Portraits of Moscow Voyages: In Search of Laika

The Sleeping Beauty

Centuries ago in the past, the witch, who doesn't like Beauty, puts her to sleep, then flies throughout the castle spreading sleep powder, placing all into slumber. Eventually we flash forward to present time: A young hepcat in a convertible tries awakening Sleeping Beauty, and everyone in the castle, with some Big Band music. Will it work? A Puppetoon animated short film.

Together in the Weather

In this Puppetoon animated short film, Judy, an enticing blonde, lives across the way from Punchy and uses all her feminine wiles to try to snare him.

We Drink Too Much

An unapologetic take on the vicious cycle of earning too little and consuming too much.

The Old Knight

An old knight goes on a journey to rescue his horse from the jaws of a dragon.

The Lord of the Rings

Young Hobbit Frodo Baggins is thrown into an amazing adventure when he's tasked with destroying the One Ring, created by the dark lord Sauron. Frodo must travel in a small fellowship of nine warriors and accomplices. But it won't be an easy journey for the Fellowship of the Ring, on the ultimate quest to rid Middle-earth of evil.

Camp Kona

A lonely kid finds an unexpected friend when forced to attend a summer camp with a dark secret. After Kaia goes missing during the summer of 1982, Jasper enrolls at Camp Kona a year later and begins to discover hidden facts about her disappearance. With many ups and downs, the film sets the stage for short-form animated monster movies that echo 80's nostalgia.

All Lines

This was a news film with elements of reenactment. From December 1927 to 1932, 2,000 bus and train drivers were fired, provoking a strike. This film was edited out of footage shot from that strike over a long period.

Perpetual Motion

Part of Max Fleischer's "Out of the Inkwell" series.

Terra Incognita

Terra Incognita is a multi-plane cut out animation made from photocopies of 19th century illustrations made during the race to the poles and drawings by Eric Leiser. For the puppet performance it was flat-rod puppets on a proscenium stage with a screen behind them, onto which the animation Terra Incognita is projected. Many of the sea monster puppets and ships performed in sync with the animated ones, along with splashes of water and powdered chalk to mimic snowfall. These techniques came from my time studying puppet theater in Prague, in 2002, and learning from Svankmajer and Svankmajerova. It was a lot of fun to both animate and to perform live with Jeffrey's wonder score. At the same time the film comments on the colonial race to claim the Arctic by various countries—a race that, in a sense, is still going on today, but this time again for oil—and the murders of the Inuit people who had inhabited the land for millennia.

Iyawo

This is the morning of a young Nigerian woman's wedding preparations. As she gets ready surrounded by the women of her family, she questions her life choices.

Rally Road Racers

Zhi, a rookie race car driver, gets the opportunity to compete against the reigning champion of the rally car circuit. With help from a former driver-turned-mechanic, Zhi must overcome treacherous terrain, rival racers, and unexpected obstacles to prove he has what it takes to be the next great racer.

Ship Ahoy

Farmer/Captain Alfalfa on a ship with his animals.

Train de vie

Michael Jackson: Moscow Case 1993

The Moscow Case is a 52 minute documentary with never-before-seen footage of Michael Jackson in Moscow during the "Dangerous" tour. This film tells the behind the scenes story of Jackson's ill fated concert in September 1993. It includes unique archival footage showing Michael close up and personal while meeting fans and playing with orphan children.

Set Sail for Candy

An animated pilot/short film where a trio runs a candy delivery service on the sea, selling magic sweets to its customers.

Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow

The children of the Avengers hone their powers and go head to head with the very enemy responsible for their parents' demise.

Double King

A king steals crowns from various other rulers.

She Dreams At Sunrise

A 70-year-old woman with meningitis lives between her dream world and reality while her great nephew and caretaker helps mend the past in this heartwarming animated film.

Among Neighbors

Combining magical realism and evocative hand-drawn animation with revelatory interviews and verité footage, "Among Neighbors" examines the story of a small, rural town where Jews and Polish Catholics lived side by side for centuries before World War II. The film brings the Polish response to the Holocaust to life through the last living eyewitnesses, revealing both love and betrayal as it zeroes in on one of the last living Holocaust survivors from the town, and an aging eyewitness who saw Jews murdered there — not by Nazis, but by her own Polish neighbors. Produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Yoav Potash ("Crime After Crime," Sundance Film Festival).

POSTLIFE

Postlife is a surreal first-person comedy animation series (say that three times really fast) that follows the journey of a lost soul on its way to heaven.