‘Cambia Tutto’ by Ana Mouyis

Ana Mouyis is an animator, illustrator, filmmaker and educator based in Louisiana, US. In 2020, animateddocumentary.com’s Alys Scott Hawkins interviewed Ana about her film ‘Cambia Tutto’ which takes the viewer through the small Italian village of Canieza and emphasises how the town has changed over time. ‘Cambia Tutto’ was screened at multiple film festivals in Europe, the US and Brazil, and won Fisheye Film Festival’s 2021 Audience Award for best short documentary, and The Americas Film Festivals 2020 award for best experimental short.

Read Alys’s interview with Ana Mouyis:

How did the film come about?

The film was created as part of a residency opportunity in Canieza, Italy – musician Fox Schwach and I applied as a collaborative. The residency asked for work that connected to the location; a small village in Northern Italy. In our proposal we pitched the idea of creating a short film that would act as a portrait of the town, I would direct the animation and Fox would create a score. When we arrived we were so struck by the scenery of it all and wanted to make a contemplative piece that would highlight the beauty in the details of this small town. 

Can you tell us about the motivation for / meaning of the film?

A lot of it had to do with the circumstances – we wanted to make a film about this small village but we had never been there so part of the process was getting there and immersing ourselves in the environment. For this reason we decided to work with replacement animation and hyperlapse as that would require us to explore and spend hours walking around photographing the surrounding area. One thing that became clear to us conceptually as we worked on this piece was that we were interested in building a portrait of this town through small/often-overlooked details. Photography (rather than video footage) allowed us to zero in on all these tiny details. For example, taking hundreds of pictures of different flowers from all over the village, we can put them together into a longer mesmerizing sequence, which would be different than just filming some flowers swaying in the breeze. In a general sense, both Fox and I, in our work, are interested in the sort of life and vibrancy that come from imperfections of hand-made/manual processes. Embracing some of the shaky/jittery processes of this kind of animation appealed to us for this project, so the viewer could get a feel for the human element that went into making it.  

One aspect that really helped to inform the shape of the final film was the interview with Wilma Andrighetto, the mother of Paola De Martin, who is one of the residency organizers (and owners of the house we stayed in). Wilma has lived in that town her whole life. Her view on how the town has evolved over the years became a central conceptual element to how we put the film together. It was important to us to have some local perspective to keep it from just being a kind of travelogue

Where will it be screened or distributed?

We initially released it on Vimeo because of the pandemic, especially with how badly it was affecting Italy. With everyone in lockdown we felt it was a good time to put it online and share it freely, rather than only showing it at film festivals or galleries as we had originally planned. It’s been gratifying to share it with our friends and family and broader networks and hear that it’s helped people’s cabin fever in some small way. More recently it has screened at a number of film festivals and online showcases in Europe and the US.

What are you working on next?

This summer I will be returning to Cyprus, where I grew up and will be an artist in residence at Animafest Cyprus animation film festival. During the residency I will work on the production of an experimental documentary animation about the culture of Cyprus. By highlighting the commonalities between the customs and traditions of its divided peoples I hope to foster a greater understanding and empathy between the segregated communities in the North and South of the island. Fox and I will collaborate again on this project with him assisting me with audio recordings and sound design as well as composing an original score. 

Watch the full film below:

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Panel discussion: Autobiography

We’re super-excited to share details of our upcoming panel discussion with three film-makers working with autobiography, in partnership with Animate Projects and British Council:

Our next Animation Salon is programmed by Alys Scott-Hawkins and Ellie Land from Animated Documentary, is on 4 November. It’s our second in partnership with Animate Projects. The animated documentary genre continues to grow, featuring in a variety of formats: shorts and feature films, explainer videos, interactive documentary; and showcasing an array of techniques such as the autoethnographic film, the investigative film, the call-to-action and reconstruction films, to name just a few. Animators Mary Martins (UK), John Summerson (USA), and Signe Baumane (Latvia/USA) will share their insights and experiences with us, alongside some clips of their work.

Animation Salon/Accelerate Sessions
Animated Documentary
18:00 (UK time), Wednesday 4 November
Zoom
More information here.
Free. Register here.
Spaces are limited – please join early to make sure you get in. Supported by Arts Council England’s Emergency Response Fund.
Still: My Love Affair With Marriage, Signe Baumane, 2021

Next Accelerate session coming up…

12 November
Animation and VR
With Tom Higham (York Mediale), Liz Rosenthal (Venice Film Festival), Juergen Hagler (Ars Electronica), Helen Starr (Mechatronic Library), and Ulrich Schrauth (London Film Festival Expanded).  More details soon. 



Ecstatic Truth 2016 and 2017

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Ecstatic Truth 2016 panel discussion

With the next Ecstatic Truth symposium coming up on Saturday, this seems like a good time to revisit last year’s event and share the recordings of the jam-packed schedule of speakers, workshops and networking.

