In Guillermo del Toro's acceptance speech for his adaptation of "Pinnochio" winning the Best Animated Film Award at the 2023 Oscars, he brought up a talking point that animation fans have been preaching for years: animation is a medium, not a genre. This is why there is such a rich, diverse landscape of entertainment provided by animation, and why it's wrong to simply write off the medium as "kid's stuff." Sure, animation has been the medium from which countless children's entertainment classics came to life, but it's also a place where complex, adult stories featuring characters that are seldom shown in live-action can be told. It's likewise a medium that thrives in varying lengths of time.
It's no surprise when a big-budget action blockbuster crosses the two-hour mark for its runtime, and it's almost expected if a film is coming from an "auteur" director. But considering the majority of Western...
It's no surprise when a big-budget action blockbuster crosses the two-hour mark for its runtime, and it's almost expected if a film is coming from an "auteur" director. But considering the majority of Western...
- 5/31/2023
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Chicago – The opportunity to sample new filmmakers is one of the true pleasures of the 50th Chicago International Film Festival, and this year’s crop of City & State short films, made in either Chicago or Illinois, was no exception. Directors Lonnie Edwards, Joel Benjamin, Meghann Artes and Robert Carnilius represented the area.
Lonnie Edwards, Director of “Parietal Guidance”
Parietal Guidance
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
“Parietal Guidance” was a shot across the bow of the difficulties facing certain neighborhoods in Chicago told through the filter of a young girl just trying to walk home without harassment.
HollywoodChicago.com: What was the incident, or series of incidences, that inspired your film?
Lonnie Edwards: I’m a single father, and take my kids to school every morning. I just started to observe interactions between them and other kids. And while my kids and I are close, there are some things...
Lonnie Edwards, Director of “Parietal Guidance”
Parietal Guidance
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
“Parietal Guidance” was a shot across the bow of the difficulties facing certain neighborhoods in Chicago told through the filter of a young girl just trying to walk home without harassment.
HollywoodChicago.com: What was the incident, or series of incidences, that inspired your film?
Lonnie Edwards: I’m a single father, and take my kids to school every morning. I just started to observe interactions between them and other kids. And while my kids and I are close, there are some things...
- 10/22/2014
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, the Chicago International Film Festival, is making a special effort to mark the occasion, with a gala gathering of name talents (Liv Ullmann, Oliver Stone, Kathleen Turner and Isabelle Huppert, among others) and many retrospective classics to spotlight the festival’s storied history. But I am, as always, more intrigued by what new and exciting discoveries are to be found in the competition lineups; after all, this is the longest-running competitive festival in North America, and its lineups have routinely yielded films that end up on my top ten lists (last year: The Missing Picture; the year before: Consuming Spirits). The three major competition lineups for this year each yielded two clear standout titles, adding up to my six must-see films of the festival. They may not have the collective star power of the festival’s marquee events, but then again, they don’t need it.
- 10/10/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
Celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, the Chicago International Film Festival, is making a special effort to mark the occasion, with a gala gathering of name talents (Liv Ullmann, Oliver Stone, Kathleen Turner and Isabelle Huppert, among others) and many retrospective classics to spotlight the festival’s storied history. But I am, as always, more intrigued by what new and exciting discoveries are to be found in the competition lineups; after all, this is the longest-running competitive festival in North America, and its lineups have routinely yielded films that end up on my top ten lists (last year: The Missing Picture; the year before: Consuming Spirits). The three major competition lineups for this year each yielded two clear standout titles, adding up to my six must-see films of the festival. They may not have the collective star power of the festival’s marquee events, but then again, they don’t need it.
- 10/10/2014
- Keyframe
I first became aware of Chris Sullivan’s epic experimental animation Consuming Spirits while trolling the Tribeca Film Festival website, searching for cutting-edge work that might play well in the wild southwest. (I served as the director of programming for the 2012 edition of the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival.) Needless to say, Sullivan’s painstakingly handcrafted, novelistic tale of darkly intersecting lives at a small town newspaper – one that eschews any hint of flashy Disney for highly detailed Cassavetes – turned out to be both a must-see and a must-get for me. So I was pleased to recently have the …...
- 12/31/2012
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
by Vadim Rizov
The 14 years of labor put into Chris Sullivan's animated feature debut Consuming Spirits are always visible. It's the kind of doggedly personal, adult-oriented labor of love rarely seen, aside from efforts from higher-profile names like Jan Svankmajer or Don Hertzfeldt. The ambition is front and center with no knowledge of the production history, starting with the opening subtitle: "A Parable in 5 Chapters."
