DRAWING FROM LIFE - ANIMATED SHORTS PROGRAM

DRAWING FROM LIFE - ANIMATED SHORTS PROGRAM
Sunday, October 1, 2023 at 2:00 PM
SHORTS PROGRAM
General Admission $10 | Student + Children $8

BATTLE PLAN
SHORT NARRATIVE | 4.5 MIN | FRENCH | FRANCE
Directed by John Banana and Mathilde Michea

A car ride with Mum results in an epiphany for a young girl who must imagine her way to a better future. Her ideas grow and with them the chance to make a real difference. Battle Plan, a musical ode to young activists everywhere. We couldn't resist a film that gives a nod to the inspiring Greta Thunberg!

About the Director, John Banana and Mathilde Michea

John "Charles" Banana created DIGITAL BANANA STUDIO after meeting Elton "Anders" Banana. Surrounded by a team of dedicated and talented experts, they have 2 goals : deliver quality films and make people happy.

Mathilde Michea has been with Digital Banana as a 2D Art Director and Character Designer for 3 years. She has also worked as a motion graphic designer and storyboard artist for NewVO making short videos destined for the channel's website and youtube channel. Over the years Mathilde has worked as a digital artist for many different clients and various types of commissions.

WHEN MAMA & ME LIVED OUTSIDE: 1 FAMILY'S JOURNEY THROUGH HOMELESSNESS
SHORT NARRATIVE | 8 MIN | ENGLISH | USA
Directed by Peter Menchini

Tiny Gray-Garcia's heartbreaking story about growing up on the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco & Oakland. Based on her children's book of the same name with illustrations by Ace Robles.

About the Director, Peter Menchini

Peter Menchini has been embedded with activists as a filmmaker for over 13 years. Director Statement: After growing up on the streets of Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco, Tiny and her mama Dee co-founded a poor and indigenous people led movement called POOR magazine/PrensaPobre while they were still struggling with homelessness and poverty. This amazing story will bring tears to your eyes, yet this is just one part of it. I hope more people will donate to their amazing poor people-led solutions.

STAINED
SHORT NARRATIVE | 7 MIN | ENGLISH | USA
Directed by Valeria Perez

STAINED follows a young teen's journey in dealing with the lasting effects of sexual assault. As she grows more and more distressed from facing her assaulter every day in class, her trauma-induced anxiety manifests as a stain on her thigh.

About the Directors, Valeria Perez

Valeria Perez is a 20-year-old filmmaker based in Yonkers, NY. Originally from Orlando, FL, Valeria is a self-taught filmmaker who enjoys working in experimental/abstract video, claymation, and documentary. Amongst art, Valeria is passionate about exploring topics such as gender and sexual abuse within their artistic works and creating a platform for conversations.

Between 2018-2021, Valeria worked in the student-led movement, March For Our Lives— organizing call-to-action events to raise awareness for community issues. They have given speeches at the Florida State Capitol, urging Senators to implement gun control legislation. They also spoke on NPR in 2021, advocating for the allocation of state funds to mental health services and restorative justice programs.

IMMACULATE
SHORT NARRATIVE | 2.5 MIN | FRENCH | FRANCE
Directed by Charlie Haan

This experimental film poetically addresses the rarely spoken about topic of miscarriages.

About the Director, Charlie Haan

Technician for film & television, Charlie Haan makes a step towards directing with this intimate and experimental first film.

ANOTHER CHOICE IS POSSIBLE
SHORT NARRATIVE | 2.5 MIN | FRENCH | FRANCE
Directed by Rémi Cans

EMF stands for "early and forced marriages", a controversial tradition still being practiced in far too many places including here in the US.

About the Director, Rémi Cans

Rémi Cans is a Multi awarded animation short film director from France, and founder of Atypicalist, an audiovisual production company who comits to ONLY working on valuable projects with a social, environmental or educational purpose.

THE BUTCH AND THE BABY DADDY
SHORT NARRATIVE | 6 MIN | ENGLISH | CANADA
Directed by Karleen Pendleton Jiménez and Barb Taylor

Alex has wanted to have a baby almost as long as she can remember but one element is missing: the sperm. When she considers asking Mateo, a close gay friend, Alex is forced to investigate what she really values.

About the Directors, Karleen Pendleton Jiménez and Barb Taylor

KARLEEN PENDLETON JIMÉNEZ is Co-director and Screenwriter of The Butch and the Baby Daddy. She is the author of Tomboys and Other Gender Heroes and The Street Belongs to Us, as well as Lambda Literary Award finalists Are You a Boy or a Girl? and How to Get a Girl Pregnant (the original content on which this short is based). Her work has been recognized by the American Library Association and the Vice Versa Awards for Excellence in the Gay and Lesbian Press. Her films include Butch Coyolxauhqui, Dancing on a Rainbow, and the award-winning animated film Tomboy. She has written about filmmaking in essays such as, “The Making of a Queer Latina Cartoon: Pedagogies of Border, Body, and Home,” and “The Weight of Queerness: Reflections on a Digital Storytelling Project”. She is professor of education, gender, and social justice at Trent University.

