Another Busy Weekend

It's been a long journey, but this Friday November 4th will be the final stop of the Nuit du Court Métrage leg of Short Film Nights, the touring programme that has graciously included Klementhro, seeing the film screened throughout Switzerland over the course of this year. The twenty-third and final city on what's been a terrific tour with some brilliant and much-appreciated exposure will be Lausanne, the screening itself taking place at the Pathé les Galeries at 7:25pm. Many thanks again to the Short Film Nights team for bringing my bizarre little film along for the ride!

On Saturday November 5th the film will see its Chinese premiere at the KuanDu International Animation Festival in Taiwan. It will be screening in the programme KDIAF's Choice 5 for a relatively early (9am) start. It's another interesting crop I'm very happy and humbled to be amongst, with work from some great artists including Kim Noce, Shaun Clark and Isabelle Favez among others.

On those exact same dates the film will doubtless be befuddling Brazilians over at Anima Mundi. Following the first batch of screenings that took place in Rio de Janeiro, the second wave will be in São Paulo with two screenings at the Cinemateca Brasileira. On November 4th it'll screen at 6pm in the Sala Petrobras, with a 3pm screening in the Sala BNDES the following day.
Tchau for now!

"Can't pay? We'll literally do everything in our power to not have to take it away, 'cause I got these bad knees, see..."

These days my fictional creation Klementhro, once thought to be a bit of an out-to-sea loner, has way more of a life than I do. As such he has a pretty packed few days of galavanting hither and thither ahead of him while I sit at home watching Can't Pay repeats and praying the various After Effects renders I have cued up don't crash.

Klementhro, the comparative socialite, will be enjoying a rare US outing at the SoDak Motion Festival this Thursday, October 27th. Screening alongside work by some excellent filmmakers including Tomer Eshed and fellow Bristol School of Animation grad Simon Acosta, the film will play in the festival's Animation Competition 6:30pm at the South Dakota Art Museum.
Some miles away on the following night, the Nuit du Court Métrage tour will take the film to La Chaux-de-Fonds, where the evening's proceedings will kick off around 8pm at the Cinéma ABC.
The night after that (October 29th, not to condescendingly imply you can't do basic addition) the tour is headed to Neuchâtel, again looking at an 8pm start at the Cinéma Studio.

On top of all that, the Brazilian animation fest Anima Mundi has unveiled its full programme and, as previously indicated, Klementhro is among the official selection! From tomorrow onwards it will screen as part of Shorts 5 in such fine company as Joost Lieuwma's Paniek! and the times/venues for the Rio de Janeiro screenings (there'll be more in São Paulo next month) are as follows:

• 25th October: 10pm, Cine Odeon - Centro Cultural Luiz Severiano Ribeiro
• 26th October: 6pm, Livraria Cultura
• 28th October: 3pm, Cine Odeon
• 29th October: 5pm, Cidade das Artes - Teatro de câmara
• 30th October: 6pm, Cine Odeon

Ooh, hang on. I think they're about to finally take something awa- no, false alarm. As you were.

"...ma perlomeno ha un remo..."

The next date for Nuit du Court Métrage - or Notte del Cortometraggio, as it happens - will be October 21st in Lugano. This stop will have an earlier start of 7pm at the LUX Art House, for 'aperitivo con DJ' - pretty swish! As ever Klementhro will be part of the Happy Aging program that will begin at 9:45pm. 
Grazie!

Bonnes Nuits

More meandering for our man Klementhro, as he continues to paddle his way through unsuspecting Swiss territories! If you happen to be in our near Morges in Switzerland on October 14th then why not mosey on down to the Cinéma Odéon for 8pm and check out the Nuit du Court Métrage programme? From the feedback that's been trickling through I gather these nights have proved great fun, so I'm very happy to be along for the ride. More tour stops to come!

Baked Goods

Following the previous episode featuring Anna Ginsburg on her film Private Parts, episode three of Intimate Animation effectively bookends the past week or so of Encounters coverage with a look at another Late Lounge entry. Laura-Beth and I got to have a lovely chat with attending filmmakers V Veronica L. Montaño and Manuela Leuenberger as the festival was winding down to talk a little bit more about their brilliant Lucerne School of Art and Design grad film Ivan’s Need. We previously heard from both of them (along with fellow filmmaker Lukas Suter, who wasn't at Encounters unfortunately) during the KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival last year but as it's a film that Laura-Beth and I both adore we were keen to chat a bit more about how it came to be.
Also discussed in this episode are more abstract animation approaches to themes of love and sex, including Réka Bucsi‘s beautifully-made new film Love and Grant Orchard‘s mograph microshort Yeah Just There. If you're not in a streaming mood here's the ol' download link for late-night listening.

