The Latvian director employs beautifully stylized and detailed 3D animation, somewhat photoreal, somewhat painterly, to tell without words his engaging story about a cat waking up in a world invaded by water, where humans have disappeared, who must belay his instincts and learn to get along with a group of animals in order to survive.
The Oscar-winning director of ‘Harvie Krumpet’ discusses his new, award-winning, decidedly not-for-kids stop-motion feature, including the use of sophisticated magnetic puppets, being forced to play board games as a kid, and how personal lubricant makes the best tears because it can go all day and not evaporate.
Director Pablo Leon and producer Jonathan Coria’s animated short follows a journalist documenting three different people who lived through the tragic 1980s in El Salvador, exploring themes of childhood loss, violence against women and the indigenous population, and regaining a sense of hope for the future.
‘Trolls Band Together’s Walt Dohrn, ‘TMNT: Mutant Mayhem’s Jeff Rowe, ‘Elemental’s Peter Sohn, ‘Nimona’s Troy Quane and Nick Bruno, and ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, and Kemp Powers discuss how this year’s wild, unique, and weird animated films are wowing audiences using technology not even available only a few years ago.
Out of 2,100 submissions, a selection of 99 films competed; top honors went to ‘Slow Light,’ named Best Animated Short in the professional competition, and ‘Close Your Eyes,’ named Best Student Animation.
Powerhouse helmers Nick Bruno and Troy Quane; Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson and Kemp Powers; Jeff Rowe; Walt Dohrn; and Peter Sohn to talk at upcoming ‘Top Animators Contenders’ panel at the 26th Annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival; event runs October 21-28.
Amazon will award $10,000 for the Best Overall Film and $5,000 for an Audience Award, plus lead a discussion panel on the future of LGBTQIA+ storytelling; the selected films will premiere at the October 2023 festival.
‘The Mechanical Dancer,’ ‘A Tiny Tale,’ and ‘The Ocean Duck’ take top animated short honors at the 24th annual event; 29 films were awarded from 104 chosen to compete across a host of categories.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller to be honored for Outstanding Achievement in Animation for ‘The Mitchells vs. The Machines;’ hybrid event runs in-person and virtually October 23-30
Presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design, the annual festival, set for October 23-30, will feature film screenings, panel discussions, and workshops.
