Binocular Briefs – October 2023
The latest survey of under-the-radar animated shorts currently travelling the festival circuit or new to online viewing.
The latest survey of under-the-radar animated shorts currently travelling the festival circuit or new to online viewing.
A monthly survey of under-the-radar animated shorts currently travelling the festival circuit or new to online viewing.
AWN’s monthly survey of under-the-radar animated shorts currently travelling the festival circuit or new to online viewing - since we’re sorta on the border between past and future festivals, here’s a look at some recent festival works that are now available for your viewing pleasure.
In his triumphant return to the exotic world of Pandora, director James Cameron once again employs the most vibrant and stunning visual artistry to share with audiences his central theme of diversity.
This year’s selection of 10 shorts, including films by Patrick Smith, Gil Alkabetz, and Oscar winner Frederic Back, showcases a variety of techniques and tones in a celebration of unconventional approaches to the medium.
The Oscar-winning director’s timely masterpiece about a father and son finally united in the simple knowledge, and unconditional acceptance, that each of them is who he is, reminds us that acceptance of diversity is vitally important, perhaps more now than ever before.
AWN’s monthly survey of animated shorts making the festival circuit rounds includes ‘A Tiny Man,’ ‘Sliver Cave,’ ‘Slow Light,’ ‘#BINARYGENDERNORM: GIRLS,’ and ‘Magical Caresses - Masturbation: A Short Story of a Great Taboo.’
Sorry we’re late – publisher lameness to blame – AWN’s monthly animated shorts survey includes ‘Cash In, Cash Out,’ ‘Dog Apartment,’ ‘Luce and the Rock,’ ‘Safe Mode: Lana Among the Lilies,’ and ‘Scale.’
Angus MacLane and Pixar’s nostalgic space adventure celebrates the best of sci-fi cinema while also smartly embracing contemporary issues including representation.
Netflix’s animated short anthology uses every trick in the book – from disturbing grotesquery to quirky humor – to explore humanity’s overriding fear of death, ultimately shining an enriching light on our daily existence and what it means to be human.
Timo Viljakainen’s book of photographs is a testament to the inner world of the artist and a celebration of the international animation community.
Transformation lies at the heart of Pixar’s latest hit film, a coming-of-age story about a young Chinese girl in Toronto who must break away from all she has known to either accept, or reject, the actual beast inside her.
Experiencing life as the underdog - an outsider - teaches us empathy and a greater understanding of ourselves, our loved ones, and the critical connections that bind us together.
Employing a delicate balance between foreshadowing and surprise twists, director Jorge R. Gutierrez achieves a sweet clarity of storytelling in his nine-chapter series about a Mesoamerican-inspired warrior princess on an epic quest to fulfill an ancient prophecy and save humanity from the vengeful gods of the underworld.
Fueled by a cascade of original Lin-Manuel Miranda songs, Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix’s animated musical adventure is a celebration of life and love powered by energetic music and dance.
AWN’s Miscweant examines Dash Shaw’s new animated feature film, set in ‘surreal’ 1967, about an activist group trying to protect supernatural cryptids from amoral government agents.
Enrico Casarosa’s heartwarming story of a shy young sea monster, whose insatiable curiosity helps him discover the magic in the everyday, is as complex as the ocean is deep.
Veteran animation director and author David B. Levy discusses his newly updated book that’s a must-have for anyone hoping to plan, launch, or refocus their animation career.
Two parents’ sudden, heartbreaking loss becomes ours in Michael Govier and Will McCormack’s animated short that ultimately fulfills us with the healing power of hope.
Directors Pete Docter and Kemp Powers invite audiences to ponder their own life choices, forging a link between storyteller and spectator that reaffirms the emotional power of cinema.
This beautifully designed film, a story of conflict between civilization and nature, stands in defiance of individualism, reminding us that despite our own strength and resolve, we still need the energy and healing power of the community.
If the goal of the studio’s SparkShorts incubator program is to identify young artists who have directing potential, then producing this wonderful film was an overwhelming success.
Makoto Shinkai’s latest is an aesthetically pleasing animated tapestry with characters and relationships that are funny, dramatic and real.
Japan catches up with the Middle-Earth anime that most of the world has already written off as a flop – AWN’s anime columnist Andrew Osmond was there to see it.
Anime columnist Andrew Osmond discusses the recent smash series and how its production studio worked with ‘Scott Pilgrim’ and Naoko Yamada.
