Got a double-whammy of seasonally-seasoned Skwigly Animation Podcasts to help stave off the inevitable anxiety that comes from being around your kinfolk this time o' year.
In episode 95 we hear from Sergio Pablos, whose film Klaus has been the talk of the industry since it premiered on Netflix a few weeks ago. Rightly so, as it really does push the envelope as far as what we can do with 2D animation these days.
In episode 96 we welcome back Robin Shaw of Lupus Films. I first chatted with Robin way back in 2012 for his work on The Snowman and The Snowdogand the studio have been cranking out hits ever since, including We're Going On A Bear Hunt and Ethel and Ernest.
Also discussed in these episodes: MAF highlights, dubious dubbing, Playstation plagiarism, the inevitable shitness of Disney's 'live-action' remakes, animation-themed (sort of) honeymoons, as well as a look at the animated shorts in the running for 2020 Oscar
and BAFTA nominations, including work by previous Skwigly interviewees/pals Regina Pessoa, Theodore Ushev, Lauren Orme, Floor Adams, Ross Hogg, Bruno Collet and Naaman Azhari.
Give 'em a listen below or download for laters here (episode 95) and here (episode 96).
Remember how nearly I decade ago I made a film about Xmas? And how I didn't shut up about it for ages? Weren't those great times? Well, I'm bringin' 'em back with a cheeky look at how it came together. I know, I know, I shouldn't have, but sometimes the holiday spirit just oozes out of me uncontrollably. Enjoy!
I'm back from my not-as-rainy-as-expected Annecy trip and feel like I've run a marathon. It was a whirlwind of catch-ups, meet-ups, write-ups, interviews, parties, rain-dodging, sun-spotting, networking and completely responsible drinking; all in all, we made massive pests of ourselves and had a blast doing so.
Following on from last week's pre-fest round-up, here's the first batch of coverage put out while we were over there (and check back later in the week as there's plenty more to come). Firstly, as promised, you can have a read of my interview with Franck Dion, whose film The Head Vanishes was one of my personal highlights of the festival that had the good manners to win the Short Film Cristal!
I also note with glee that another top pick, Theo Ushev's Blind Vaysha, received not only the Jury Prize but the Children's Jury Prize - you can have a read of my recent interview with him about that project here.
Another Cristal winner (also picking up an Audience Award) was the gorgeous feature film My Life as a Courgette by Claude Barras. While it initially lured a lot of festivalgoers in simply by looking pretty, when word got around about just how amazing it was on the whole the remaining screenings sold out pretty quickly. You can have a read of my attempt to put my own enthusiasm about it into words in my review, which went up today.
Also discussed previously, I was able to chat with Canadian filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming about her feature-length NFB production Window Horses, brought to life by an assortment of top Canadian animation talent such as Kevin Langdale and Janet Perlman. It's a lovely film and a tremendous showcase of different animation approaches and styles, so keep an eye out for it.
The latest episode of the podcast is our first to be recorded from the festival's gathering ground for inebriate tourists, Captain Pub. Give it a listen to hear about my travel woes, an interview with Chris Renaud (director of The Secret Life of Pets, which saw its premiere at Annecy on Thursday) plus Katie and Julia join us to discuss Annecy's good sportsmanship traditions. Download here, subscribe or stream below:
Later on in the week we did our first ever live vodcast via the Skwigly Facebook page, where myself, Steve and Katie discuss some of the highlights of the fest as well as the grim fate that befell our Marketing Director Aaron.
I also swung by the Toon Boom booth at MIFA to catch up and found myself being interviewed about Skwigly, the festival and my upcoming book Independent Animation. You can give it a watch below:
On our last day I met the world's biggest Klementhro fans, one of whom being acclaimed Lithuanian animator and caricaturist Ilja Bereznickas who was keen to immortalise me, throwing in some references to the film (cheers to Steve for documenting).
Will post again soon with more good stuff from the fest, in the meantime check out the full list of special prize recipients and award winners from this year's edition!
