at first like all the other photographs on paper, but they are actually video screens that show short sequences from the first talking Mickey Mouse cartoon. Once I got over the novelty of experiencing this wall of images I turned around and discovered that in the middle of the room was an interactive display with touch sensitive bronze musical instruments. Visitors using a headset can experience what it is like to create sound effects synchronized to footage from Disney’s first sound cartoon. Very cool!
As you walk into the next room the walls are covered with artwork from the black and white cartoons that came after Steamboat Willie, including cels and drawings from both the Mickey Mouse cartoons and the early Silly Symphonies. From this point until you leave the museum there are about 200 video screens built into the displays showing clips of the studio’s accomplishments. There is also an impressive display of the delightful toys created using the early Disney characters. Any Disney collector will be amazed at this collection.
Moving on we learn about the first three-strip Technicolor films. There is wonderful artwork from some of these classic films including The Three Little Pigs (1933, Oscar winner), Funny Little Bunnies (1934), Grasshopper and the Ants (1934), Tortoise and the Hair (1935, Oscar winner), Ferdinand the Bull (1938, Oscar winner), and The Ugly Duckling (1939, Oscar winner). Disney had exclusive rights to use the new color process for two years while it was still being perfected. Technicolor was expensive, but it produced what is still considered the best color process ever used in Hollywood and thankfully, unlike several other color process, the colors do not fade over the years.
Just as impressive as seeing the art from the early color cartoons is seeing a display case filled with brilliantly colored cel paints in large jars. There is also a video that shows different colors of paint flowing past the camera as an announcer explains how the studio developed lush colors to use in the cartoons. This room and several others acknowledge the many directors, animators, musicians and other people who played pivotal roles in making these remarkable cartoons.
The early features
Moving into the late 1930s we come to another of Walt’s accomplishments, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). There is everything you would want to see including handsome cel set-ups, small sculptured maquettes of the characters (they were used by artists drawing the characters), publicity material, and much more.
Probably the biggest surprise was seeing a large hole in the floor and protruding through it from below was the top of a multiplane camera stand. This is one of three such camera stands built by the studio to create scenes where the illusion of depth is accentuated by separating the layers of cels and being able to move each layer at a different speed to suggest realistic movement (pans, tilts, trucking shots). You can look down through the space around the stand and see where the lights are and where the art was placed. At the end of your museum visit you are on the floor below this room and you can study the rest of this complex animation stand.
From the years between Snow White and the beginning of World War 2 there are wonderful surprises in the form of artwork from Pinocchio, Bambi, Fantasia and Dumbo. There is also a display that recognizes that there was labor unrest at the studio and that in 1941 many of the employees went out on strike. The strike ended with the employees getting better wages and benefits. You can also hear a recorded excerpt of Walt testifying before a house committee in Washington, DC in 1947 about communists in the film industry.
The art exhibit continues with a tribute to the studio’s contributions to the war effort. They created propaganda cartoons, the feature Victory Through Airpower and uniform patches, insignias and other things to help build moral.
Disney’s work after the war
When the war ended Disney was busy finishing Song of the South (1946). Soon other wonderful, well-loved animated and live action features would be produced. At the end of the 1940s the studio also began a series of nature films. In a long narrow gallery, one side honors his wildlife films (the first was Seal Island which won an Oscar in 1949 for best two-reel documentary), and the other side is a glass wall that gives you a magnificent panoramic view of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Walt as a technical innovator is honored in several displays. Besides the multiplane camera, there are a variety of unusual 35mm cameras on exhibit including one designed for shooting underwater nature films. In another area there is a round metal platform hanging from above that has cameras pointing in different directions. They are squeezed next to each other. It is the circle-vision rig once used to make a 360-degree film shown on a screen that goes around the sides of a round room at Disneyland.
Walt’s work as a television pioneer is also acknowledged in many ways from photos and memorabilia to a row of antique TVs. On each screen you see clips from golden moments of his pioneering TV shows from the 1950s.
You get to see many family related objects on your visit including a not too small model train that Walt helped to build. It was big enough for people to ride on and it ran on a half-mile of track in the yard around his home. The idea of having your own steam-powered train eventually grew into the narrow gauge railroad that circles Disneyland. It stops to take on passengers at several stations along its route.
Needless to say there are also a lot of other wonderful things, including reminders that he created the concept of Disneyland, Epcot and “It’s A Small World” for the 1964-’65 New York World’s Fair. There are several showstoppers from the theme parks, but the one with the biggest crowds around it is something created just for the museum. As you walk down a long curving ramp you see a giant 12-foot in diameter, idealized model of the Disneyland Walt had wanted to build. They call it The Disneyland of Walt’s Imagination and it includes lots of moving rides and colorful buildings, some of which were never built. Former craftsmen from George Lucas’ model shop built these detailed models. (Now! most of Lucas’ models are created with computers.)
As you wander past the thousands upon thousands of things to see, there are also dozens of moments where the audio-visual displays go beyond just looking at film clips on video screens. One room has large curved panels of brightly colored plastic around the upper part of the four walls of the room. Video displays move across them, fade out and then reappear. I was told that this may be the first place in the US to use this display system developed in England.
Another unusual moving video display is in the next to the last exhibit hall. It is giant globe hanging over the spiral ramp from the ceiling and video images move around the sphere. I couldn’t tell where the video projectors were (and I looked for them), but I was later told that there are six projectors surrounding the globe and they work simultaneously to create a seamless image on the globe.
While these big moving video displays are extremely impressive, my favorite visual magic trick in the museum is quite small. The optical printer used to combine the images of Dick van Dyke dancing with animated penguins in Mary Poppins is on display. It has two ghostlike images of Dick van Dyke talking about how the printer works. They are about eight or ten inches high and stand at either end of the eight or ten foot long printer. They seem to be 3-dimensional projections, but no mirrors or screens are visible. They move about slightly so we know they are “alive.” They look like real aberrations. I have no idea how the illusion is created.
The final gallery remembers Walt, who died December 15, 1966. A friend said that after seeing all the wonderful things that his studio had created, she got to this tribute and broke out into tears.
