Animation
“Isle of Spagg” Animation Premiere + Q&A
Sat | 5 Nov | 16.30 | Screen 1 | Book Tickets
Dir. Greg McLeod, Myles McLeod | UK 2011 | 15 | 90 min
Isle of Spagg is the new half-hour animated comedy from award-winning duo The Brothers McLeod. Set on a strange and wonderful island, which is both familiar and yet distinctly fishier than familiar, it charts the trials and tribulations of a seaside community as it comes to terms with the sudden death of someone who, actually, nobody liked much. At the heart of the story is Inger, a proud fisherman, who hearkens back to something traditional and folkloric, and his wayward, independent daughter Herring, who is anything but backward-looking. She's right now. She's taking no prisoners. And did we mention she has a fish for a head? Their neighbours include two ex-hardmen turned haberdashers, a mad scientist with bees on his brain, a little boy who keeps finding danger at every turn, a man with crab claws and a publican called Duck, who is, well, a big duck. With a fez. Isle of Spagg is a celebration of comedy, folklore, community and the ocean. The screening will be followed by an informal 30-minute ‘making of’ presentation plus a 30-minute Q&A discussion. Suitable for 15yrs and older.
*We warmly welcome award-winning animators The Brothers McLeod, Myles and Greg, who will present, entertain and discuss animation and all the questions posed in the universe (or at least until 18.00, whichever comes first).
My Dog Tulip - with Sailcloth (short)
Sat | 5 Nov | 16.20 | Screen 4 | Book Tickets
Dir. Paul and Sandra Fierlinger | USA 2009 | 12A | 83min
Based on the beloved 1956 memoir by J.R. Ackerley, My Dog Tulip is an animated version of the bittersweet tale of a lonely, misanthropic gay man and his 15-year relationship with his neurotic rescue Alsatian, Tulip. This is not a Disney feel-good cartoon by a long shot: scatalogical messes and Tulip being mounted in heat are drawn with aplomb. A story of finding the perfect companion, Ackerley, voiced by Christopher Plummer, expresses the singular bond between man and canine: “She offered me what I had never found in my life with humans: constant, single-hearted, incorruptible, uncritical devotion, which it is in the nature of dogs to offer.”
Produced using TVPaint software, the animation consists of 58,320 drawings, involving four graphic styles: colour drawings portraying daily life; simpler drawings that evoke Ackerley’s fantasies; black-and-white line illustrations of daydreams; and whimsical yellow-pad scribblings.
“The film’s hand-drawn animation . . . and Mr Plummer’s understated conversational voice combine to make My Dog Tulip one of the most sophisticated dog movies ever created.” – Stephen Holden, The New York Times (Critics’ Pick)
“Fierlinger’s mobile, unruly animation catches the shrewd, observational humour of the original memoir and extends it adroitly.” – Kate Stables, Sight & Sound
To be followed by a screening of the award-winning short Sailcloth, which will include a Q&A with the film's Falmouth-based production designer Alan Munden.
