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23rd Animation Show of ShowsVarious directors
Friday, December 27, 3 pm
Friday, December 27, 6 pm
Saturday, December 28, 1 pm
Saturday, December 28, 3 pm
Saturday, December 28, 6 pm
Sunday, December 29, 1 pm
Sunday, December 29, 3 pm
$12 | $8 Speed members
The 23nd Annual Animation Show of Shows returns with a selection of 12 highlights of the past programs selected by animator and curator Ron Diamond, who travels to festivals across the globe to share the most compelling animated films that showcase the different approaches to the medium. All are inventive, their tone ranging from funny to heartwarming and techniques varying from computer-enhanced to hand-painted to stop motion.
“Animation is a natural medium for dealing with abstract ideas and deeply felt concerns, and the Animation Show of Shows has always strived to scour the world for the most affecting and engaging films,” says founder and curator Ron Diamond. 2000-2023, Croatia/Germany/Canada/Netherlands/Mexico/U.K./U.S/Switzerland, DCP, in several languages with English subtitles, 80 minutes. Recommended for 15+.
X1
Directed by Vuk Jevremovic
Taking football (i.e., soccer) as a jumping-off point into politics, history, and culture, X1 uses a flurry of ink-on-paper, pastel, watercolor, and oil-on-canvas tools to take us inside the head of a football player as he stands alone on a field for a penalty kick facing a goalie, a net, a ball, and thousands of fans. Flashes of archival footage dash across the screen, reflecting the outside world and the many external pressures and influences that are an inescapable part of competitive sports. As he confronts the goalie across the 11 meters that separate them, the shooter knows that whatever he does next will have repercussions beyond a simple kick and a single game. 2022, Croatia/Germany, 5 minutes.
Cameras Take Five
Directed by Steven Woloshen
Using as a soundtrack the Dave Brubeck Quartet version of Paul Desmond’s jazz classic “Take Five,” Steve Woloshen has produced a festive explosion of graphics that reflect and punctuate the musical score. Woloshen created the work by painting the thousands of individual frames on a three-hundred-feet-long piece of negative film. The abstract shapes, undulating lines, curves, stars, waves, spots, and points continuously evolve as the music plays. 2003, Canada, 3 minutes.
The Centrifuge Brain Project
Directed by Till Nowak
Based on his childhood fascination with amusement parks, Till Nowak created this mockumentary fantasy film. The film incorporates computer-generated imagery to create seven real-seeming fictional amusement park rides used in a faux documentary film about the construction of physics-defying rides intended for use in research efforts to improve human cognitive function. 2011, Germany, 7 minutes.
Father and Daughter
Directed by Michaël Dudok de Wit
A father says goodbye to his young daughter. Time passes and the daughter moves through life, age by age. She becomes a young woman, has a family, and in time she grows old. Yet within her, there is always a deep longing for her father, with whom, in the end, she is – or appears to be – reunited. 2000, Netherlands, 8 minutes.
Down to the Bone (Hasta los huesos)
Directed by René Castillo
In this exquisite stop-motion work, a newly dead man finds himself in an afterlife nightclub populated by others who are no more. Unsure if he’s in purgatory or if this is his permanent resting spot, he tries to make the best of it and, ultimately, he must accept his fate. 2001, Mexico, 10 minutes.
Hillary
Directed by Anthony Hodgson
“Hilary worked in an office with a rubber plant and a man whose name she’d forgotten, and she lived with her mother and her mother’s father, who was 76 and deaf and who secretly ate dogfood, although it wasn’t much of a secret.” A man tells his daughter a bedtime story as they meander through a series of strange locations, each one Illustrating a different chapter in the humorous but ultimately tragic life of his wife, Hilary. 1994, U.K., 9 minutes.
I’m Hip
Directed by John Musker
A self-absorbed cat, in a jazzy song and dance, proudly and comically proclaims his “hipness” to the world. The world is not impressed. 2023, U.S., 4 minutes.
John and Karen
Directed by Matthew Walker
An unlikely couple – John, a polar bear, and Karen, a penguin – try to resolve their problems in this dryly humorous and surprisingly touching short. 2007, U.K., 5 minutes.
The Record
Directed by Jonathan Laskar
A traveler gives an antiques dealer a magic vinyl record, telling him, “It reads your mind and plays your lost memories.” Increasingly obsessed by this uncanny artifact, the dealer listens to it again and again. 2022, Switzerland, 8 minutes.
Requiem for a Romance
Directed by Jonathan Ng
A modern-day couple’s phone call about the anguishing details of their relationship is juxtaposed with visuals of an epic battle in feudal China where love equals war. 2012, Canada, 8 minutes.
Santa, the Fascist Years
Directed by Bill Plympton
While we all think of Santa as “Jolly old St. Nick,” it turns out that this beloved icon has a dark past that has only recently come to light. This short film uncovers and explores Santa’s flirtation with politics and greed. 2008, U.S., 3 minutes.
When the Day Breaks
Directed by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis
After witnessing the accidental death of a humanoid rooster, Ruby, a humanoid pig, seeks comfort from her everyday life in the city. Using pencil and paint on photocopies to achieve a textured look suggestive of a lithograph or a newsreel, the directors of this Oscar-nominated short create a tale at once whimsical and profound. 1999, Canada, 10 minutes.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Speed Art Museum, 2035 S 3rd Street,Louisville,KY,United States
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