My reactions to the museum
As I wandered about the displays for two hours I kept saying to myself, “Wow, this place is amazing.” My visit wasn’t like going to the National Gallery of Art where everything is pretty much presented the same way (lighting, space around it, etc.) and it is up to the gallery visitors to decide what is important for them to look at. One thing I loved about the Walt Disney Family Museum is it includes elements of great theatrical experiences that build to a great climax before we say goodbye. The room with the spiral ramp was very much an exciting finale before the last notes are sounded.
My visit wasn’t long enough to see everything so I expect to be going back several more times to really get to know the exhibits. The museum is much larger and more impressive than I expected. I knew in advance it occupied 11 rooms, but what I didn’t know is that many of the rooms in these former Army barracks were big enough to hold about 150 beds. At present the 77,000 square foot complex also includes a gift shop, caf?, learning center, and a 114-seat theater with a bright 10K video projector. In 2012 the museum will open a large hall that will be used for temporary exhibits.
The museum is open 10 to 6, Wednesday through Monday. Tickets for the day and time one plans to visit the museum should be reserved in advance. For more information visit http://www.waltdisney.org
SCREENINGS AT THE WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUM The museum has an ongoing series of screenings in their theater. Through Nov. 20 they will show Sleeping Beauty at 12:30 pm, 3:30 and 6:30. Coming Nov. 27 till Christmas, Christmas with Walt Disney. Includes film/TV clips, home movies and rare shorts. They also have 2 different talks on The Art of Sleeping Beauty, Nov. 21 and 22 at 3 pm. Tickets available online from www.waltdisney.com
IN AN “ARNE” WONG HAS ANIMATED “TALES OF THE MAYAN SKIES,” THE FIRST FULL-DOME PLANETARIUM SHOW FOR THE CHABOT SPACE AND SCIENCE CENTER This was a massive project requiring a team of over 100 people (animators, “sky scene visualizers,” writers, technicians, musicians, etc.) to develop it. The most arduous task was to laser scan the observatory and other buildings at Chichen Itza for highly realistic renderings. Arne was the project’s director and he worked closely with producer Konda Mason for over a year to complete it. The National Science Foundation and Instituto Politecnico Nacional co-funded it. The IPN operates the planetarium in Mexico City. Alexandra Hall, former director of Chabot’s Space and Science Center conceived the concept of the project. www.mayaskies.org
Arne tells us the show premiered in Mexico in October and it will open at Chabot November 21. He and Dania attended the opening in Mexico and then went on their long awaited honeymoon to Chichitza and Tulum. After that it was back to work with 5D Cinergy, a new company he co-partnered with his wife, Konda Mason and Chun Yu. Arne says, “We specialize in 2D +3D animation developing full dome content that pioneers the latest digital immersive technology for the purpose of merging education and entertainment, science and storytelling in an unprecedented way.” Their new website is www.5Dcinergy.com.
Arne presented an ASIFA-SF event in Sept. 2005 about his long career in animation that began with his making experimental animated surfing films in the late 1960s. He worked locally for Davidson Film as an animator in the 1970s and then moved to Hollywood where he was hired as a freelance and later a staff member at Duck Soup and Kurtz and Friends. His mentors included Grim Natwick (Betty Boop and Snow White), Corny Cole (Daffy Duck), Duane Crowther (Blue Meanies) and others. He also started Tiger Fly, his own Clio award-winning studio. Then after a stint! with Bob Able and other effects studios, Golden Harvest in Hong Kong hired him as a visual effects director. After working on Mt. Zu, Walt Disney Studios put him to work doing effects work on Tron. After Tron he worked with Moebius in Paris on Internal Transfer, a feature idea for Disney that was eventually shelved. He worked with Moebius again as co-producer on Through the Moebius Strip, a feature that was completed in 2004. His credits also include Universal’s theme park ride based on the Terminator movies.
WEBSTER COLCORD'S NEW WEBSITE IS FULL OF GHOULISH DELIGHTS Webster may look like a sweet innocent young man, but after looking at his website for a few minutes you may be convinced he is really a mad scientist. By day he has worked for Henry Selick, The Orphanage, Image Movers Digital and other heavy hitters, but at night, when he isn't being a proud father, his demented side comes out to play. Don't miss seeing Extreme Man and Insane Boy: Episode One, his Underground Robot test, and his bizarre Commercial reel. Caution: Do not visit his site during a full moon. www.webstercolcord.com
SPECIAL AGENT PRODUCTIONS HAS DELIVERED THEIR FIRST ESURANCE TV AD This new boutique animation studio combined 2D and 3D animation with live-action to produce the Esurance ad “Erin,” a colorful, Bollywood-themed video that recently premiered on TV. The award-winning production team of director Phil Robinson and producer Amy Capen founded the company. Phil was a co-founder and former creative director of Wildbrain (founded 1992). He became the chief creative director and among his creations are Erin Esurance, the sexy, pink-haired special agent, and Lamisil’s Digger, the yellow toe fungus guy. Prior to Wildbrain he worked at Industrial Light and Magic and collaborated with Bill Hanna on the launch of Hanna-Barbera’s principal overseas studio. Robinson has received three coveted Annie awards, including one for his interactive take on Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs & Ham. He directed the feature film Fern Gully 2 and the acclaimed CG short Hubert's Brain that won a host of awards around the globe.
Producer Amy Capen was head of production at Wildbrain where she developed and launched the studio’s online entertainment channel and produced work for top clients including Kraft, Microsoft, Honda, and Disney. Her industry tenure began at Colossal Pictures as senior producer working with clients including Cartoon Network, the Disney Channel, Leo Burnett USA, and Ogilvy & Mather. She was associate producer on MTV’s Emmy-winning Liquid Television (Beavis and Butthead, Aeon Flux). Her work has been honored with Annie awards, by the Broadcast Designers Association, and by ASIFA.
Wildbrain started to close their San Francisco office in May. They are now located in Torrance, CA, near LA. Michael Polis is their new CEO. Charles Rivkin, who oversaw the company, left in June as he was named as President Obama's candidate to serve as the US Ambassador to France.