On the significantly less saucy subject of Klementhro, there are two opportunities early in October to catch the film in Germany. Firstly this Sunday October 2nd it will play as part of the first Animation Competition screening at 4pm alongside some great work including Job, Joris and Marieke's A Single Life. The festival takes place at Paul-Wunderlich-Haus, if you fancy swinging by you can buy tickets here.

The following week on Saturday October 8th the film is screening at Filmzeit Kaufbeuren in the Filmblock V programme, which kicks off at 8pm at the Stadttheater Kaufbeuren. You can download the full programme here for more info.

In between both of these there will be another stop on the Nuit du Court Métrage tour for any Swiss short film enthusiasts among you. The touring programme's first October stop will be in Fribourg on Friday 7th at the Cinemotion-Les Rex, kicking off at 8:15pm. All told it's going to be a busy month ahead for Klementhro and happily I can confirm that he'll still be doing the rounds through til January 2017 at least. There's life in the old seadog yet, evidently. Watch this space for updates!

"Chasing the night away..."

It's a double-screening for our lad Klementhro this Friday in Switzerland! Continuing the fabulous Nuit du court métrage tour the film is part of, there will be two simultaneous showings in Yverdon (at the Bel Air cinema) and Sion (at Cinéma Arlequin), both of which kick off at 8pm.

Would that I could be at either myself - as it happens that particular night I will be gleefully seeing Chuck Mosley (or Mosely, depending on which album sleeve you read) in concert as he's had the good manners to come to Bristol and play just down the road from me. Mr. Mosley was the predecessor to Mike Patton as the original vocalist for Faith No More, a band I may have voiced some enthusiasm for once or twice. Although the band found major fame after his tenure they undoubtedly made some amazing music together and I count plenty of the tunes he sang on as amongst my favourites. Also 'Introduce Yourself' was the first Faith No More album chubby li'l me was able to save up enough pocket money to afford and so it will always hold a special place in my heart.
The show is part of his ongoing European tour and proceeds are going to the homeless charity Crisis, so any Bristol folks out there should definitely swing by the Bierkeller this Friday night.

Meanwhile my Encounters/Skwigly Q&A sessions continue today as I meet attending filmmakers whose films screened as part of the animation programme It’s Only Natural - Lissi Muschol (Producer, The Wild Boar), Cartoon d'Or nominee David Dell’Edera (Dir. Balcony), Simon Scheiber (Dir. The Lighthouse) and Tomek Ducki (Dir. Emily King: The Animals).

Listen below or direct download. It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.

Floating along

The nomadic Klementhro continues his Swiss travels this weekend as part of the ongoing Nuit du court métrage tour he finds himself on. First stop is Geneva, a city I unexpectedly wound up spending some time in earlier this year when my flight was delayed and I missed my shuttle to Annecy (the full horrorshow was documented in that week's podcast - it turned out to be a luvverly day in the end). Proceedings will kick off at Les Cinémas du Grütli from 8pm on Friday September 23rd.
The following night anyone in or around Delémont may wish to mosey on down to Cinemont and catch the programme there, again beginning at 8pm. Would that I could join old Klem on his travels; at this point he's getting out way more than I am.
That's all I gots for you today, folks. As you were.

Back in the USSR

I appreciate the title of this blog entry has been geopolitically inaccurate since 1991, but what do you want? I like songs, sue me.
Anyhoo, I'll be the bigger man and choose to look past the confrontational attitude you've come into this post with.

I'm happy to report that Klementhro will make its way back to the Ukraine again following its recent screenings at the Kyiv International Short Film Festival. This time it will be playing as part of the Linoleum International Contemporary Animation and Media-Art Festival which runs from September 15th-18th. My film plays in Competition Programme 2 which'll get four screenings:

• September 15th: 1:50pm
• September 16th: 12:00pm and 9:10pm
• September 17th: 5:30pm

The event takes place at Mala Opera in Kiev. Also screening in competition are some brilliant folks including Uri and Michelle Kranot, Rory Waudby-Tolley, Tomer Eshed, Florian Grolig and Alois di Leo.

