WELCOME

The simple elegance of Don Hertzfeldt

This past Sunday, Denver was host to filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt and the local premiere of his new short, It’s Such a Beautiful Day, which completes his Bill trilogy.

You may have seen the first two installments, Everything Will Be OK and I Am So Proud Of You.

They follow a man named Bill, whose health rapidly deteriorates and life around him begins to make less and less sense. I won’t spoil how the trilogy ends, but I think it turns Bill into one of the most iconic animated characters ever created.

The mix of humor and philosophy is great. The animation looks deceptively simple. While there aren’t a lot of moving parts, Hertzfeldt said that makes each movement even more critical. Placement of the eye just one millimeter over and an expression changes completely. As audiences we’re not conscious of those decisions, but it’s revealing to hear about them. It makes you appreciate the delicacy and elegance behind these animations, which have influenced filmmakers ever since Rejected (2000)

Is Don Hertzfeldt the Walt Disney of our generation with such evocative, 2-D drawings? I think his Bill trilogy makes a compelling case for it.

He is currently touring around the country with the trilogy. Don’t miss it if you have a chance!

Sausages!

What goes well with movies? Sausages!

During Festivus we encourage you to come hungry! The Über Sausage truck will be around to satisfy your hunger for delicious keilbasas, chicago style hotdogs, brats and more.

We’ll make sure to have cold beer, too.

Sausages. Beer. Movies.

Check!

SELECTIONS

The notifications went out and we have our 2012 selections! Below is a title list. We’ll have a complete interactive schedule including trailers, synopses, and more going live on Dec. 6.

Neon Lights
Take A Seat Egypt
The Particles – Taken Away
House
I Can’t Find You
CIgarettes & Death
‘Medic’
Lilith
Searching for Sonny
Dream Come True
I Wasn’t Surprised
Balls
Halbschlaf
Deadbox
The Science of Death
Blockhouse Blues and the Elmore Beast
WIGGAH
Good News, Oklahoma!
16-Bit Sunrise
PUSH – The short film
AGENT MX-Z3RO
Night Wore On
Spoiler
TimeZero: The Last Year of Polaroid Film
Children of the Air
Serene Valley
GoldenBox
999.999.999
100 Monkeys – Modern Times
The Back Tenant
Source
The Forgotten Fruit
Chapel Song
The Great Hamburger Challenge
Breach
Pepper
Love Hitch
Showdown
A Finger, Two Dots Then Me
Heaven Strewn
blunderkind
The Summer Home
Self-Sabotage
Ghost Of Old Highways
Remake
The Record
Bunker’d
Flood Streets
Facets
White Knight
Hollywood and Hammer
Kama Sutra King
Dias De Los Muertos
The Barking Horse

Filmmakers: Notification Date

Just a reminder to all you filmmakers out there, our notification date is November 28. You can expect an email from us before end of day. Thanks for your submissions! We’ve been having a blast watching your work, and are extremely excited to announce our selections. Stay tuned!

HDR skies by Tanguy Louvigny

No doubt DSLR has really made an impact on the indie filmmaking community. Add in a hand-made 3-axis motion control rig, and you’re really onto something. That’s what Mr. Louvigny did in this absolutely incredible series of timelapses. Oh and then he made the music too. What did YOU do today?!

Hdr skies from Tanguy Louvigny on Vimeo.

Filmmaker Magazine: When Should You Call BS?

Check out this interesting commentary from Gregory Bayne over at Filmmaker Magazine. It’s a bit of an introspective about trying to see your own work objectively. As artists, this is something we can all benefit from!

DEADLINE WATCH: FINAL DEADLINE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT

This is it! Your chance to be a part of our 2012 festival ends at midnight tonight (Nov. 17). You have until then to submit via WAB, and then discs must be postmarked to us by end of day tomorrow. Don’t wait until it’s too late!