Consuming Spirits takes its time revealing how its three main characters are related. In a post-industrial rust belt small town nightmare somewhere in Appalachia's "Gerry Mander" county, radio host Earl Gray (Robert Levy) turns every installment of the presumably innocuous "Gardener's Corner" into a nightmarish parody of Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion," dredging up apocalyptic portent in response ordinary questions about how to interact with deer ("Beware this cloven messenger of hybrid knowledge") in between sponsorship plugs for Manure Pit and similarly forthrightly disgusting businesses.
The 14 years of labor put into Chris Sullivan's animated feature debut Consuming Spirits are always visible. It's the kind of doggedly personal, adult-oriented labor of love rarely seen, aside from efforts from higher-profile names like Jan Svankmajer or Don Hertzfeldt. The ambition is front and center with no knowledge of the production history, starting with the opening subtitle: "A Parable in 5 Chapters."
Consuming Spirits takes its time revealing how its three main characters are related. In a post-industrial rust belt small town nightmare somewhere in Appalachia's "Gerry Mander" county, radio host Earl Gray (Robert Levy) turns every installment of the presumably innocuous "Gardener's Corner" into a nightmarish parody of Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion," dredging up apocalyptic portent in response ordinary questions about how to interact with deer ("Beware this cloven messenger of hybrid knowledge") in between sponsorship plugs for Manure Pit and similarly forthrightly disgusting businesses.
- 12/14/2012
- GreenCine Daily
The term 'labor of love' can aptly be applied to Chris Sullivan's animation saga, Consuming Spirits, which celebrated its world premiere at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. Over a 15 year period, Sullivan shot the film frame by frame in 16mm, moving effortlessly among a variety of animation styles - pencil drawing, collages, stop-motion animation and more - to create his own signature style. Sullivan combines these dazzling images with a complex and intricate narrative that weaves the lives of three connected spirits - Earl Gray, Gentian Violet, and Victor Blue - who all dwell in the rustic town of Gardener's Corners. Channeling a bleak sense of Americana, Sullivan blends his haunting storylines with a strange sense of underlying tenderness. Deliberately paced and visually stunning, Consuming Spirits is unlike anything you have experienced. Consuming Spirits opens Wednesday, Dec 12 at Film Forum and will run until Tuesday, December 25. On this occasion, Tribeca...
- 12/12/2012
- TribecaFilm.com
Click here for complete coverage of the Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff 2012)
France, Germany, Hungary, Canada, Israel And The United States
Take Home The Gold
The 48th Chicago International Festival announces the winners of its competitions
news release
Chicago (October 19, 2012) – Michael Kutza, Founder and Artistic Director, Mimi Plauché, Programming Director, and Programmers Alex Kopecky and Penny Bartlett proudly announce the winners of the 48th Chicago International Film Festival Competitions.
French filmmaker Leos Carax’s exuberant and euphoric Holy Motors leads this extraordinary group of films with three awards. Carax’s first film, Boy Meets Girl, premiered in Chicago in 1984 as part of the 20th Chicago International Film Festival’s International Competition.
Many of the winners will be showcased during the Festival’s Best of the Fest program, Wednesday, October 24 at the AMC River East 21 (322 E. Illinois St.). The Festival runs until Thursday October 25 when Closing Night film Flight (our review...
France, Germany, Hungary, Canada, Israel And The United States
Take Home The Gold
The 48th Chicago International Festival announces the winners of its competitions
news release
Chicago (October 19, 2012) – Michael Kutza, Founder and Artistic Director, Mimi Plauché, Programming Director, and Programmers Alex Kopecky and Penny Bartlett proudly announce the winners of the 48th Chicago International Film Festival Competitions.
French filmmaker Leos Carax’s exuberant and euphoric Holy Motors leads this extraordinary group of films with three awards. Carax’s first film, Boy Meets Girl, premiered in Chicago in 1984 as part of the 20th Chicago International Film Festival’s International Competition.
Many of the winners will be showcased during the Festival’s Best of the Fest program, Wednesday, October 24 at the AMC River East 21 (322 E. Illinois St.). The Festival runs until Thursday October 25 when Closing Night film Flight (our review...
- 10/22/2012
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
Chicago – The 2012 48th Annual Chicago International Film Festival and Michael Kutza, Founder and Artistic Director, announced the competition award winners at a ceremony in the ballroom of the Renaissance Blackstone Hotel on October 19th, 2012. The Gold Hugo for Best Film went to “Holy Motors,” from France and Germany.