Journalist and animation expert Andrew Osmond returns to AWN’s pages after almost 20 years, explaining his reshaped attitude - from skeptic to convert – towards anime while sharing his review of Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s newest film.
Set in a charming coastal town during Christmas, Simon Otto and Locksmith Animation’s new film explores themes of empathy, compassion, and human connection, weaving stories of love, resilience, and community through the perspectives of children and adults; now streaming on Netflix.
With breathtaking animation and a heartfelt narrative, Studio Ponoc’s hand-drawn animated film celebrates the unrestrained magic of childhood imagination while addressing universal themes of loss, memory, and the enduring power of stories.
Shannon Tindle’s new 3DCG feature combines breathtaking visual design with a heartfelt story that explores themes of family and identity through the journey of a young athlete, Ken Sato, struggling to balance his life as a baseball star and a giant superhero when suddenly faced with raising a baby kaiju.
Christopher Nolan’s 7-time Oscar-winning biopic invites audiences to share the ‘father of the nuclear bomb’s insight and vision through extraordinary images of exploding stars, spinning atoms, and esoteric phenomena that depict his co-existence between earthly and cosmic realms and begs the question: ‘Is he blessed or cursed?’
The latest survey of under-the-radar animated shorts currently travelling the festival circuit or new to online viewing.
A monthly survey of under-the-radar animated shorts currently travelling the festival circuit or new to online viewing.
AWN’s monthly survey of under-the-radar animated shorts currently travelling the festival circuit or new to online viewing - since we’re sorta on the border between past and future festivals, here’s a look at some recent festival works that are now available for your viewing pleasure.
In his triumphant return to the exotic world of Pandora, director James Cameron once again employs the most vibrant and stunning visual artistry to share with audiences his central theme of diversity.
This year’s selection of 10 shorts, including films by Patrick Smith, Gil Alkabetz, and Oscar winner Frederic Back, showcases a variety of techniques and tones in a celebration of unconventional approaches to the medium.
The Oscar-winning director’s timely masterpiece about a father and son finally united in the simple knowledge, and unconditional acceptance, that each of them is who he is, reminds us that acceptance of diversity is vitally important, perhaps more now than ever before.
AWN’s monthly survey of animated shorts making the festival circuit rounds includes ‘A Tiny Man,’ ‘Sliver Cave,’ ‘Slow Light,’ ‘#BINARYGENDERNORM: GIRLS,’ and ‘Magical Caresses - Masturbation: A Short Story of a Great Taboo.’
Sorry we’re late – publisher lameness to blame – AWN’s monthly animated shorts survey includes ‘Cash In, Cash Out,’ ‘Dog Apartment,’ ‘Luce and the Rock,’ ‘Safe Mode: Lana Among the Lilies,’ and ‘Scale.’
Angus MacLane and Pixar’s nostalgic space adventure celebrates the best of sci-fi cinema while also smartly embracing contemporary issues including representation.
Netflix’s animated short anthology uses every trick in the book – from disturbing grotesquery to quirky humor – to explore humanity’s overriding fear of death, ultimately shining an enriching light on our daily existence and what it means to be human.
Timo Viljakainen’s book of photographs is a testament to the inner world of the artist and a celebration of the international animation community.
Transformation lies at the heart of Pixar’s latest hit film, a coming-of-age story about a young Chinese girl in Toronto who must break away from all she has known to either accept, or reject, the actual beast inside her.
Experiencing life as the underdog - an outsider - teaches us empathy and a greater understanding of ourselves, our loved ones, and the critical connections that bind us together.
Employing a delicate balance between foreshadowing and surprise twists, director Jorge R. Gutierrez achieves a sweet clarity of storytelling in his nine-chapter series about a Mesoamerican-inspired warrior princess on an epic quest to fulfill an ancient prophecy and save humanity from the vengeful gods of the underworld.
Fueled by a cascade of original Lin-Manuel Miranda songs, Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix’s animated musical adventure is a celebration of life and love powered by energetic music and dance.
AWN’s Miscweant examines Dash Shaw’s new animated feature film, set in ‘surreal’ 1967, about an activist group trying to protect supernatural cryptids from amoral government agents.
Enrico Casarosa’s heartwarming story of a shy young sea monster, whose insatiable curiosity helps him discover the magic in the everyday, is as complex as the ocean is deep.
Veteran animation director and author David B. Levy discusses his newly updated book that’s a must-have for anyone hoping to plan, launch, or refocus their animation career.