Mix tape running down. Bauhaus. The Jesus and Mary Chain. The Doors.
FM automatically pops on and a baritone whisper fills the car. At first we laugh at the pretentiousness (we should know), the constructed "artiness". This was the sort of thing people made fun of. After a minute or two we are consumed by the voice, swallowed whole, transformed.
That was my first experience with Joe Frank. My first time being moved intellectually and emotionally by a work of art.
A few months later I witnessed my then girlfriend, now brilliant, Dr. Andrea Brady perform the lead in a high school production of "The Skin of Our Teeth". I was beginning understand what it meant to be effected by a work of art.
That's what David O'Reilly's "Please Say Something" is like.
All of those things I've complained about in animated films. They're all missing here.
These weird looking digital characters behave in profoundly real and human ways. It's a remarkable piece of work and by far the brightest spot to date of this year's festival.
Shorts Competition Three was a very strong program overall. Chris Robinson opened with a short speech and call to action right out of Art Bell's lexicon "Wanna take a ride?"
Each piece was interesting and entertaining. Strong on its own, and supportive of the others in the lineup. Despite the male dominated program (only 1 out of 19 films was made by a woman), the content was machismo free.
The morning's Meet the Filmmakers was again well attended. Again it started late, this time resulting in two or three of the attending filmmakers getting overlooked.
The rest of the day was divided between work and "The Animator's Pinic".
1 comment:
Ah, and I suspect Linda and I were laughing about you? No, surely not.
Loved the two O'Reilly films and Black Dog's Progress. Potent.
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