That same week the second leg of the Short Film Nights tour will be kicking off, following on from Kurzfilmnacht in the Spring that saw Klementhro floating through Switzerland's various German-speaking cities. For La Nuit du Court Métrage the programme will be touring the French-speaking areas, beginning with a stop in Vevey as part of Images Vevey at the Cinérive, kicking off at 8pm. More dates/times/venues to follow!

Summer Break

It's been a long journey for our simple lad Klementhro, but the last stops of Kurzfilmnacht Schweiz, the first leg of the Short Film Nights tour focusing on Swiss-German speaking cities, will be this Friday (27th) and Saturday (28th) in both Uster and St. Gallen. For both nights the Uster programme will start at 8:30 at the Kino Qtopia while things kick off a little earlier (8pm) in St. Gallen at the Kinok Lokremise. Many thanks to the folks at Short Film Nights and I'm looking forward to the second leg of the tour later on in the year!

In the meantime Klementhro will be laying down his paddle for June (I'd had my fingers crossed the film would be picked to screen at Bill Plympton and Nancy Phelps's wonderful Annecy + party - which included The Naughty List a few years back - but alas it looks like the event is taking a hiatus this year) though it will be back in Germany for Shorts Attack, a series of themed screenings from Interfilm Berlin, in July! Exact time(s)/date(s) to follow.
I'm also happy to report that the recent burst of activity and wonderful response the film received has broken a dam, so to speak, and I've been filled with a renewed energy to make more films. While I'm not quite ready to start uttering the B-word again, I have scripts for several short'n'bizarre - as well as one not-so-short-but-especially-bizarre - film ideas that I'm itching to get started on, the first of which (working title: Sunscapades) I've already put a rough animatic together for and even done some early assets/animation tests. I'll leave you with one of the latter to chew on:

Klemenspreading

Basel-bound

You can't keep a good Klementhro down. After yesterday's mumblemouthed attempt at an explanation for his existence, here are the specifics for the film's next Swiss screenings as part of its Short Film Nights travels.
This Friday (May 13th) a slightly-truncated version of the programme (though Klementhro still appears to be part of the bill) will play in Chur at the Kino Apollo, kicking off around 9:15pm. That same night you have three opportunities to catch it in Basel, with a number of different times and running orders of the programme taking place in several cinemas in the Kult Kino Atelier (the earliest of which starts at 8:45pm).
The following Friday (May 20th) the tour heads to Lucerne where it will play at both the Kino Bourbaki (8:30pm start) and the Stattkino (8:45pm). As always be sure to swing by the main tour website for more info and the latest dates as they're announced.
On a related note, I recently realised why I've been so enamoured of the tour logo; it's a spiritual sibling to a favourite album cover:

Riptide

Schaffhausen sightseeing

Lonesome, paddle-dependent Klementhro's journey is ever-continuing, with more upcoming screenings imminent. First off we have the next two stops of the Short Film Nights tour in Switzerland, which will see the film playing in Winterthur at Kino Kiwi Loge this Friday April 22nd, then again the following night in Schaffhausen at Kino Kiwi Scala. Visit the tour's official website for full time, venue and ticket info.

Also this Saturday (April 23rd) Klementhro will screen again at Ukraine's Kyiv International Short Film Festival in a repeat showing of their Animation Madness selection that originally took place last month, so if you missed it the first time and happen to be in the area then swing by the Kinopanorama at 2pm (the English listing says 4pm but I think that's a typo) and check 'er out!

Storm a-brewin'

The glut of April adventuring for our unlikely lad Klementhro is about to kick off good and proper, so here's a quickie roundup of where and when to catch him.

The next stop of the ongoing Kurzfilmnacht Schweiz tour throughout Switzerland will be Biel/Bienne, a city so nice they named it twice, evidently. The programme will kick off at Kino Rex at 8pm on April 15th - more info here.

As mentioned previously, the film will be playing at the Skepto International Film Festival, kicking off their Skeptyricon screening that also takes place on the 15th, at 10:25pm. The screening will play simultaneously at the Hostel Marina and the Auditorium Comunale in Cagliari. I'm very pleased to see it will screen alongside such excellent work as MANOMAN and Mute by recent podcast guests Simon Cartwright and Job, Joris and Marieke respectively.

Later on in the month I'm informed the film will get its Stateside debut at Kraken Con, a cartoons, comics and cosplay convention that takes place in Oakland, California. The film will be included in the event's inaugural animation festival which kicks off 2pm on Sunday 24th at the Oakland Convention Center, keep your eyes on their website for more info as it comes.

