The Artist Airidescence is a multimedia anarchist creator whose work has picked up significant attention on social media. Their ongoing anarchist raccoon art series has been popular enough to warrant sold out print runs on Etsy. Recently, in collaboration with scholar Zoe Baker, they have produced an animated short film entitled Pastries, Freedom, Love: A Malatesta Story based on […]
Søren Discusses Animation with The Talk Film Society
A few months ago, I had a chance to make a guest appearance with The Talk Film Society podcast. It was an incredibly fun conversation that covered everything from Song of the Sea and the state of international animation to Sing Street and more. You can find TFS on Soundcloud here or subscribe on iTunes (click here for Hey Whatcha Watchin). […]
Tomm Moore, Writer/Director of Song of the Sea and The Secret of Kells
There is a certain magic to animation that allows filmmakers to bring our imagination to life. Even live action films depend on these techniques through CGI and other means to help us visualize fantastical versions of our own reality. This outlook drives Tomm Moore, one of the filmmakers behind The Secret of Kells (2009) and Song of the Sea (2014). After starting […]
Thibault’s Top Movies of 2014
2014 was a great year for the cinema industry from a critical standpoint, even if it was a terrible year business-wise. Failing box office returns were almost a good thing; I enjoyed the quieter transitional period for U.S. film before we head into a year laden with mega-franchises (Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Avengers, etc.). I discovered comparatively smaller movies in that time, […]
Stephen Stanton of Life Itself, The 7D and The Legend of Korra
Director Steve James still gets questions about how he got Roger Ebert to record narration for Life Itself. But as he always tells the audience, that isn’t really Mr. Ebert talking – it’s Stephen Stanton. While you may not have heard of him, you’ve almost certainly heard his voice. Mr. Stanton is a renowned voice actor who has lent […]
Spotlight on Tete’s rain town
The first time I saw rain town, I knew I had stumbled on the work of a master animator. It was like nothing I had ever seen. Although it exhibits some clear Japanese influence, rain town also echoes the foggy collage style of both Yuriy Norshteyn and award-winning writer/illustrator Ezra Jack Keats (Snowy Day, Whistle for Willie). Without words and without […]
The Wind Rises
Wind is fickle. One day it erodes mountains, and the next it softly grazes your cheek. It bends the largest trees, but then offers quiet respite on a hot day. Harnessed, it can be the substance of power, offering utility to humanity. But left to its wild nature, wind can devastate and kill. Humanity is […]
Nausicaä of the Desert of the Real
This piece examines the thematic relationship between Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and the Wachowski siblings’ The Matrix. Needles to say, beware of spoilers. In 1984, one year before the founding of the legendary Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki’s first major directorial effort was released. Nausicaä of the Valley of […]