Kutza made the announcements along with Mimi Plauché, Head of Programming, Programmers Alex Kopecky and Penny Bartlett, plus members of the various juries who worked evaluating the competition. The historic Renaissance Blackstone Hotel was built on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue in the early 20th Century, and the ballroom was used in the film “The Untouchables” (1987). The Festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, named for the mythical God of Discovery.
International Feature Film Competition
’Holy Motors’
Photo Credit: © Chicago International Film Festival
The Gold Hugo for Best Film: “Holy Motors” (France/Germany), directed by Leos Carax
The Silver Hugo: “After Lucia...
Kutza made the announcements along with Mimi Plauché, Head of Programming, Programmers Alex Kopecky and Penny Bartlett, plus members of the various juries who worked evaluating the competition. The historic Renaissance Blackstone Hotel was built on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue in the early 20th Century, and the ballroom was used in the film “The Untouchables” (1987). The Festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, named for the mythical God of Discovery.
International Feature Film Competition
’Holy Motors’
Photo Credit: © Chicago International Film Festival
The Gold Hugo for Best Film: “Holy Motors” (France/Germany), directed by Leos Carax
The Silver Hugo: “After Lucia...
- 10/20/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – As the 48th Annual Chicago International Film Festival reaches its halfway point with its enormously anticipated centerpiece screening of Tom Tykwer, Andy and Lana Wachowski’s star-studded epic, “Cloud Atlas,” Hollywood Chicago will continue to single out an array of titles that are not to be missed. Here are the highlights covering October 15th to October 17th, 2012 (stay tuned on the 18th for more highlights).
The second installment of our Ciff 2012 preview includes an astonishing stop-motion epic from a Chicago animator, a brain-twisting and unapologetically sensual teen drama from Switzerland and the latest work from David Chase, best known as the creator of HBO’s hit crime series, “The Sopranos.” Chase is among the many filmmakers scheduled to attend the screenings of their own films, and it must be said that the post-film Q&As are often the brightest highlights for cinephiles.
Among the top tier of films screening...
The second installment of our Ciff 2012 preview includes an astonishing stop-motion epic from a Chicago animator, a brain-twisting and unapologetically sensual teen drama from Switzerland and the latest work from David Chase, best known as the creator of HBO’s hit crime series, “The Sopranos.” Chase is among the many filmmakers scheduled to attend the screenings of their own films, and it must be said that the post-film Q&As are often the brightest highlights for cinephiles.
Among the top tier of films screening...
- 10/15/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – The 48th Chicago International Film Festival has released the first 22 titles in its lineup to be screened from Thursday, October 11th, through Thursday, October 25th. Over 150 films from more than 50 countries are expected to be presented at this year’s festival.
One of the most buzzed-about titles on the roster is Ben Lewin’s “The Sessions,” which stars John Hawkes as a 36-year-old man in an iron lung who decides to lose his virginity by hiring a sex surrogate (Helen Hunt) with the help of his priest (William H. Macy). The film was a big hit at Sundance and received the Audience Award as well as the Special Jury Prize for ensemble acting. Another wildly anticipated picture is Leos Carax’s “Holy Motors,” which reportedly garnered the most divisive yet impassioned reactions of any selection at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Earning comparisons to the work of David Lynch,...
One of the most buzzed-about titles on the roster is Ben Lewin’s “The Sessions,” which stars John Hawkes as a 36-year-old man in an iron lung who decides to lose his virginity by hiring a sex surrogate (Helen Hunt) with the help of his priest (William H. Macy). The film was a big hit at Sundance and received the Audience Award as well as the Special Jury Prize for ensemble acting. Another wildly anticipated picture is Leos Carax’s “Holy Motors,” which reportedly garnered the most divisive yet impassioned reactions of any selection at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Earning comparisons to the work of David Lynch,...
- 8/23/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Every frame in Chris Sullivan's American Gothic saga aches and echoes from a place of unique artistry, meticulous craftsmanship and great imagination. And though most viewers will remember Consuming Spirits for its always inventive, lovingly hand-crafted animation, which consists of cut-out, collage, pencil-drawn and stop-motion models (think the opening of Mister Rogers or your granddad's old Lionel train town), the story Sullivan has laid out plays like a great American novel that has gone unpublished, unknown, almost impossible to share for its ramshackle density... yet somehow through the marvel of animation it comes to life. Perhaps it is a story that was passed down to Sullivan by a great aunt or grandfather on their death bed, or perhaps it was as simple as Sullivan taking...
