In the past week on
Skwigly there have been a couple of long-overdue (in so much as they're about people I've wanted to feature for a fair few years now) pieces gone up that are both worth sharing. Firstly I've posted up a Q'n'A with Dutch animator
Joost Lieuwma of
Frame Order. I first met Joost back in 2011 for
that year's edition of
ITFS Stuttgart, where my film
The Naughty List was playing out of competition. That particular trip turned out to be a turning point in several ways - it yielded my first Skwigly features, something that's obviously become a major part of my life, and started a chain of events that got my film in the hands of one my biggest industry heroes,
in front of an Annecy audience and, eventually,
on TV. Those aside I have a very clear memory of how the quality of the work playing in competition deeply inspired me, far more so than any other festival had up to that point. Among said films was Joost's hilarious and brilliant exercise in simplicity
Things You'd Better Not Mix Up, and as the year's passed he'd continue to make equally wonderful work such as
Leaving Home,
How Dave and Emma Got Pregnant and
Panic! (co-directed by Daan Velsink) which I was honoured to see screening alongside my last film
Klementhro when I finally made it back to Stuttgart
last year. Since then Joost has been knocking out a series of brilliant micro-shorts called
Cartoon-Box, one of which will be playing at Stuttgart
tomorrow (alas I didn't have anything to submit to this year's edition but knock wood
Sunscapades will make the grade in 2018). Have a read of the interview
here and treat yourself to some of his work, you won't regret it.
Another feature you should have a read of is
Laura-Beth's recent conversation with Bristol-based director
Emma Lazenby. Emma's work, generally centered around medical subjects (although she recently served as Art Director on the recent Disney series
Nina Needs to Go! that some other buddies of mine worked on) has always proved to be thoughtful, charming and a great example of how animation can be used to put across more sensitive topics without necessarily being stoic or clinical. Back in 2010 her ArthurCox/Channel 4 film
Mother of Many deservedly won itself a BAFTA and it remains a particularly strong marriage of visuals (with some uncompromisingly non-cinematic yet accessible depictions of childbirth and midwifery) and sound, boasting a wonderful percussive soundtrack by David Schweitzer.
Since then she has gone on to form
ForMed Films, other films of note including
One of a Kind,
A Little Deep Sleep and
My Mum's Got a Dodgy Brain. In the interview - which you can
read here - Emma also talks a bit about her upcoming project
Perinatal Positivity for which she'll be raising funds over the next few weeks. Learn more about how you can get involved by giving the video a watch below:
So you went ahead and acted on that nagging impulse to book a holiday to Brazil this July, yet this strange, alarming feeling plagues you. A sense that somehow your visit will be for naught if you don't cross one vital thing off your list...
