Animated Documentary Compilation Available from A Million Movies a Minute
PORTLAND, Oregon (May, 2010) – A Million Movies a Minute, an independent distributor specializing in short documentaries, has announced its newest release, ANIMATING REALITY. This 13 film collection includes award-winning animated short documentaries by filmmakers from Sweden, the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, , Finland, Canada, Belgium and the United States.
“Many people think of documentaries as simply conveying information—a dowdy, overly educational experience,” said Erin Donovan, founder of A Million Movies a Minute. “By adding a layer of abstraction, these filmmakers have found a way to convey profound emotional experiences."
The films of ANIMATING REALITY also represent the wide spectrum of new and old animation techniques including stop-motion, claymation, flash, sketch, hand-painted watercolor, multimedia collage, manipulated archive footage and rotoscoping.
The films in ANIMATING REALITY represent a broad spectrum of both contemporary documentary filmmaking and the possibilities of the animated form:
• Yoriko Murakami's Talking About Amy explores the life and work of Japanese pop artist Emi Iijima while she resided in the States.
• Corrie Francis's Conversing with Aotearoa explores the way New Zealanders are coping with technological encroachment despite a deep sense of connection to the country's natural beauty.
• In Blue, Karma, Tiger, co-directors Mia Hulterstam and Cecilia Actis interview three young, female graffiti artists.
• Samantha Moore's The Beloved Ones is an intimate portrait of two African women living with the repercussions of AIDS.
• Davina Pardo revisits one of her famous father's unfinished animations in Birdlings Two.
• In The Last Words of Dutch Schultz, Gerrit van Dijk presents an abstract interpretation of a gangster's final words (voiced by Rutger Hauer) from his deathbed.
• In Jeanne Paturle's and Cécile Rousset's One Voice, One Vote, two strangers come together on the eve of a major election to discuss their personal connection to voting.
• In Learned by Heart, Marjut Rimminen and Paivi Takala explore the secret history of Finland's post-WWII legacy.
• In Sold Out Marie José van der Linden and Gerrit van Dijk depict a day in the life of a family of shopkeepers as a big box store looms.
• In A Shift in Perception, Dan Monceaux gives three recently blinded women the opportunity to illustrate how their lives have changed.
• Maya Yonesho presents a micro-history of architectural destruction and creation in Vienna with Wiener Wuast
• Emily Bissland's In the Same Boat tells the story of the unlikely friendship between a racist Vietnam War vet and an Iraqi refugee who meet while hospitalized.
• Eric Ledune's Do It Yourself!! is a wildly funny take on a found CIA manual's step-by-step instructions on how to torture and kill.
Each of these films has been screened at hundreds of festivals, and all have been honored with numerous prestigious awards. A complete list is available at: http://millionmoviesaminute.com/AnimaFests.html
Available on DVD at:
http://www.buyolympia.com/q/Item=animating-reality
Also available on VOD for rent or sale:
http://www.amazon.com/Animating-Reality-collection-short-documentaries/dp/B003FM8Q74/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=digital-video&qid=1271280458&sr=8-1
Trailer at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03ZaeQURsxs
A Million Movies a Minute was founded on the belief that the short documentary format possesses an agility and brevity that enables the telling of powerful, intimate stories that speak to an increasingly fast-paced, media-hungry audience. Other releases from a Million Movie a Minute include After the War: Life Post-Yugoslavia, a multi-lensed examination of the experiences in the Balkan region, and Radical Act, a cultural history of the contribution of female artists to the 1990s punk music scene.
