NW Animation Fest this weekend!

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Portland is home to the largest animation festival in the US. The NW Animation Fest is happening this coming weekend at Hollywood Theatre. It has over 150 films and is billed as "a variety show that celebrates the best new work from independent animators around the globe."

The clip below is a trailer for the "Best of..." showing which took place last fall. But it gives you an idea of the quality of the films. 

The festival runs for two days and three nights. You can click on the links for each slot below to see more information about the films. The Hollywood Theatre link includes ticket purchase - and there is a discount for buying a festival pass.

Catch them all, or catch a few. It will delight and entertain. Visual storytelling! ...and more, of course... As an example of the information available for each time slot, I've copied in the highlights for Friday night below. Each link will take you to that day and time's lineup.

Friday Night 7/17  

Opening night includes nearly 30 astonishing short films. Here's some of what you'll see: A thief who steals famous paintings, eats them, and is physically transformed by what he consumes… Two cavemen in search of a fabled mathematical dinosaur… A romance of amoebas, as witnessed through the lens of a microscope… A young New Yorker who finds the girl of his dreams with help from an army of enchanted paper airplanes… The death and rebirth of a flying piano… A mad entomologist, whose discovery of a strange horned beetle allows him to change perception of time. Featured films include "Pythagasaurus," from the makers of Wallace & Gromit - and this year's Oscar-winner for Best Animated Short, "Paperman."

Saturday Afternoon  

Saturday Night

Sunday Afternoon

Sunday Night







...trailer for the Fall 2012 "Best of NW Animation Fest" showing...


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Film: Scarlet Star Studios Christmas Tradition - Toby

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I love this Christmas video. It's been a tradition for Scarlet Star Studios to send out this video, "Toby's Christmas Miracle." It's fun. It's made by a couple of really cool and fun and very smart, creative people.

I wanted to share the smile.

I hope the season is being kind and there is much joy and cause for celebration in life right now. Yes, I know times are not easy for many people for many reasons. I know there is darkness in the world and suffering. And I know that gratitude practice is important, too. As well as not being consumed by the darkness.

May this video bring you moments of light and hope. And a smile.

And thank you, Gretchin and Sven, for its creation and the sharing.


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animation break

This wonderful animation dance just crossed through my Google Reader and I thought it would make a nice break. It's short and sweet. Well done, Sven! Very smooth and clever and entertaining. I'd watch a longer segment (*hint *hint).

I also want to say that I think it's awesome that Sven takes annual birthday vacations and that it is creative time! Yay, Sven. (This was created on his birthday vacation.)

From Sven:

For my birthday, I took a "staycation" in the studio. For a few days, I got to eat, breath, and sleep stopmo.

I've been wanting to try choreographing a puppet dance. I managed to build a new puppet, compose a song, and work out some steps. Time ran short, though, so I only got five seconds on film.

You can read the rest of what he wrote at The Scarlet Letters.





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Fertile Ground: New Short Plays

A friend's new short plays are being presented this coming Friday, as a part of Fertile Ground. Unfortunately, I'm working; but I want to spread the word so you can go if you can. New plays! Wonderful.

WHEN: Friday, January 29 @ 12:30 noon
WHAT: PG2 Presents: The Work of Sven Bonnichsen, Amy Doherty and Marguerite Scott
WHERE: Gerding Theater at the Armory. 128 NW 11th Ave, Hothouse stage (on the mezzanine), Portland, Oregon
TICKETS: $5 - tickets available at the door

DESCRIPTION:
Portland Gallery Playwright’s Group presents a variety of short plays from Amy Doherty, Sven Bonnichsen and Marguerite Scott.

Sven gives us two offerings: The Buried Piano and The Astronaut and the Nude. In the first, a girl is reunited with a family friend while a massive party for her father’s election bid booms in the distance and a recently unearthed, antique piano rests near their feet. The second play is a metaphysical exploration of marriage, nakedness and the cosmos.

In Amy Doherty’s A Touch of Cleveland, we (along with the cardboard cutouts that look on) are party to a Laundromat encounter between two people, each awkward in their own way.

Marguerite Scott’s The Ugly Duckling demonstrates the opportunities that come (and go) with plastic surgery.

ABOUT THE “DOWN & DIRTY AT 12:30” LUNCHTIME READING SERIES
This breezy, casual box lunch reading series will have you spending your lunch hour at the Armory listening to short segments of plays-in-progress and sharing your reactions with the playwrights. Pre-made box lunches will be available through the Armory Café- no brown bag required!

For more: http://www.fertilegroundpdx.org/lunchtime_reading_series.html

ABOUT FERTILE GROUND
Fertile Ground 2010 is a 10-day arts festival that will be held January 22 through February 2 in Portland, Oregon. This city-wide festival is focused on new work in the Arts. It will feature up to 30 world premiere projects, staged readings and a myriad of other arts events from the Portland creative community. From fully staged world premieres in theatre, to ensemble and collaborative driven work, dance, comedy, visual art and film…this festival spans the spectrum of creative endeavor and seeds the next generation of creation through artist conversations, workshops, lunchtime readings and more.

For more: www.fertilegroundpdx.org