Video documentation of all the speakers who presented at the 2016 symposium, including keynotes from Paul Ward, Abigail Addison and Brigitta Iványi-Bitter, as well as  our own Carla MacKinnon, is available here on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/channels/documentaryanimation

Our own post from the event can be found here: https://animateddocs.wordpress.com/2016/05/28/ecstatic-truth-symposium/

The 2016 symposium was held to launch the new MA Animation: Documentary Animation pathway: http://www.rca.ac.uk/schools/school-of-communication/animation/documentary-animation-pathway

Ecstatic Truth: Lessons of Darkness and Light is the second animated documentary symposium at the Royal College of Art, London, on Saturday 26th May 2017.  

Book your FREE tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ecstatic-truth-lessons-of-darkness-and-light-animated-documentary-symposium-tickets-33257461964

Video essay on ‘Waltz with Bashir’ by Digging Deeper


[edit 16th May – this video’s been taken down due to a copyright issue but we’ll let you know if it comes back online.]

“Waltz With Bashir is a documentary film that exists in a rare category (along with films like Close-Up and The House Is Black) in that it bends the generic conventions of its format, ultimately creating an experience that is truly unique. Its idiosyncratic blend of animation, music, and recorded interviews makes it a documentary that is both a sensory spectacle and an emotional journey. In our essay “Echoes of a Forgotten Past” we explore how director Ari Folman uses the seemingly contradictory elements of the animated documentary format to comment on the ethics of filmic representation and the cycle of historical trauma.”

More info here about Digging Deeper “a two man team that likes looking at a film and trying to see if something else is lying beneath its surface.”
https://www.patreon.com/diggingdeeper?ty=h

DRAWING FROM MEMORY – ANIMATED OBSERVATIONS screening at Open City Documentary Festival, London, June 2015

OPen City Docs LSFF Drawing from Memory
Darn it, news of this event in June passed us by – but what a line up of fascinating nuggets it is, programmed by London Short Film Festival and Animate Projects

And all films are available to watch online, which makes this a screen-at-home programme you can enjoy yourself!

Films can be found in the Animate Collection here:
animateprojects.org/films
apart from Ellie Land‘s Centrefold which you can watch here:
vimeo.com/46035152

http://opencitylondon.com/workshops/london-short-film-festival-drawing-memory-animated-observations

Perfect for a rainy Sunday…

Society for Animation Studies annual conference, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK 2015

Wow. What a brilliant few days! Here are a few of the drawings I made during some of the excellent presentations and keynotes. Many apologies to those represented – accuracy has never been one of my strong points!!

It was my first SAS conference, and also the first time I’ve delivered a paper. I met some lovely people and got some really useful feedback. Thank you all. Next year is Singapore….

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Happy 2015!

Blimey, we’ve been quiet a long time – and for that we apologise! Ellie and I are both juggling teaching jobs, small children and other projects, and the last few months have been busy for both of us.

We have some fantastic films lined up to post in 2015, plus an annual awards scheme to announce, so rest assured that though it’s quiet here, good things are brewing…

Lastly, we want to say thank you to the marvellous Alex Widdowson for his carefully crafted reviews over the last couple of years. Alex is now busy with other projects but his contributions to the blog have been absolutely priceless.

If you or someone you know would like to come on board the animateddocumentary.com team either writing or editing & managing, please do get it touch, we’d love to hear from you!!

‘Rocks in my Pockets’ by Signe Baumane – trailer

Check out the trailer for Signe Baumane’s first feature expiring mental illness through the stories of five women in her family – ‘a funny film about depression’.

Upcoming screenings around the world in Sept & Oct 2014 listed here:
http://www.rocksinmypocketsmovie.com/Screenings.html

And a series of ‘making of’ shorts here: http://www.rocksinmypocketsmovie.com/Process.html

Signe’s portfolio site here: http://www.signebaumane.com

‘A is for Atom’ by John Sutherland

Well, what you might expect from a US 1953 public information film about nuclear power and weaponry: simplified science and a rather narrow political view!

This came from Public Domain Motion Pictures on Youtube, a ‘free channel devoted to Public Domain, Open Source and Copyleft movies, TV shows and serials’.

Submit to the 10th International DOK Leipzig Co-Production Meeting! Deadline 1st August 2014

DOK Leipzig co-pro 2014 last callLast call from DOK Leipzig:

‘Dear Friends and Colleagues,

***Less than 10 days to submit your film in development to the 10th International DOK Leipzig Co-Production Meeting!!***

If you are looking for co-production partners and to meet financiers in an intimate and productive environment, we invite you to submit your projects now for consideration. Deadline August 1.

Find more information the online submission form here:
http://www.dok-leipzig.de/industry-training/industry-offers/meet_and_pitch/co-production-meeting

The two day programme (27 & 28 October 2014) offers:

– Individual Meetings with broadcasters, film funds, sales and distributors and other potential partners and financiers. For a list of industry representatives at DOK Leipzig in 2013, please click here.
– Individual Meetings with your fellow producers, offering you and them the chance to build international co-productions, also with a small selection of hand-picked German production companies.
– The most up to date information on working internationally and networking opportunities through our round table sessions and case studies.
– Unstructured space for colleagial exchange and networking in a friendly, intimate and productive environment.

Against the backdrop of DOK Leipzig: the 57th Festival for Documentary and Animated Film. We will also welcome a delegation of Catalonian Producers, organized with Catalonian Films & TV.

Good luck and don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions! (oshea@dok-leipzig.de)

Brigid O’Shea & Christine Hille