JOE MURRAY, WHO STUDIED ANIMATION AT DE ANZA, WENT ON TO A SUCCESSFUL CAREER. NOW HE IS CREATING AN ANIMATION VIDEO SITE. Joe is developing a site called KaBoing TV, which he envisions as “an all cartoon, all animation channel, not only with my content, but bringing in other content providers as well.” Joe studied with Marty McNamara at DeAnza in the 1990s and then moved to LA where he developed the series Rocko’s Modern Life, Camp Lazlo and other projects. He wrote on his blog that he plans to “make a home for animation that is cool, creator driven, and fair business wise to the people who make the entertainment, as well as being responsible in the advertising.” http://joemurraystudio.com/blog/
Amid, at www.cartoonbrew.com writes, “To date, most of the major online cartoon channels and animation video sharing sites have been started by corporations looking for ways to exploit creators. There hasn’t been any attempt on the part of sites like Aniboom or Channel Frederator to find sustainable and fair models that encourage online animation production. Murray’s track record as an artist responsible for successful shows on both Nick and CN gives him a unique edge as an entrant into the field of online animation distribution. It’ll be interesting to watch what he does.”
HENRY SELICK IS LEAVING LAIKA AND MOVING BACK TO HIS HOME IN MARIN COUNTY awn.com reports Selick has “departed Laika after unsuccessfully renegotiating his contract, which expired at the end of last month. However, the stop-motion legend will continue to work with the Portland, Oregon-based animation studio and Focus Features in promoting Coraline through the awards season. Selick was not available for comment, but, according to a Laika spokesperson, he was not formally attached to any Laika projects following Coraline.” At our Oct. ASIFA-SF screening of Coraline he said he is busy traveling to promote the film and his family is still living in Portland.
LOCAL SCREENINGS
FRIDAY, NOV. 6, 7:15 PM
WINNERS OF THE 2009 ASIFA-EAST 40TH ANNUAL COMPETITION At the Exploratorium, free, see flyer for details
Thurs. Nov. 5, Phyllis Wattis Theater, 7 pm, Power to the Puppets: Films by Martha Colburn screening and Q and A, Martha Colburn in-person. The program features her shorts from First Film (1994) to the just-completed Join the Freedom Force (2009). Also on the bill is her contribution to the SFMOMA/Performa co-commission Futurist Life Redux, plus her music videos for Felix Kubin, Friendly Rich, and Deerhoof, among others. The films are accompanied by music performed by Mcdonas, a local pianist and frequent Colburn collaborator. $10 general admission; $7 museum members, students, seniors. SF Museum of Modern Art.
Sunday November 8, 3 PM, The Sound of the Sea, by Spanish graphic novelist Miguelanxo Prado (Spain/Portugal, 2007). Animated out of digitized images of his art, the PFA says this stunning film recalls the oil paintings on glass of Alexander Petrov (The Old Man and the Sea) and the environmental fantasies of Hayao Miyazaki (specifically Nausica, Valley of the Wind), but its beauty, imagination, and resonance are entirely its own, and can be enjoyed by young and old alike. In a house perched on an island, a woman waits for her lover to return; he has tragically fallen into the ocean, and must travel with ! mermaids, jellyfish, and more to find his way back to her. A magical film, entirely wordless.. (75 mins, Color, 35mm) At the Pacific Film Archive, UC Berkeley
Thurs. Nov. 12, Phyllis Wattis Theater, 7 pm. Puppets of the Apocalypse or Martha Colburn: Live Cinema performance. Long involved in experimental music scenes as both a musician and a filmmaker, Colburn has honed a live practice of multiprojector, manipulated film and music shows. She told Time Out New York, "When I'm filming, I'm working at a rate of, like, one second of film per ! hour. When I finish, I want to create in real time, or even better: double real time, and be my animated 'self.' I call together my musician friends who work on my soundtracks, and we play together." Tonight, she gathers Deerhoof, guitarist Dietrich, pianist Mcdonas, and a cohort of New York collaborators for an evening of immersive, live cinema. $10 general admission; $7 museum members, students, seniors. SF Mus. Of Modern Art
THE 4TH SF INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL NOV. 11 – 15 at Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema
Wednesday, Nov. 11, Mezzanine, 444 Jessie St., 8 pm, A Dream of Lovers and 2 Blessed 2 Be Stressed, Lawrence Jordan, Pale Hoarse, Jacob Ciocci, David Wightman in person. Lawrence Jordan will present “live animation” for the first time in his 50-plus-year career. Manning a 16mm analytic projector, Jordan will improvise the frame rate and rhythm to his cutout short film A Dream of Lovers, based on the live, plaintive musical accompaniment of local duo Pale Hoarse. Performance will be followed by 2 Blessed 2 Be Stressed, a collaboration between Paper Rad, Jacob Ciocci and musician David Wightman. Ciocci will present a mix of original videos and animations and his new performance I Let My Nightmares Go, employing video projection and dance moves to grapple with mental demons.
Thurs. November 12, Opening Night, 7 and 9:30 pm, FANTASTIC MR FOX, Bay Area Premiere, Wes Anderson (USA 2009). An animated stop-motion adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved children's classic, in which Mr. Fox turns his back on a life of crime in favor of spinning yarns as a respectable journalist and honest family man. When the Fox family moves into a tree house within sight of three teasingly impenetrable fortresses of chicken, duck and turkey farming, Mr. Fox is tempted to pull off one last big score. Voices: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Anjelica Huston. 87 minutes.
(8 pm till ???) Opening Night Party
Fri. Nov. 13, 4 pm, live, Data in Motion: Information Design and Animation, free, Apple Store, One Stockton Street. Visionary information designer Joy Mountford will present a survey on different approaches to organizing data using visual and motion methods.
7 pm, The Breakdown. Body Besieged: A racy homage to ladies who exercise (Kelly Sears, 5 min). Kid 606: Mr. Wobbles House: Music maven Kid 606 animates the beats (Joel Trussell, 5 min). Kroak "Partie de Peche:" Grunts and groans produce an unexpected bounty for ice fishers (Julie Rembauville, Nicolas Bianco-Levrin, 3 min). Mixed Bag: A bag of money is the catalyst for this study on the all-too-familiar push-me/pull-you dynamic inherent in all relationships (Isabelle Favez, Switzerland, 7 min). Mobitel Mania: In! which technology is “fetishized” in such a modular way (Darko Vidackovic, Croatia, 5 min). Radostki: When people love each other, anything can happen (Magdalena Osinska, Poland, 11 min). The Rains: Beautiful rainfall in the city (David Coquard-Dassault, Canada, 7 min). The Spine: The therapist is in (Chris Landreth, Canada, 11 min). What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks: The rhythms of the sun deliver constantly changing compositions (Sara Wickens, England). Wings and Oars: A former pilot looks back at his life (Vladimir Lesciov, Latvia). 64 min.