Barb Taylor creates animated films and digital stories. Barb is currently working on her first animated feature, Queen Maeve based on a legendary queer Irish leader. As Co-director of the animated short The Butch and the Baby Daddy, she led visual development and animation. Previous to that she created a hand painted animated short Bobbi and Sheelagh about a lesbian who meets a mythological creature. This film screened at Tricky Women Animation in Vienna and Fairytales in Calgary among others. Barb’s film Tomboy exploring gender expression was the recipient of the CBC Canadian Reflection Award and Inside Out Up and Coming Artist Award among others. A digital storyteller, she received the Corus Innovation Award for a tween online radio station and is a Webby Honoree for the CBC Massey Lectures’ website Blood the Stuff of Life.

PACEMAKER
SHORT NARRATIVE | 9 MIN | ENGLISH | USA
Directed by Brian Vincent Rhodes & Christopher Lennertz

Pacemaker tells the story of a grandfather's hopeful acceptance of his trans grandson. The story is told through an original contemporary song with music and lyrics by Lennertz and orchestrations by Ella Feingold (Silk Sonic). Lennertz, two-time Emmy nominee and Grammy winner wrote the screenplay, inspired by life with his trans son, who also consulted on the film's story. Brian Vincent Rhodes (Spies in Disguise) co-directs with Lennertz. The new animated musical short stars 2023 Tony Award winner Alex Newell (Shucked), the first-ever non-binary actor to win a Tony, and multi-Grammy Award winner Philip Lawrence (of Bruno Mars fame).

About the Director, Brian Vincent Rhodes & Christopher Lennertz

Christopher Lennertz is a highly acclaimed composer known for his versatile and captivating compositions. His work has become his signature, from the biting action and satire of Amazon's The Boys to the lush orchestral melodies in Steven Spielberg's Medal of Honor. Lennertz's repertoire includes notable compositions like the stark gospel piano in Thanks for Sharing to the soaring heroics of Seth Rogen as a hot dog saving the world in Sausage Party. He has received two Emmy nominations, a Grammy, and twenty BMI awards. Lennertz has also written for esteemed artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Janelle Monae, and Nick Jonas. His upcoming projects include Marvel/Disney's Rogers: The Musical. / Brian Vincent Rhodes, a Detroit artist turned filmmaker, excelled as a fine artist before venturing into engineering and industrial design for companies like Chrysler, NASA, and Apple. His filmmaking journey began after winning a competition at Apple, leading him to USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Rhodes garnered international recognition as a BAFTA finalist for his groundbreaking film Mosquito: The Bite of Passage. He served as a storyboard artist on Spies in Disguise and, more recently, as the lead storyboard artist on the upcoming Netflix/MACRO feature, They Cloned Tyrone. He is storyboarding an upcoming live-action feature film and directing animated commercials.

LITTLE HURTS
SHORT NARRATIVE | 10 MIN | ENGLISH | USA
Directed by Barbara Solomon

A routine errand at the dry cleaners unleashes a free-for-all of fat-shaming, body image demons and family dieting obsessions.

About the Director, Barbra Solomon

Debra Solomon is an American filmmaker, animator, illustrator, and author known best for being the animation supervisor and creator of the animated Lizzie from the Disney Channel show Lizzie McGuire (2001–2003). She has made a variety of short films, animated sketches, and title sequences since 1994. Many of her films focus on the struggles of womanhood and emphasizing the female identity with empowering images.

DANCING AMID FIRE, RISING ABOVE RUINS
SHORT NARRATIVE | 7 MIN | NORAWEGIAN | NORWAY
Directed by Essmat Sophie

Tara, a young girl from Iran's Kurdish ethnic group, navigates a life where the threads of life and death are intricately woven. As their mothers pay visits to the graves of loved ones lost due to state violence, war, and bombings following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Tara and her friends engage in games of hide and seek amidst the gravestones and trees in the graveyard.

About the Director, Essmat Sophie

Essmat Sophie (Asima) is an award-winning author, award-winning film director, researcher, and activist. Born and raised in the Kurdish region of Iran. Sophie is prolific film director and film producer. For her animated short film: “Dancing Amid Fire, Rising Above Ruins” Sophie received several awards as best director. The film won prizes at several film festivals, including the Cannes Film Awards festival in France, The FemaleEye Film Festival in Cananda and Toronto International Women Film Festival.

MOORE COLLEGE STUDENT ANIMATION SERIES
SHORT NARRATIVE | 22 MIN | ENGLISH | USA
Directed by Moore College of Art & Design Students

With our mission of fostering young talent, Moore College of Art & Design and The Women’s Film Festival are showcasing the work of several up and coming animators.

Erica Adamek - Butters Beats
Greta Motter - Fragile Limit
Jen Tran - Grand Opeeling
Katie Woods - brb
Michaelah Flanigan - What Does It Mean To Be Great
Izabel Garcillano - Gnome Rider

These works, finished, and in-progress feature a variety of animation styles being taught at Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, PA.