Animated Events: DFT Animation Club - Sita Sings the Blues

It's July, and the animated film for this month's' "DFT Animation Club" screening at the Detroit Institute of Arts will be Nina Paley's masterpiece: Sita Sings the Blues.

This film will be screened twice over the weekend of July 15th and 16th. Details below are from the DIA's website:

"Sita Sings the Blues

Saturday, July 15, 2017 - 2:00 PM
Sunday, July 16, 2017 - 2:00 PM
(USA/2008—directed by Nina Paley)

Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved husband; Nina is a modern-day animator separated from her husband when he moves to India. Bickering shadow puppets act as comic narrators as these old and new stories are interwoven in a post-modern retelling of the ancient Indian epic, Ramayana, animated in a dazzling mix of traditional and collage animation style, and backed by a soundtrack from legendary 1920's jazz singer Annette Hanshaw. The result is a wryly comic, highly sophisticated work of animation that is as enjoyable for young audiences as it is for adults. To experience Sita’s visual charms on anything less than the big screen would be to miss something truly special!

Recommended for ages 9 to adult. (82 min.)"


Tickets for this event can be found at the following link: http://www.dia.org/auxiliaries/event.aspx?id=6440&iid=7763&aux_id=14&cid=100.

Animated People: Erik Timmerman, pt. 1

As longtime readers know, on June 30th I like to write about my friend and mentor Erik Timmerman who passed away on this date back in 2000. Well this year, I'm going to do something different. Instead of sharing a fond memory of Erik or a life lesson he taught me, over the next two months I'm going to write about a personal project involving Erik's filmmaking.

The Roadworks project that I'll be discussing was borne out of a two-fold desire to continue reinforcing many of my memories of Erik in my own mind as well as creating a greater remembrance of my friend such that his contribution to his students' lives, in addition to the animation program at Rochester Institute of Technology, will be known by the students who come afterwards and never forgotten by those of us who knew him personally.

In order to do this, I'm going to ramble a bit about the steps that brought me and this multi-year project to it's current phase of development--and hopefully, it'll be completed sooner rather than later so I can share it in greater detail.

So tune in next month for part two of this blog post, titled "Roadworks", as I talk about the only experimental film Erik produced during his time a R.I.T. and my attempts to rescue it from obscurity.

Animated Events: DFT Animation Club - My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea

It's Summer and the Detroit Institute's "DFT Animation Club" will be showing three animated films over the next three months. The first is My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea, scheduled for June 18th.

From the DIA Website:

"Sunday, June 18, 2017: 2:00 PM
Sunday, June 18, 2017: 4:00 PM
(USA/2016—directed by Dash Shaw)

From acclaimed graphic novelist Dash Shaw (New School) comes an audacious debut that is equal parts disaster cinema, high school comedy and blockbuster satire, told through a dream-like mixed media animation style. Dash (Jason Schwartzman) and his best friend Assaf (Reggie Watts) are preparing for another year of working on their widely-distributed but little-read school newspaper, when Dash learns of a cover-up by the school administration’s that puts all the students in danger. Hailed as “the most original animated film of the year” (IndieWire), it reminds us how the high school experience continues to shape who we become, even in the most unusual of circumstances."

Recommended for ages 13 to adult. (77 minutes)"

Tickets for this event can be found at the following link: http://www.dia.org/auxiliaries/event.aspx?id=6439&iid=7762&aux_id=14&cid=100.