9 pm, A Town Called Panic. Bay Area Premiere, Stephane Aubier, Vincent Patar (Belgium, Luxembourg, France, 2009), shown at the Cannes Film Festival, stop-motion, based on a cult Belgian TV series. The town of Panic is populated by a random assortment of plastic figurines whose daily activities recall children's illogical narratives in their herky-jerky disjointedness, celebration of the quotidian and profound brilliance. Cowboy and Indian decide to give their friend Horse a birthday present, but thanks to an Internet shopping typo, they end up with 50 million bricks! for Horse's new barbecue. The trio must then travel to the center of the earth, trek across frozen tundra and discover a parallel underwater universe populated by pointy-headed (and dishonest!) creatures. A Town Called Panic is refreshingly homegrown, product of the ingenious imagination and a surreal, often nostalgic, sense of childhood absurdity. 75 min.
Saturday, November 14, 1 pm, Walt Disney's Alice Comedies Presented by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman, authors of Walt in Wonderland and Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies. They have chosen a number of representative Alice films, and will elucidate their significance, style and practice.
3:15 pm, Super Massive Suspension: Nate Boyce vs. Amy Hicks Hicks uses stop-motion and optical printing to produce humorous and alluring short films, while Nate Boyce uses degraded video footage and the muse of electronic music to produce intense and vibrant works of abstract color. They are internationally recognized Bay Area artists. Included will be Hicks' readaptations of Jaws and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Boyce's collaborative animations with the musicians Eat Tapes and Martin Schmidt of Matmos.
5:45 pm, The Best of Annecy In The Employment a hapless commuter encounters a bizarre world in which people are used as objects (Santiago Grasso, Argentina, 7 min). Ex-E.T. A playful and rather perverted child causes trouble on an alien planet where order and steadiness reign (Benot Bargeton, France, 9 min). Chick A humorous true-life story about male-female relations (Michal Socha, Poland, 5 min). Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage The journey of a Western traveler confronted with foreign traditions (Bastien Dubois, Franc! e, 12 min). Western Spaghetti A novel way of preparing pasta (Pes, USA, 2 min). Slaves Like thousands of other children, Abouk and Machiek were taken by the government-sponsored militia in Sudan and used as slaves (Hanna Heilborn, David Aronowitsch, Sweden, 16 min). The Man in the Blue Gordini In an imaginary suburb, it's customary not to wear underpants or trousers, only orange tops (Jean-Chrisophe, France, 10 min). For Sock's Sake A sock escapes from the washing line and finds adventure at a nightclub (Carlo Vogele, France, 5 min). Please Say Something A troubled relationship between a cat and a mouse in the distant future (David O'Reilly, Germany/Ireland, 10 min). Log Jam: The Log, The Rain, The Moon, The Snake Deep In the forest, three animals love nothing more than freestyle jamming with their customized instruments (Alexey Alexeev, Hungary, 4 min). 80 min. (Ron Diamond brought Alexey here in Feb.)
7:45 pm, Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai, US premiere (Mizuho Nishikubo, Japan 2009). Quite likely the first anime-style documentary, written by anime director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, The Sky Crawlers). Set in the early 17th century and focuses on the real-life events surrounding the development of the Niten Ichi-ryu (a classical style of Japanese swordsmanship). 72 min.
9:30 pm, Play It By Eye, recent animated music videos. Autokratz: Stay the Same (Laurie Thinot, England). Big Mistake: Tim Fite (Claire Carr?, USA). The Cribs: Mirror Kisses (Diamond Dogs, Canada/USA). Feist: Honey Honey (Anthony Seck, Canada). Fleet Foxes: White Winter Hymnal (Sean Pecknold, USA). The Fray: Heartless (Hiro Murai, USA). Grizzly Bear: ! While You Wait for the Others (Sean Pecknold, USA). The Gossip: Love Long Distance (Joel Trussel, USA). In-Flight Safety: Model Homes (Drew Lightfoot, USA). Ladyhawke: My Delirium (Frater, France). Love Like Fire: William (Zach Keller, USA). Metallica: All Nightmare Long (Roboshobo, USA). Linda Perhacs: Paper Mountain Man (Kelly Sears, USA). Passion Pit: The Reeling (Hydra, USA). Rex the Dog: Bubblicious (Geoffrey deCercy, England). Britney Spears: Break the Ice (Robert Hales, USA). Timbaland with The Hives: Throw It on Me (Justin Francis, USA). 77 min.
Sunday, November 15, noon, The Best of Annecy. See Nov. 14 listing.
1:45 pm, Somewhere Where I Don't Know Where I Am. The Adventures of Ledo and Ix A super-low-res existential comedy that helps us ponder some of the big questions, like where am I? (Emily Carmichael, USA, 5 min). Dark Island A beautiful cutout piece that primarily uses puppetry (Jonas Mellgren, Sweden, 10 min). Drux Flux The factory, the city, the war machine, is this progress? (Theodore Ushev, Canada, 5 min). Fleet Foxes: Mykonos, everyone's favorite, neo-folkies anim! ate their heavenly harmonies (Sean Pecknold, USA, 4 min). Fly on the Window What does a fly see? (Nikita Diakur, England, 3 min). Head Garden (working title) A world premiere, insights into that most delicate of spaces -- headspace (Lilli Carr?, USA, 5 min). Kroak "Retour aux ours" When you are out, alone with the elements, you should have this much fun (Julie Rembauville, Nicolas Bianco-Levrin, France, 3 min). Lucky An ingenious look at the way one animates in real space with neon trails (Darcy Prendergast, Australia, 3 min). Red and Blue The bombs come over here, and then they go over there, in the middle of this empty Cold War landscape. (Dusko Pasic, 2 min). Robes of War What happens to public space when women's bodies become mobile weapons? (Mich?le Cournoyer, Canada, 5 min). Runaway What awaits us around th! e bend? (Cordell Barker, Canada, 9 min). Sound-Shadows L adies and gentlemen, we are surrounded by sound (Julie Engaas, Norway, 7 min). 61 min.