- 4/25/2012
- Screen Anarchy
Consuming Spirits is a film unlike any other at the Tribeca Film Festival, and that isn’t just because it’s the only animated feature. Chris Sullivan’s multi-form tour de force of technique and style is a work that stands alone, an artistic achievement so ambitious that most other projects seem mundane in comparison. According to Tribeca’s website it took nearly 15 years to make the film, a saga evident in every last meticulously crafted detail. Yet at the same time, Consuming Spirits emerges so organically that at times it feels like watching dreams creep onto the screen from our own imaginations. But I’m getting ahead of myself. What exactly is Consuming Spirits? To start, it’s a film set in the Midwest, more accurately a bleak little town...
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- 4/25/2012
- by Daniel Walber
- Movies.com
Chris Sullivan was one of 12 kids growing up in the hills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania raised by a British mother and an Irish American father. Sullivan's been an artist since he was young, having started out as a painter and a ceramicist before moving onto animation and later film, video and performance. "Since my early twenties, my animation and performance work were very separate," said Sullivan. "'Consuming Spirits' is the first time I really let the language ideas that I have developed in my performance writing and my visual ideas in animation exist in the same work." What it's about: "Consuming Spirits" is an animated portrait of three characters in a rustbelt town, there interwoven present life, and their past history of, miracles and sins. Director Sullivan says: "I am a fiction filmmaker, as in a fiction writer. The ideas in my work start from writing, and then the...
- 4/9/2012
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
The 8th annual Brakhage Center Symposium has been programmed by curator Kathy Geritz and will examine the concept of experimental narrative over three days of screenings and lectures on March 16-18 at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Geritz has pulled together a program in which experimental films explore notions of narrative through diverse means, whether combining with documentary or animated elements, or through nonlinear structure, or through the direct experience of time. As Geritz hopes: “In these different ways, the films presented will challenge and expand our expectations as they push the boundaries of storytelling conventions.”
Some of the filmmakers who will be present at the symposium are animators Stacey Steers and Chris Sullivan, experimental documentary filmmaker Amie Siegel and Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who will be screening his 1987 acclaimed feature film Syndromes and a Century and the more recent short film Emerald (2007).
Also, film critic and historian J.
Geritz has pulled together a program in which experimental films explore notions of narrative through diverse means, whether combining with documentary or animated elements, or through nonlinear structure, or through the direct experience of time. As Geritz hopes: “In these different ways, the films presented will challenge and expand our expectations as they push the boundaries of storytelling conventions.”
Some of the filmmakers who will be present at the symposium are animators Stacey Steers and Chris Sullivan, experimental documentary filmmaker Amie Siegel and Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who will be screening his 1987 acclaimed feature film Syndromes and a Century and the more recent short film Emerald (2007).
Also, film critic and historian J.
- 3/12/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Marketing folks try anything to draw the widest audience possible so it's often hard to know the exact genre of a film until we've sat through it. With that knowledge we bring you the handful of horror films screening at this year's Tribeca Film Festival thus far...plus those that Might be.
The Tribeca Film Festival runs April 18th-29th in New York City. Visit the official Tribeca 2012 website for the full World Narrative, World Documentary, and Viewpoints lineups and more info; and keep your eyes on Dread Central for further film announcements (only the first half has been revealed thus far) and full event coverage!
World Narrative Competition
Beyond the Hill (Tepenin Ardi)
Directed and written by Emin Alper (Turkey, Greece)—North American Premiere
Faik, a proud old forester, is having trouble with nomads grazing their livestock on his land. For revenge, he and his hulking farm hand Mehmet...
The Tribeca Film Festival runs April 18th-29th in New York City. Visit the official Tribeca 2012 website for the full World Narrative, World Documentary, and Viewpoints lineups and more info; and keep your eyes on Dread Central for further film announcements (only the first half has been revealed thus far) and full event coverage!
World Narrative Competition
Beyond the Hill (Tepenin Ardi)
Directed and written by Emin Alper (Turkey, Greece)—North American Premiere
Faik, a proud old forester, is having trouble with nomads grazing their livestock on his land. For revenge, he and his hulking farm hand Mehmet...
- 3/7/2012
- by Nomad
- DreadCentral.com
Freshly announced as part of the Tribeca Viewpoints program, Chris Sullivan's animated feature Consuming Spirits is a passion project fifteen years in the making.Nearly 15 years in the making, Chris Sullivan's Consuming Spirits is a meticulously constructed tour de force of experimental animation. Shooting frame by frame in 16mm, Sullivan seamlessly blends together a range of techniques into a distinct, signature visual style. In the process, he constructs a hypnotic, layered narrative, a suspenseful gothic tale that tracks the intertwined lives of three kindred spirits working at a local newspaper in a Midwestern rust belt town.Take a look at the trailer below for a taste of a truly unusual project....
