Curated by local filmmaker/animator Jeff Sias, he brings round two of incredible local animations to Balagan.

Jeff Sias is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design where he majored in Film, Video and Animation. While there he made several live-action/ special effects films and then moved into animation and sculpture. Combining puppets, animation and sculptural elements, Jeff finished his senior degree project Lost and Found in 1996. Jeff is currently directing and animating for a commercial animation studio in Boston where he works on spots for television and film. He spends his off-time working with marionette artist Dan Butterworth and maintaining a studio in Waltham where he produces sculpture and photography. With other members of his studio Jeff has several films and puppet performances in the works for completion in the near future.

Program:

Met State 10min, 16mm, 2000 Winner of 'Best Cinematography' at NEFV Festival!
Director: Bryan Papciak

A short film exploring the graphic nature of derelict space through an experimental study of an abandoned insane asylum. Bryan Papciack is an independent filmmaker in the Boston area where he is currently working on several live action/experimental and animated films including a feature length film based on the Spanish poet, Frederico Garcia Lorca's puppet play, The Tragicomedy of Don Cristobal. Bryan is also a staff Director of the Brighton based animation house, Olive Jar Studios.

Pulp, 16mm
Director: Flip Johnson

Pulp  combines various animation techniques including drawn and painted imagery, go-motion, and stop-motion of tree parts, and collage on books.  During the multi-layered opening title sequence the word  "pulp" and its root are defined to suggest paths that the viewer might take to interpret the film. Pulp  moves from a fully animated explosion of nature's splendor to a stormy and threatening abstract landscape.  Technology then merges with and overwhelms nature in a complex layered collage. Caleb Sampson's lush instrumental score distills the films beauty and darkness. Flip Johnson is the creative director at Red Sky Boston (formerly Olive Jar Studios).

Train, 8min, 16mm New England Film Festival winner!
Director: Masako Miyazaki

An experimental animation exploring rhythmic and organic qualities in a machine called train. This film is a recent New England Film Festival winner! Masako Miyazaki is an-award-winning graduate of RISD. Her subject matter and style are based on abstract to narrative explorations of her immediate surroundings. Sound and music are highly influential elements of her films. Masako has spent majority of her childhood years in the United States while her secondary education and adolescent years were spent living in Japan. She now lives in Brooklyn NY and is working on her next film.

A Science of Wonder, 16mm
Catcycle, 2.5min, 16mm on video
Director: Devon Damonte

Catcycle: the righting reflex is applied and exploded beyond the frame of gravity. The film is made entirely without cameras by photocopying directly onto 16mm leader. Devon Damonte has been creating experimental animated films using unique techniques he develops himself. This animation doesn't look anything remotely like Disney or Saturday morning cartoons. Damonte's films are motion graphics made up of abstract imagery edited in streams of color, pattern and rhythm - much like a moving painting. These films are made entirely by hand, without using any cameras, crafted by taping semi-transparent collage materials directly onto clear and colored film leader. Inspiration comes from pioneers of direct animation including Len Lye, Stan Brakhage, and Barbel Neubauer. Damonte's films have screened in festivals in such places as San Francisco, Virginia, Ann Arbor, MI, Olympia, WA, and Spain.

We Will Live Forever, 5 min, 16mm, 1994
Director: Yvonne Anderson

People walk in a night city. They seem to be "City People" but deep inside they have memories from aboriginal man.They wish to communicate with the magic earth. They find secret places. They try to recreate the magical feeling of oneness with the earth. They will live forever because this yearning will never disappear from the people. The film is based on a poem by DominicFalcone with sound track from a live performance by him. Techniques used include cut-outs, rotoscoping, xerography, multi-levels, and optical printing.

Moving On, 8 min, 16mm, 1998
Director: Chris Haynes

Moving on is an experimental film documenting a city where time moves at a different pace. This film was Chris Haynes¹ degree project completed in the spring of '98 at the RISD. Currently, he is a staff animator working at Red Sky Boston. He works on his next film whenever he remembers to.  His memory is bad.

Frankenstein Cries Out! 2min, 16mm
Director: Flip Johnson

Frankenstein Cries Out! uses an old movie flipbook with inked,watercolored and photocopied variations. The monster appears to be both grimmacing in agony and grinning in ecstasy. There¹s blood flying gloriously all over the place. George Cordiero and Basil Bova scored the piece. Flip Johnson is the creative director at Red Sky Boston (formerly Olive Jar Studios).

Smile 16mm
Director: Alex Hart

Smile is a day in the life of two close (but moody) friends. Find out what makes them laugh and cry, and how they make each other smile. Alex Hart was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was raised in an artistic family by a violin making father, and mother who sings for a living. Alex earned his BFA degree at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he studied filmmaking and animation. He now lives in Boston, Massachusetts and works full time as an art director. http://www.eahart.com