More Anxious Bodies
Marie Larrivé, Noir-Soleil, 2021. Courtesy of the artist and Square Eyes.
More Anxious Bodies delves into the complex interplay of bodies, relationships, history, and grief through the works of nine contemporary women animators: Terril Calder, Carla Melo Gampert, Laura Harrison, Jenny Jokela, Sawako Kabuki, Yôko Kuno, Marie Larrivé, Yoriko Mizushiri, and Cassie Shao. Using watercolors, stop-motion puppetry, and multidimensional collage, these artists craft tales of body-snatching colonizers, ecstatic bird-women, shape-shifting daughters, and missing persons.
2013–23, multiple artists, Canada, Colombia, Finland, France, Japan, USA, Digital
In French and English with English subtitles
75 minutes followed by a conversation with participating artists
PROGRAM
The Lingerie Show
Laura Harrison, 2015, USA, 9 minutes
Somewhere in Florida, Lorraine puts on a lingerie show for her boyfriend Caesar. What unfolds is a parable of characters falling off the edge of society. Laura Harrison based the film on a short story by Beth Raymer.
Laura Harrison (MFA 2016) makes experimental narrative animations about people living on the fringes of mainstream culture. Her films have screened internationally and she has garnered numerous awards, including, most recently, a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
A Bear Named Jesus
Terril Calder, 2023, Canada, 6 minutes
In this surreal and inventive stop-motion animated story, a bear named Jesus abducts the narrator’s mother from their reservation. (Anita Raswant)
Terril Calder is a Métis artist, born in Fort Frances and currently based in Toronto. Her work, which has screened globally, has been the subject of numerous exhibitions and retrospectives. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Ontario Arts Council's K.M Hunter award for her work in Media Arts.
La Perra
Carla Melo Gampert, 2023, Colombia/France, 14 minutes
In Bogota, a bird-girl leaves behind the family home, her domineering mother, and faithful dog to go and explore her sexuality.
Carla Melo Gampert is a visual artist and animator based in Bogotá. Her work has screened at the Cannes Film Festival, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, and Dok Leipzig, among others. In addition to her filmmaking, she also works as a curator and film programmer.
Snow Hut
Yoriko Mizushiri, 2014, Japan, 6 minutes
A small figure sits in a snow-covered house in a large rice field. The snow melts and the borders between field, house, and figure dissolve.
Yoriko Mizushiri is a freelance film director based in Japan. Her films offer new perspectives on the body through movement, colors, and a focus on tiny gestures. She has received global acclaim for her approach, screening at the most important festivals for animation, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Animafest Zagreb, among others.
Noir-Soleil
Marie Larrivé, 2021, France, 20 minutes
A man discovers that the father he had long believed abandoned his family for America has actually been dead for years, his remains recently discovered in Naples Bay. He journeys to Naples with his daughter, where they delve into the mysteries of their past and their distance from each other.
Marie Larrivé is a painter and animator based in Paris. Her work has been exhibited at the Palais de Tokyo, Miyu Gallery, and the Bastille Design Center in Paris as well as film festivals around the world. She is the recipient of the 2019 Pierre-Gautier Delaye Prize.
There were four of us
Cassie Shao, 2019, USA, 7 minutes
A dreamlike exploration of illness and death, filtered through a family’s fragmented memories.
Cassie Shao (BFA 2015) is an artist and animator based in Los Angeles. She works across the fields of independent films, television, music video, advertising, and special effects. Her films have been exhibited in museums, galleries, and international festivals.
Barbeque
Jenny Jokela, 2017, Finland, 6 minutes
A visceral journey into the land of trauma, exploring and visualizing feelings of disembodiment and bodily shame.
Jenny Jokela is a Finnish animation director and illustrator based in London. She often explores themes of the body, sexuality, and trauma in her practice. Her work has screened internationally and she is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2018 Cristal Grand Prize from the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
WAAAH
Sawako Kabuki, 2018, Japan, 1 minute
Sawako Kabuki synchronizes morphing figures to a baby's cries. She notes, “everyone was born crying and grew crying.”
Sawako Kabuki is a Japanese illustrator and animator currently based in New York. She’s known for her distinctive hand-drawn graphic style and irreverent point of view. Her films have screened in festivals internationally and in campaigns for clients such as Google, Adult Swim, FX Network, MTV, Miyu Productions, GIF MAGAZINE, Quartz Japan, and Numéro TOKYO, among others.
ACCESSIBILITY
Conversations at the Edge events have live captions (CART). The Gene Siskel Film Center is fully ADA accessible and its theaters are equipped with hearing loops. For other accessibility requests, please visit saic.edu/access or write cate@saic.edu
TICKETS
$13 General public
$8 Students & seniors
$6.50 Film Center members
$5 SAIC staff & faculty & AIC staff
FREE for SAIC students with a valid ID
All CATE programs are free for SAIC students. Unless otherwise noted, SAIC student tickets are released five days prior to showtime. Tickets must be picked up in person from the Gene Siskel Film Center box office. A student ID is required.
RESOURCE GUIDES
Conversations at the Edge’s resource guides contain articles, interviews, and other material related to upcoming artists and events. Available here.