3:30 pm, Metropia. West Coast Premiere (Sweden 2009) Graffiti-art Tarik Saleh's debut feature is a chic, chilling vision of a future in which corporate domination, market capitalism and urban sprawl hold society under total control and in an anxious state of self-surveillance. In 2024, drone Roger Olafson (Vincent Gallo) begins hearing a voice inside his head that leads him to step out of his dull routine and into a world of would-be espionage as he unwittingly stumbles upon secret plans and dastardly subterfuge at the center of his universe. Utilizes a! hyper-realistic animation style that defies conventional description. Using photomontage as its basis, the uncanny and unnerving technique has been described by one critic as the way "Kafka would have painted the Last Supper." Saleh's singular aesthetic lends itself perfectly to his theme of rampant paranoia and conspiracy. Having garnered “big buzz” at this year's Venice Film Festival, Metropia is a haunting, devastatingly gloomy thriller. 86 min.
Box office information: $12.50 general, $10.00 SFFS members, $11 seniors, students and persons with disabilities. Kickoff Celebration: A Dream of Lovers and 2 Blessed 2 Be Stressed, $15 general, $12 members. Opening Night film and party $20 general, $15 members. 10-Pack $115 general, $90 members. Box office online at www.sffs.org, or call 925-866-9559. Full schedule and information: www.sffs.org.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
“PLAYBOY” GOT A GREAT DEAL OF PUBLICITY FOR PUTTING MARGE SIMPSON ON THE COVER OF THE NOVEMBER ISSUE I suspect the real story is that this dubious “first” generated a tremendous amount of publicity for a magazine faced with declining sales and I assume that it resulted in boosted sales. Of course the major papers had to find a story to go with the cover photo so they came up with
questionable copy such as will the drawings in the 3-page spread be too “blue,” what does Homer think about her posing nude, will Bart think it is cool or is this a fitting way to celebrate the TV shows 20th anniversary?
RICHARD WILLIAMS’ “THE ANIMATOR’S SURVIVAL KIT EXPANDED EDITION” WILL BE ON SALE IN THE US NOV. 5 Richard Williams did a book signing in London on Oct. 29th of the expanded edition of his monumental “how to” book. It goes on sale in the US Nov. 5. He will probably be doing book signings in the US in 2010.
When I asked Imogen Sutton, his wife and producer (and director of the exceptional DVD set), what was added, she replied there are 40 pages of new material at the back of the book. “It’s more sophisticated material and should prove very useful to both students and animators.” It includes a discussion about realism in animation, “a hot topic these days with 'mo cap' etc. but it has always been an issue and Dick goes through the history of that.” There is also a lot vital information (previously unpublished drawings and text) about animal action: horses, dogs, spiders and other creatures. “All tricky stuff for animators and yet ! incredibly clearly explained.”
I was told the book sells well as a text each year to animation students, and that animators who are wearing out their original copies might want to replace them at some point. They will benefit from the new material as well as having a fresh copy. The book will be available in both hardback and soft binding. www.theanimatorssurvivalkit.com
OTTAWA GAVE THE GRAND PRIZE TO “MARY AND MAX” The feature was directed by Adam Elliot, Australia. The honorable mention (features) went to My Dog Tulip, directed by Paul and Sandra Fierlinger, USA
GIVE SOMEONE SIGNE BAUMANE’S DVD “TEAT BEAT FOR SEX” FOR CHRISTMAS, VALENTINE’S DAY OR ON ANY OTHER DAY OR NIGHT OF THE YEAR It is a frank and honest series of humorous shorts about sex that are informative/educational. Signe is a sexually knowing woman who reveals her most secret thoughts on the most intimate of matters. While some may find her advice to females and males who want to understand sex from her perspective very informative, entertaining and “right on,” others may find her thoughts controversial, rude or even shocking.
She writes, “They say, wise people start their Christmas shopping early. Love and DVDs go hand in hand, so there is a DVD with all 15 Teat Beat of Sex episodes in bright pink cover. Just to remind you what it is all about, Teat Beat of Sex is fifteen two-minute episodes in which a woman reveals her most secret thoughts on the most intimate matters.” The 15 segments are: "Kirby," the matter of size; "Juice," women do need panties; "Trouble," masturbation keeps you safe; "Soul," searching for soul in all the wrong places; "Key," stressed-up sex; "Hair," hair is there for a reason; “Respect," respect swings both ways; "Lizard," first k! iss goes French; “Graveyard," make-out mess; "Dawn," competitive sex education; "Puzzle," the missing piece; "Envy," enlarge your penis envy; "Score," men like to score, women to adore; “Job," blowjob mystique and "Barn," the sacred realm of virginity.
While Pixar was getting all the press attention at the Venice Biannual, Signe was there, premiering her 15 episodes of Teat Beat for Sex in the “Venice Days” part of the celebration. She also says her new film Birth was shown at Ottawa 09.
To obtain copies visit http://www.teatbeat.com. You can purchase copies using PayPal or a check. The website includes a trailer and even several of her “naughty postcards.”
WHO THE HECK CREATED “CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS?” This fall’s hot box office animated feature, Chance of Meatballs, was scripted and directed by two men with a minor connection to ASIFA-SF. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who graduated from Dartmouth in 1997, created two student films, Man Bites Breakfast and Sleazy Goes to France. They won prizes in the ASIFA-East Awards in '98 and the work was subsequently shown by ASIFA-SF.
David Ehrlich, who was one of their teachers at Dartmouth, tells me the guys hung out together as frosh in his animation class and have worked together ever since, including a stint in Disney's Development Department. Eventually their pilot for Clone High USA was picked up and produced for 13 episodes at MTV. “However a hunger strike by members of the Indian Parliament, incensed at the show's characterization of Gandhi, caused the show's cancellation. The pair moved over to 20th Century Fox Studios where they wrote several short-lived sit-coms and produced a series of ill-fated pilots. Then, while co-executive producing and writing the first year of the hit live-action TV series How I Met Your M! other, they wrote an adaptation for Sony Pictures Animation of the classic children's book Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which they then co- directed.”