I can also now confirm that Klementhro will indeed be part of ITFS Stuttgart's official selection this year. This is wonderful news as I was able to attend the festival in 2011 when they included The Naughty List and had such a good time I swore to myself I'd be back the following year with a new film. Instead it's taken five years, but hey, I get there in the end. The film will screen in the International Competition 5 programme at 9pm on April 30th at the Gloria Kino (screen 1) and again at 11am on May 1st at the Metropol (screen 2). I'll be in attendance for those dates so if anyone else plans on being there give me a shout!

Visdüm Tooten

Still need painkillers but at least the swelling's going down

After months of needless delays I've finally had my shitting bastard wisdom tooth pulled. It's been a thorn in my arse every few months for the past couple years and I was cheerfully informed in my drooling, post-extraction haze that the removal couldn't have gone worse and as such the inside of my head has so many stitches Jennifer Chiaverini could write a goddamn novel about it. I was hoping to get to keep the tooth afterward so I could occasionally take it out and taunt "Haha, shithead, I beat you in the end!" but apparently it came out in like fifty different pieces that then each splintered off into fifty more different pieces, so I was denied even that simple joy. As such I find myself nursing a more swell't head than usual and taking painkillers to the point of potential liver damage. Luckily I have the new Don Hertzfeldt Blu-ray to take my mind off it.

While I was stoned off my gourd at the clinic yesterday the latest Skwigly Podcast went up, this one featuring Felix Massie who is presently working at Nexus on the latest Google Spotlight Stories project Rain or Shine. This comes on the heels of some highly-acclaimed work such as Keith Reynolds Can't Make it Tonight and the particularly excellent In The Air is Christopher Gray.
Also discussed amongst Steve and myself are the usual pertinent industry issues such as which is the better Batman and why 'College Jock' and 'Tube Steak' are both in my search history. It's a fun one, bung it on and brighten your day, why doncha?
As always you can direct download and/or subscribe.

I also spent last weekend gleefully revisiting the old 90s video game chestnut Day of the Tentacle which has been reissued with updated graphics (blessedly it's the same design and animation, just traced over for HD resolution purposes) and all sorts of goodies. I've also put up a review of the original game and its new incarnation that in part borrows from an earlier post on here. All in all my appreciation for the subject remains the same as it did in 2007.

Some more Klementhro news - the film's next stops on the Kurzfilmnacht Schweiz tour will be this Friday 8th in Baden-Wettingen with the evening's screenings kicking off at 7pm at the Kino Orient, with another showing the following evening (the 9th, which to be fair most of you could have worked out yourselves) in Aarau at the Kino Center Schloss, again starting at 7pm.

More immediately, however, the film will play tonight in the Czech Republic at the Prague Rock Café at 7:30pm as part of AniScreen's series of thematically-curated screening nights. I clocked this by happenstance at the last minute so apologies for the short notice, but to whoever might be reading this in Prague (it's a very light shade of green on my stats map, I'll concede) that fancies something to do tonight then swing on by!
A bit of a tease to end on is that I cheerily note a certain handsome, wall-eyed ginger appears to show up in the pocket guide for this year's edition of ITFS Stuttgart. What might that mean, I asks ya? Stay tuned...

"Satirico, grottesco e oltre"

Zürich ho!

As March wraps its sweet little self up I'm happy to be able to bring you folks up to speed with what awaits paddling troublemaker Klementhro this coming April.

This Friday (the 1st) he'll begin his involvement in the first of two touring film programs that will be playing throughout Switzerland. The first - Kurzfilmnacht Schweiz - will be focusing on Swiss-German speaking cities, with its first screenings taking place in Zürich at two venues, the Arthouse Le Paris at 8:30pm and the Arthouse Uto at 9pm. Klementhro will be part of the Happy Aging program, more info for which can be found by clicking here.

Later on in the month I'm happy to say the film will be playing at the Skepto International Film Festival, an event I'm well-acquainted with as it has screened both Ground Running and The Naughty List in the past. It's in some excellent company this time around, screening alongside such terrific filmmakers as Simon Cartwright, Job, Joris and Marieke, Konstantin Bronzit and Réka Bucsi. Klementhro will play as part of the Skeptyricon (Satire, Grotesque and Beyond) screening and the festival itself will run from April 13th to 16th in Cagliari, Italy. More specifics to follow, but in the meantime you can check out the festival website here.