It's been a while since I last rounded up some non-podcast Skwigly interviews, so sit back and settle in for some good readin'. From here in the old U of K there's a Q'n'A with Nexus director Jack Cunningham, discussing recent projects including the animated musings of performer and writer Rashida Jones. This is part of California Inspires Me, an extended project focusing on a variety of Californian artists that also include Kim Gordon, Jack Black and Brian Wilson among others.
I'm also very happy to catch up with Theodore Ushev, who I previously interviewed about his excellent 20th Century Trilogy and art installation work. Since then the work he has been producing include two films that manage to be both identifiable as his style yet curiously disparate - Sonámbulo, a bright and energetic celebration of music, romance and art - and Blood Manifesto, an uncompromising and harsh poem animated literally in his own blood. Very possibly some sweat and tears mixed in there, too.
The latter of Theodore's new films is an NFB production, as is Sheldon Cohen's unplanned return to the medium of animated short filmmaking My Heart Attack. Inspired by real-life events, it's a fascinating look at not just the turmoil of cardiac arrest but also the unexpectedly traumatic road to recovery following invasive surgery. Animation buffs will doubtless know Sheldon from his classic NFB short The Sweater and it was a real privilege to get some time with him.
The same goes for Dutch-Canadian animator Paul Driessen, who has been making amazing animated shorts for four decades including the recent Oedipus, Cat Meets Dog and my personal favourite The Boy Who Saw The Iceberg. Here he elaborates on his working process, the changing landscape of short films, the difference between animating at the NFB and the Netherlands and his beginnings on George Dunning's The Yellow Submarine.
Another recent interview to go up is with American animator, comic artist and game designer Doug TenNapel, one of my more direct formal influences via such 90s game classics as the Earthworm Jim series which featured the best traditionally-informed sprite animation there had ever been up to that point. He's discussing his latest project Armikrog, a stop-motion adventure game that was released this week to much anticipation and I'm looking forward to devoting some weekend hours to it.
Extended versions of some of the above will be making their way onto the Skwigly Podcast in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes and ears open for 'em!
Like most Canadians with dignity and self-regard, I'm still reeling from the tragic news of Pauline Marois bowing out. Always a sad day when you see the back of level-headed charmers like her.
While one of the low points of my recent Montreal visit was learning just how terrifying the degree to which certain brands of separatist nonsense had been tolerated, it did remind me that my actual reason for being there was to focus on the more positive state of the arts over there. The initial plan was to put together a Skwigly documentary on the National Film Board of Canada based on their proposed 2014 animation output, but in the intervening four months some of their plans have been shuffled around a bit, so I'm currently rethinking the best way to get the footage out there. As a number of their upcoming films are now all set to debut months apart I'm thinking something more episodic and filmmaker-specific would best suit, so stay tuned.
In the meantime some of the written NFB director interviews are already up, such as Claire Blanchet who directed the fabulous film noir short The End of Pinky, adapted from a short story by Heather o'Neill and which uses 3D stereoscopy to amazing effect; As well as fellow up-and-comer Emmanuelle Loslier, whose own short Inspector Street evokes the surreal humour of Jan Svankmajer, Walerian Borowczyk and PES, amongst others. I also teamed up with Laura-Beth for an interview with Theodore Ushev on his fabulous Gloria Victoria, the final installment in his 20th Century Trilogy, and got a chance to speak with Michelle Kranot, co-director of the fabulous Hollow Land, a story of misjudged assimilation which marries 2D theory with stop-motion puppets.
Most recently is an exclusive chat with current NFB Executive Producer Michael Fukushima, a supremely friendly and well-dressed fellow who I feel very privileged to have gotten some time with. There are many more similar interviews in the chamber which will hopefully be up soon, not to mention part two of our 2013 Festival Special which is sitting in
After Effects, ready to be rendered out. I'm just waiting on some
final permissions for footage so knock wood it won't be much longer.
Lastly, for all you consumers out there who, much like myself, still have that lingering impulse to keep your cultural interests on display in big lovely boxes, I've put up a review of the NFB's spectacular DVD set Norman McLaren: The Master's Edition which puts together seven discs' worth of films and documentaries. The set's a few years old now but given that April is the kick-off month of numerous McLaren centenary celebrations it seemed worth a nod.