Dartmouth recently honored the team with a tribute. They spoke about their careers and showed Sleazy Goes to France (1997 by Chris Miller), Man Bites Breakfast (1997 by Phil Lord), Heroes of Literature (1998), Clone High (2003), How I Met Your Mother (2007) and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009).
BIG BUCK IN ELECTRONIC GAMES Media & Entertainment Market Forecast says for the first time global revenues from digital media exceeded revenue generated by all movie theaters and home video combined. They predict total worldwide revenues from media and entertainment (television, films, games, advertising and marketing) will surpass $845 billion in 2009. An additional $90 billion will be generated from mobile devices.
TWO DAY ANIMATION FESTIVAL IN LA AT THE EGYPTIAN THEATRE, NOV. 7 & 8 The AniMazing careers program begins Saturday at 1 with opening comments. At 1:15 Eric Goldberg (Disney) will present his “Crash Course in Character Animation.” At 2:30 Bob Kurtz will talk about animated TV commercials. At 3:45 Bill Kroyer will discuss “The Incestuous History of Technology and Animation.” At 5 Jim Capobianco will talk about the importance of story in animated shorts and from 6 to 8 there will be a m! ixer for networking, etc. Then at 8 there will be a screening of the nominated AniMazing competition shorts and voting for the audience favorite prize.
On Sunday at 1:15 Pete Sohn will talk about making his short Partly Cloudy at Pixar. At 2:30 Tom Sito and Mark Kausler will present “A Short History of Animated Shorts.” At 3:45 see and hear how “MTV Rocked The Animation World” and at 5 the awards ceremony will be held. Visit www.animazspot.com for more information.
NFB OF CANADA ADDS MORE ANIMATION TO THEIR WEBSITE Joining over 150 NFB animation productions already online are several new titles including The Brainwashers and Subservience, puppet-animated films from two-time Jutra award-winner Patrick Bouchard; Iriz P??bo’s HA'Aki, a highly inventive and unorthodox look at hockey; Tzaritza and Drux Flux by Theodore Ushev; Here and There by Diane Obomsawin; Uncle Bob's Hospital Visit by Prince Edward Island animator JoDee Samuelson; Engine 371, a short about the construction of Canada's transcontinental railroad by Kevin Langdale; and Forming Game by Alberta’s Malcolm Sutherland.! www.nfb.ca
Also, Animation Express, a 2-disc DVD set, is about to be released. It includes Cordell Barker’s Runaway and 25 other titles. They include Maciek Szczerbowski and Chris Lavis’ Oscar-nominee Madame Tutli-Putli, and Claude Cloutier’s Sleeping Betty, winner of 20 festival awards.
ANIMATED WALLACE AND GROMIT TO HOST “A WORLD OF INVENTION,” A TV SHOW Aardman Animations has announced their new live action series Wallace & Gromit present A World of Invention which has been commissioned by the BBC in UK and has been picked up by ABC in Australia. There will be six half-hour shows in the series that highlights inventions that have inspired the program’s host. The series is scheduled to air late in 2010.
The show takes a humorous look at real-life contraptions, gadgets and inventions. The BBC hopes it will inspire a new generation of innovative minds by showing them real, but mind-boggling, machines and inventions from around the world. The show will be broadcast from Wallace’s basement. Each episode will have a theme (possibly flying, water, communication, space) introduced by Wallace and Gromit. Wallace & Gromit Present A World of Cracking Ideas is currently being shown at the London Science Museum.
Dennis Tupicoff from Australia in China
A MEETING OF THE MINDS: THE INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION, COMICS AND GAMES FORUM. JILIN, CHINA by Nancy Denney-Phelps
Any time 150 of the world’s greatest experts in the animation, comics and the gaming industry come together for a week, it is pretty amazing. It is even more amazing when we are all flown to China to deliver papers. That is what took place September 14 through the 17th at the 2009 International Animation, Comics, and Gaming Forum in Jilin, China.
Guests as diverse as Ed Hooks, pioneer of acting training for animators and author of numerous books and articles; noted Australian independent animator Dennis Tupicoff, and Mark Osborne, director of Kung Fu Panda, showed and discussed their work. All of this took place over three days in the Animation Forum Theatre while two other rooms were devoted to the Cartoon Forum and lectures from the gaming industry.
Mark Osborne shows off his dexterity with chopsticks as he holds a chicken’s head. I wasn’t told what he did with it.
With a strict half hour per presentation strongly enforced and the need for simultaneous translation, most people kept their talks very basic and chose to show films instead. The most interesting part of the IACGF Forum was not the event itself or the films screened, but being in China with this group of dynamic, creative people and having the chance to get to know them just as people and friends.
Caroline Leaf screened her beautiful handcrafted films with very sparse comments about her techniques. Caroline touched on her use of sand in Sand or Peter and the Wolf and the subsequent development of her unique handmade, under the camera techniques. I am sorry that there was not enough time for her to go deeper into the methods that she uses for creating her beautiful films. I did enjoy sharing a table with Caroline at a couple of meals, but most people didn’t talk much shop. They chose instead to get to know each other as people. I did ask her for a reel of her films and woke up on the last morning to find a very special present at my door.
Maureen Furniss, professor of animation history at Cal Arts, showed four films from well known graduates: Phases by Henry Selick, Nightmare (1979) by John Lasseter, Eric Darnell’s Grassland (1989), and Stephen Hillenburg’s Wormholes (1992). Maureen also talked briefly about the different techniques that the four animation giants used in their early films and gave a brief description of the two animation programs offered at Cal Arts: the character and experimental programs.
Occasionally forum lines crossed. Noted animator Paul Bush was asked to speak in the Games Forum room on the topic of “Computer Games Courses in Higher Education in the UK.” Presentations in the three rooms ran consecutively, so I had to make some difficult choices. Because I am familiar with the work of most of the animators at the Forum and a half-hour is not enough time to give an in-depth discussion of their work, I chose to take the opportunity to learn more about the area of comics. I did not attend any of the gaming forums, but the people that I got to talk to in that field were all very knowledgeable and interesting.
I particularly enjoyed hearing comics artist Oleg Dergachov. Born in the Ukraine, the Canadian resident is renowned in the field of Eastern European cartoons. After speaking on “The Trends and History of the Eastern European Cartoon,” Oleg displayed some of his intricate wax sculptures.
