01:00pm: Walt Disney's Alice Comedies
A little girl filmed in live action and placed in a cartoon world -- that's how Walt Disney established his Hollywood studio, producing 56 of these shorts between 1923 and 1927. SFIAF partners with the newly opened Walt Disney Family Museum to present a selection of these charming films. The program will be presented by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman, authors of Walt in Wonderland and Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies. Experts on the early period of Walt Disney's filmmaking, Merritt and Kaufman have chosen a number of representative Alice films, and will elucidate their significance, style and practice. These lovely Alice films are rarely screened in theaters, and with learned, enthusiastic Disney historians on hand, this program will appeal to families, Disney buffs and general audiences alike.
03:15pm: Super Massive Suspension: Nate Boyce vs. Amy Hicks
The animation catalogs of Amy Hicks and Nate Boyce will be on display in this (not so competitive) animation throwdown. It's no secret that the San Francisco Bay Area is home to some of the world's biggest, highest-profile animation studios, visual FX producers and animators, from Pixar and Lucasfilm to Image Movers, PDI and Tippett Studios. Still, many independent animators continue to work and push the boundaries of animation from both creative and technical perspectives. Amy Hicks and Nate Boyce represent two wildly differing approaches to animation, while retaining an independent ethos of personal creativity that is inspiring and challenging. Hicks uses stop-motion techniques and optical printing to produce humorous and alluring short films, while Nate Boyce uses degraded video footage and the muse of electronic music to produce intense and vibrant works of abstract color. This program is intended to shine a light on internationally recognized fine artists working in our own backyard. Included will be Hicks' readaptations of Jaws and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Boyce's collaborative animations with the musicians Eat Tapes and Martin Schmidt of Matmos.
05:45pm: The Best of Annecy
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from "For Sock's Sake" |
In "The Employment" a hapless commuter encounters a bizarre world in which people are used as objects (Santiago Grasso, Argentina, 7 min.). "Ex-E.T."; A playful and rather perverted child causes trouble on an alien planet where order and steadiness reign (Benoit Bargeton, Yannick Lasfas, Rémy Froment, Nicolas Gracia, France, 9 min.).
"Chick"; A humorous true-life story about male-female relations (Michal Socha, Poland, 5 min.). "Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage" Recounting the journey of a Western traveler confronted with Madagascan Famadihana traditions (Bastien Dubois, France, 12 min.). "Western Spaghett";i A novel way of preparing pasta (Pes, USA, 2 min). "Slaves"; Like thousands of other children, Abouk and Machiek were taken by the government-sponsored militia in Sudan and used as slaves (Hanna Heilborn, David Aronowitsch, Sweden, 16 min.).
"The Man in the Blue Gordini"; In an imaginary suburb at the end of the 1970s, it's customary to wear neither underpants nor trousers, only orange tops (Jean-Chrisophe, France, 10 min.). "For Sock's Sake"; A sock escapes from the washing line and finds adventure at a nightclub (Carlo Vogele, France, 5 min.). " Please Say Something"; A troubled relationship between a cat and a mouse in the distant future (David O'Reilly, Germany/Ireland, 10 min.). "Log Jam: The Log, The Rain, The Moon, The Snake"; Deep in the forest, three animals love nothing more than freestyle jammin' with their customized instruments. The bear's on bass, there's a howlin' wolf, and the rabbit provides the beats -- with his head (Alexey Alexeev, Hungary, 4 min.). Total Runtime: 80 minutes.
07:45pm: Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai
(Miyamoto Musashi: Sōken ni haseru yume; Japan 2009)
{United States Premiere}
Directed by Mizuho Nishikubo
Quite likely the first anime-style documentary, this wholly unique film penned by master anime director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, The Sky Crawlers) is set in Japan's early Edo period during the early 17th Century and focuses on the real-life events surrounding the development of the Niten Ichi-ryu (a classical style of Japanese swordsmanship) by Musashi Miyamoto. Oshii playfully questions the tale's -- and his own film's -- veracity, weaving together facts and myths while alternating between reverence and silliness in his treatment of events and exaggerations about the "the seeker of the way of the invincible sword" in this refreshingly offbeat look at militarism and machismo.
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09:30pm: Play It by Eye
This year's program of recent animated music videos -- always a Festival favorite -- mixes established vets including Roboshobo, Sean Pecknold and Joel Trussell with up-and-comers such as Claire Carré and design stalwart Frater.
Autokratz: "Stay the Same" (Laurie Thinot, England, 4 min.). Big Mistake: "Tim Fite" (Claire Carré, USA, 4 min.). The Cribs: "Mirror Kisses" (Diamond Dogs, Canada/USA, 4 min.). Feist: "Honey Honey" (Anthony Seck, Canada, 4 min.). Fleet Foxes: "White Winter Hymnal" (Sean Pecknold, USA, 3 min.). The Fray: "Heartless" (Hiro Murai, USA, 5 min.). Grizzly Bear: "While You Wait for the Others" (Sean Pecknold, USA, 5 min.). The Gossip: "Love Long Distance" (Joel Trussel, USA, 4 min.). In-Flight Safety: "Model Homes" (Drew Lightfoot, USA, 5 min.). Ladyhawke: "My Delirium" (Frater, France, 5 min.). Love Like Fire: "William" (Zach Keller, USA, 5 min.). Metallica: "All Nightmare Long" (Roboshobo, USA, 9 min.). Linda Perhacs: "Paper Mountain Man" (Kelly Sears, USA, 4 min.). Passion Pit: "The Reeling" (Hydra, USA, 5 min.). Rex the Dog: "Bubblicious" (Geoffrey deCercy, England, 4 min.). Britney Spears: "Break the Ice" (Robert Hales, USA, 4 min.). Timbaland with The Hives: "Throw It on Me" (Justin Francis, USA, 4 min.). Total Runtime: 77 minutes.