- 3/6/2012
- Screen Anarchy
2012 Tribeca Film Festival announced the World Narrative and Documentary Competition film selections
HollywoodNews.com: The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, today announced the World Narrative and Documentary Competition film selections, along with selections for the out-of-competition Viewpoints section—the program established last year that highlights personal stories in international and independent cinema. Forty-six of the 90 feature-length films were announced. The 11th edition of the Festival will take place from April 18 to April 29 at locations around New York City.
The Festival was curated by a new programming team this year. Frédéric Boyer has joined Tff as Artistic Director, having most recently served as Artistic Director and Head of Programming for the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. Geoffrey Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, has expanded his role in overseeing the Festival program. Genna Terranova has been promoted to Director of Programming and Cara Cusumano returns as Programmer.
“It’s been so gratifying to watch the new programming...
The Festival was curated by a new programming team this year. Frédéric Boyer has joined Tff as Artistic Director, having most recently served as Artistic Director and Head of Programming for the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. Geoffrey Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, has expanded his role in overseeing the Festival program. Genna Terranova has been promoted to Director of Programming and Cara Cusumano returns as Programmer.
“It’s been so gratifying to watch the new programming...
- 3/6/2012
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Tribeca Film Festival announced half of this year’s movie showcase, the 11th edition of the New York celebration set for April 18-29. James Franco’s behind-the-scenes General Hospital feature, Francophrenia, will have its North American premiere in the Viewpoints section – the program established last year that highlights more personal stories. “He’s kind of constructed this really interesting and well-crafted film about that experience that plays with the boundaries of documentary,” says Genna Terranova, Tribeca’s director of programming. “It’s a bit tongue in cheek, as James himself can be. He’s a bit enigmatic and the film is as well.
- 3/6/2012
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
With The Five-Year Engagement set as the opening title for the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, they’ve announced more of the line-up today with World Narrative & Documentary Features as the Viewpoint titles. We’ve got the next film from The Exploding Girl director Bradley Rust Gray, Jack and Diane (as well as a first look about featuring Juno Temple, thanks to Styd).
There is a new Harmony Korine short as well Kate Bosworth‘s While We Were Here and The Girl, starring Abbie Cornish. James Franco also has his latest film, Francophrenia, featuring footage from his performance on General Hospital. Nothing sticks out too greatly yet, but if I see something as interesting as Beyond the Black Rainbow or Magic Valley like last year, I’ll be a happy man. Check it out below and come back Thursday for the rest of the announcement.
World Narrative Feature Competition
• All In (La Suerte En Tus Manos...
There is a new Harmony Korine short as well Kate Bosworth‘s While We Were Here and The Girl, starring Abbie Cornish. James Franco also has his latest film, Francophrenia, featuring footage from his performance on General Hospital. Nothing sticks out too greatly yet, but if I see something as interesting as Beyond the Black Rainbow or Magic Valley like last year, I’ll be a happy man. Check it out below and come back Thursday for the rest of the announcement.
World Narrative Feature Competition
• All In (La Suerte En Tus Manos...
- 3/6/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
SXSW kicks off later this week, but once your done slurping the BBQ sauce off your fingers, pack your backs and head north to Manhattan as the Tribeca Film Festival is gearing up to unspool in April. To whet cinephile appetites, organizers have dropped the lineup for the World Narrative Feature Competition, World Documentary Feature Competition and Viewpoints lineups and there are plenty of titles to take note of.
Among the narratives, the anticipated "Jack And Diane" from Bradley Rust Gray will make its world premiere. Starring Juno Temple and Riley Keough, the film takes a teenage lesbian love tale and twists the formula, with one of them revealing she's a werewolf. Add to that a cast rounded out by Dane DeHaan, Jena Malone and pop star Kylie Minogue (as a tattooed lesbian, of course) and you can see why this will be one of the hottest tickets at the fest.
Among the narratives, the anticipated "Jack And Diane" from Bradley Rust Gray will make its world premiere. Starring Juno Temple and Riley Keough, the film takes a teenage lesbian love tale and twists the formula, with one of them revealing she's a werewolf. Add to that a cast rounded out by Dane DeHaan, Jena Malone and pop star Kylie Minogue (as a tattooed lesbian, of course) and you can see why this will be one of the hottest tickets at the fest.
- 3/6/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
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