New York City comics creator and illustrator Michael Golden is known for his wide range of work including G I Joe, Marvel Fanfare, and The Avengers. Michael’s work on Dr. Strange is legendary, influencing many artists in their illustration careers. After talking about his career that includes his being an editor at DC Comics and a senior art director at Marvel Comics, Michael took us step by step through how he puts together a cover piece for Agent Silver. I was lucky enough to get to spend time talking with Oleg and Michael and they are both as nice as they are talented.
The Opening Ceremony was held at the Jilin Animation Institute. The nine year old school, in conjunction with The Changchun Film Group and the Jilin Publishing Group, has been designated The Chinese National Animation Industry Base. Within the large complex of 6,500 students there are five separate colleges: Animation and Comics, Games, Design, Media and Advertising.
After the obligatory speeches by dignitaries we were invited to go up on the stage and sign a large wall. The morning ended with a tour of the two level art gallery featuring an array of student works in many styles and formats from comics and illustrative art to projected animation. On our first day in Jilin we were asked to participate in a hand-casting project. Each of us had our hand cast in a framed block of plaster. These hands will be mounted on a wall in the school gallery.
A second opening ceremony took place in the Grand Theatre of the hotel. Keynote speeches were delivered by Zheng Liguo, Dean of Jilin Animation Institute; the Deputy Secretary General of the Chinese Artists Association, Jin Cheng; Director Mark Osborne; and Vesna Dovnikovic, ASIFA Secretary General.
That evening we were treated to a lovely program of local music and dance at the Guandong Grand Theater. The Provincial Opera Group sang, acrobats and high wire artists performed, Korean dancers and native folk singers and dancers also took part in the grand spectacle. The act that stole my heart however was a group of kindergartners dressed in chicken suits. They danced and sang a charming song.
The next two days were packed full of fascinating talks. I delivered my half hour discourse in the Animation Forum on The History of Music in Animation and screened Page Miss Glory, Allegretto, and Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom to emphasis my text. Nik’s talk was “Directors and Composers – A Working Relationship.” To illustrate his points he used material from Bellows. This is a project that he recently completed with American animator Eric Dyer that involved intense collaboration between Nik and Eric.
The festival published a thick book with the complete text of every speech in English and Chinese so I can read all those that I missed. I have had the opportunity to read such fascinating essays as “Development of the Creative Process for an Animated Short Film Using Sand” by Jean Poulot, a French animator and director at Will Vinton Studio for 12 years. I am slowly making my way through the book. A second large book devotes two pages to each guest, one in English and one in Chinese with an individual photo.
Nik and Nancy in Buy Now
As a special treat the Forum organizers offered the guests the opportunity to spend two additional days in Beijing. On the first day Nik and I opted out of the tour to go shopping for a new camera. We had been told to go to Buy Now and to comparison shop and bargain. Nothing that we had been told prepared us for the experience. Buy Now turned out to be three large buildings with five floors, each full of electronics. After four hours of running from floor to floor, building-to-building, trying to remember what price I had haggled the seller down to (I couldn’t take it any more) I pu! rchased a nice Fuji camera, not a knock off, at half the price I had been originally quoted.
While I was in Jilin I had another bizarre shopping experience. I went to a Wal-Mart, something I had never done when I lived in the States. The store had everything. Jar after jar of loose teas ranging from everyday black to very expensive greens. There were tanks of live fish ready for dinner, tables full of dried fish and every possible dried fruit and nut imaginable along with the usual fresh fruit and veggies. And this was just in the food area.
At the Forum we became friends with Jin Chan Yum Wai, a young Australian/Chinese graphic artist who lives in Beijing. Each evening that we were in his town he took a group of us out to explore the city’s nightlife. On one occasion we went to a lovely lake with restaurants and bars ringing it. Each bar had couches and tables under a chain of lights strung around the shore and there were rowboats for rent. This was a perfect place to be on a warm full moon night.
We also adventured into the world of Chocolate, a very high end Russian nightclub of the sort I could never afford to visit in Moscow. We were met at the street level door by a tuxedoed dwarf and descended down an escalator into a massive room decorated in full Rocco fashion. The stage show ranged from a magician to a transvestite review, with the evening ending with a disco. There was no cover charge, drinks were inexpensive, and the room was full of beautiful young Russian ladies of the evening and their companions.
Zheng Ligus, Dean of Jilin Animation Institute and his staff did everything to make our visit such a memorable experience. Our translators were so very patient with us when we went shopping for dried beans and candied ginger, which was not what they had been led to expect from their foreign guests.
This was my third visit to China and each festival/forum had a distinctly different character. This was Nik’s first trip and he came away with a positive view. There are not enough thanks you’s to express our appreciation to everyone involved in the 2009 IACGF.
MOVE TO CREATING ANIMATED FEATURES IN STEREOSCOPIC 3-D REACHES INDIA The Indian studio ACK Media has announced their plan to produce Suppandi, “a stereoscopic animated 3-D film based on popular tinkle toon Suppandi. The 85 min. feature film will be made in Hindi and launched in November 2010.”
3-D: LESS IS MORE by Raen Payne With many young animators clamoring for jobs it is no wonder that Henry Selick received a round of applause from the audience when he announced that he has in fact moved back to the Bay Area at the special 3-D screening of Coraline, October 11th at the Metreon.
A fan of Neil Gaiman, Selick received the manuscript for Coraline in 2000, 18 months before its publication, “Out of the blue he sent me the manuscript for Coraline…and [Neil Gaiman] couldn’t get a publisher…it’s too scary for children and not scary enough for an older audience.” Laika was willing to produce it using the RealD projection system. Coraline was the first stop-motion film planned to be shot in 3-D.
Selick thinks 3-D is often over used in films. He didn’t want to use it all the time as a kind of gimmick. Instead he “looked to the story to guide the 3-D. We used 3-D to make the other world seem more inviting.” In the beginning, the real world looks sort of dull, and flat, whereas the other world seems a bit more colorful, more inviting. The real world was filmed using long lenses, creating a shorter depth of field, whereas wide-angle lenses were used for the other world. In addition, two versions of the sets were built. The real world sets had a physically shorter depth, while the other world uses an exaggerated depth.
