Friday, June 9th, 2006
8:30 - Live Music by Taigaa! (click for details)
9:00 - Showtime
TRT: 1:39:36
On the lawn of Automotive High School | CLICK for DIRECTIONS
50 Bedford Ave, between N. 12th and Lorimer, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
In the event of rain the show is indoors at the same location.
*Trailer music: fantastic emo-punk by Scream Hello, playing at Rooftop in September.
Animation 1: Stalkers, Hit Men and other Lousy Friends
Just call on me, brother, when you need a hand. I'll dig one off the scrap heap and build you a new arm (You Gotta Hold On). I'll snag that extra bottle of cold medicine (The Wraith of Cobble Hill). Or I'll give you that last little push you need to set off into outer space (Astronauts). When the friends in this program offer a hand, it's usually the left one.
We all need somebody to lean on. And feed on.
THE FILMS:
Tony Cartoons: Zen and the Art of Angle Grinding
(Sean McBride | Brooklyn, NY | 1:15) www.seanmcbride.com
Sean writes, "I have this friend Tony, and sometimes he's a jerk. He forced me to make this series of Flash cartoons based on the two of us, so he could get famous. Probably, he'll force me to make more." He did. They're later in the program.
Ursonate (Lisa Paclet | Paris, France | 1:45) www.lisapaclet.net
A charming conversation between two birds, based on Kurt Schwitters' sound poem Ursonate.
Insomnia (Vladimir Leschiov | Riga, Latvia | 7:00)
She comes at night, quiet as a cat, to take his sleep away until he feeds her. All she needs is milk brought by him somewhere between sleep and reality. Her name is Insomnia.
"You Gotta Hold On" (Flaming Lips music video)
(Lobo | Brazil | 4:00)
Ramshackle robots band together and build each other in a clever and comic attempt to survive, set to the friendly interstellar sounds of The Flaming Lips.
Astronauts (Matthew Walker | Bristol, UK | 8:30) www.worldofarthurcox.com
In this delightfully understated animation, two astronauts are finding it increasingly difficult to get on with one another. One of them spots a big red button marked 'Do Not Press,' so he presses it. The result is unfortunate.
Tony Cartoons: Sizzling Hot Bacon
(Sean McBride | Brooklyn, NY | 1:30)
The friends are back, debating over the relative succulence of life.
Zasukanec (Made to Measure)
(Spela Cadez | Cologne, Germany & Slovenia | 6:45)
When the tailor is alone, he likes to let his machines take care of the work. But when love enters the shop, can he remain in control of his thoughts and his friends, the concerned irons, scissors and fabric?
The Wraith of Cobble Hill
(Adam Parrish King | Los Angeles, CA | 15:00)
In this subtle and sweet claymation set near Rooftop's home base, a lackadaisical teenager is trusted to look after neighbor's store and dog. His slacker ways and history of familial neglect are tested in this lovely coming-of-age drama.
Frank and Wendy: Hungerburger (Episode 2)
(Kaspar Jancis & Ulo Pikkov | Tallinn, Estonia | 10:00)
Named the best Estonian animated film of 2005, this is the unbelievably weird story of two FBI super-super-agents battling evil Latvians in the deadly streets of Estonia. In this episode, Frank and Wendy stop the world's addiction to junk food. Sound impossible? Not in a world with George Woo, reverser of irreversible processes. Come to the roof each week as we present all 8 episodes of Frank and Wendy.
Tony Cartoons: Haiku War (Sean McBride | Brooklyn, NY | 1:30)
"Sean my friend
I think you'll find
I've only just begun." Uhh, that's not...
Silencer (Chrzu (Christopher) Lindstrom | Finland | 6:06)
Sometimes you find a friend when you least expect it and most need it. Like when you're wearing concrete boots at the bottom of a lake. But in this horrifying animation, you might find that sometimes it's best if your friend doesn't attract too much attention.
Dad's Dead (Chris Shepherd | London, UK | 7:00) Courtesy of www.slinkypics.com
A compelling story of friendship and denial, told through a series of ghostly reminiscences and visual flashbacks of a young man's fragmented memories from the past. His memories being triggered by admiration for his best friend Johnno. As the story unfolds, hero worship turns to revulsion, as the web of deception and violence that Johnno creates is revealed, pulling narrator and audience in its destructive wake.
Stalk (Leigh Hodgkinson | London, UK | 08:04) Courtesy of www.slinkypics.com
In this dark fairy tale, emptiness is substituted for desire as Bunny gets closer to meeting her mysterious suitor.
Middle Dog Gets Angry (George Gendi | Brentwood, UK | 3:56)
A dog that has previously been wronged finds out that wronging another, by trying to get something to replace what was taken from him, does not making him feel better. Forgiveness and compassion ultimately bring the three discordant dogs to a place of harmony.
Tony Cartoons: Sean is Cool, Tony is Stupid
(Sean McBride | Brooklyn, NY | 1:15)
Part of having fun is making fun of them.
THE MUSIC: Taigaa! is explosive music for your ears—dark and marshy terrain of operatic vocals, tufts of melancholy broken-hearted violin melodies, skies of capriciously calculated keyboard, and a golden storm of heat waved drum beats. Wild and uncleared with a myriad of visuals to feast on. Taigaa! is inspired by Tango, burning bicycles, feathers,ÖMexican folk, electronic music, snowshoe rabbits, dance, birds nesting & laying their eggs, punk rock, pre-80s Korean pop, matador costume, props, neon, projections, lynx, conifers, snowstorms, summer, insects breeding inÖmelting water, biomes, the top of the world.