Live action films are shot with coverage, but with animation, “you have to edit the movie before you make it,” said Selick. Though a lot of editing may take place before production they only “storyboarded a quarter of Nightmare. Disney storyboards the whole thing.” Preferring the imperfections of stop-motion, Selick tends to board loosely because as the film is being made a lot will change and “it all has to stay alive. I’ve gone from trying to do everything perfectly and it’s not so important anymore…leave some of the bumps in, let it breathe.”
Yet Selick also wanted to push the animation of Coraline, “We wanted to go farther than we had. You don’t get the opportunity to do that many stop-motion films.” In wanting to push the film as far as possible they chose not to use CG where it may have been a blessing to many other directors. For the circus scene, with the many mice and the auditorium full of dogs, Selick said they “were urged to make the mice and dogs all CG. If we did that, they wouldn’t be special.” Selick believes that with 3D, “too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.” It has to serve the story.
RON DIAMOND’S ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS WAS AN EXCEPTIONAL ARTISTIC SUCCESS This year’s show expanded the boundaries of animation in terms of aesthetics and in terms of content in The Spine. None of the films (except for Pixar’s contribution) told traditional stories. It seemed all (except Pixar’s film) were chosen for artistic boldness. It was exciting to see a program focused on animation as a great art form. Only the film from Pixar was made to keep kids entertained.
For me Chris Landreth’s The Spine created strong disturbing feelings that I hadn’t experienced before in an animated work. In his Ryan the pain is there, but his character seems like a real person that one can identify with, so the pain is within him. In the The Spine the humans are abstract symbols of people dealing with great emotional problems and they became metaphors for the human condition. I empathized with them and felt th! eir pain. They may not satisfy our needs to understand them (as in the case of Ryan) but I found The Spine to be an amazing film experience. KC (TO BE CONTINUED IN DECEMBER ISSUE)
ASIFA-SF IS A VOLUNTEER RUN ASSOCIATION
Newsletter Editor: Karl Cohen
Contributors: Nancy Denney-Phelps, Raen Payne and other friends of ASIFA
Cover illustration by Ricci Carrasquillo
Proofreader: Sarah Chin
Mailing Crew: Tara Beyhm, Shirley Smith, Dot Janson
Webmaster Joe “the Calif. Kid” Sikoryak
Special thank to Ron Diamond for another exceptional evening of films, to his special guests Cordell Barker and Chris Landreth, to Focus Films and Henry Selick for a memorable evening with Miss Coraline, to Tara Beyhm our VP, to our treasurer and to Karen Lithgow for their many hours of work behind-the-scenes of ASIFA-SF, to The G Man for sending out our e-mail updates, to Nancy Denney-Phelps for representing o! ur chapter on the international ASIFA board, and to Patricia Satjawatcharapjong who posts excerpts from our newsletter on the International ASIFA website – www.asifa.net
ASIFA-SF is a chapter of: Association Internationale du Film d’Animation with almost 40 chapters around the world.
Our website and blog is: www.asifa-sf.org
Mail can be sent to: karlcohen@earthlink.net
Or to PO Box 14516, SF CA 94114
ASIFA-SF PRESENTS
SEE THE WINNERS OF THE ASIFA-EAST 40TH ANNUAL ANIMATION COMPETITION (2009)
THE LONGEST RUNNING ANIMATION FESTIVAL IN THE US
FRIDAY, NOV. 6, 7:15 PM
At the Exploratorium, free, public invited
TONIGHT YOU CAN BE A JUDGE - $200 IN AUDIENCE PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED TO YOUR FAVORITE FILMS
This is a great show with excellent student films, fine shorts by PES, Bill Plympton, Janet Perlman, 2 Bay Area animators (David Chai & Michael Jantze), a beautiful ad made with colored salts, lots of humor & much more.
THE PROGRAM
2009 Opening Film by Richard Gorey
The award winning student films:
Peter Ahern, THE KINDNESS OF OTHERS
Paris Maroidis, DIVERS
Katherine Morris, THE STORY OF ONE-EYED OPHELIA JACKSON
Stephen Neary, CHICKEN COWBOYCommercials
Twinkle LLC, UNNATURAL HISTORY OF WALL STREET
FlickerLab, St. JOSEPH'S MEDICAL CENTER: "MANY ROADS"
Curious Pictures, BC DAIRY: "GIANT MONSTER"
Curious Pictures, NIKE WOMEN: “PUNCHING BAG"
PES, SCRABLE: "60th ANNIVERSARY"Acme Filmworks, BUTTERFLY
Fran Krause, ROOFTOP SIGNAL FILM
Sponsored FilmsPilarToons LLC, MY SISTER'S BUTT
Jantze Studios (Michael Jantze, San Anselmo, CA), YOUTUBE BEARS
Plymptoons (Bill Plympton), MEXICAN STANDOFF
Little Airplane Productions, THE WONDER PETS! "SAVE THE PANGAROO!"
Jantze Studios, MR. LUX AT YOUR SERVICE
Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata & David Cowles DAVY CROCKETT IN OUTER SPACE
Acme Filmworks (by Janet Perlman), HOT SEAT
Independent FilmsPlasticflesh/Nullsleep/8 Bit Peoples, DIRTY ROM DANCE
David Ehrlich, LINE DANCE
Plymptoons (Bill Plympton), SANTA: THE FASCIST YEARS
Elliot Cowan, THE STRESSFUL ADVENTURES OF BOXHEAD & ROUNDHEAD - BROTHERS IN ARMS
Krause Brothers, DOG IN A BURNING BUILDING
PES, WESTERN SPAGHETTI
London Squared Productions, THE LOST TRIBES OF NEW YORK CITY
House of Chai Dav! id Chai, San Jose State), LIFE ON A LIMB
Rauch Brothers Animation, Q & AEXTRA ADDED TREAT, SEE A MINT 16MM PRINT OF RICHARD WILLIAMS’ ANIMATED FOOTAGE FROM “THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE” When I recently discovered this original print was included in the 2nd Tournee of Animation, and I saw it projected, I wanted to show everybody how fresh and exciting it is, and to remind you what a remarkable artist Richard Williams is. I think the showing of this! ten-minute clip will be a great way to open our program tonight.
A list with more illustrations of the awards winners is at www.asifaeast.com
Karl Cohen - karlcohen@earthlink.net
