Program 1
Still from "Moonraker"
Work from ORIGINAL Avoid Eye Contact Collection.
I selected the following 14 films from the original Avoid Eye Contact two collections based on my personal bias. But I was also intrigued with the surreal approach of how those films depicted space - be that a city, bar, bedroom, poolside, Moon or, well... Space. There is something about New York City that makes one space-aware. Especially us, animators.
1. "Bar Fight" (4:15) by Christy Karacas
2. “One of Those Days” (6:30) by Bill Plympton
3. “Drink” (4:27) by Pat Smith
4. “Tongues and Taxis” (7:32) by Michael Overbeck
5. "Sub!" (8:30) by Jesse Schmall
6. "Moonraker" (3:00) by Fran Krause
7. “Space War” (3:15) by Christy Karacas
8. “Frog” (3:52) by Chris Conforti
9. “A Little Routine” (7:13) by George Griffin
10. “The Stork” (4:30) by Nina Paley
11. “Roof Sex” (1:09) by PES
13. "Love Story" (3:30) by Signe Baumane
14. “Bathtime in Clerkenwell” (3:03) by Aleksey Budovsky
Avoid Eye Contact (New Films): Program 2
Still from "The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger"
The first few films of the Program 2 introduce audience to dreams and nightmares of the New Yorkers. It informs on the typical New Yorker's neurosis and fears. But the focus of the program is on how to solve the Eternal Puzzle of Love, Compassion and Empathy. It ends on the triumphant note of an indie animator's manifesto: do not become a piece of ground meat in entertainment/hamburger-making corporate machinery. Save your organic individuality.
1. "Christmas Day" 4:00 by Richard O'Connor
2. “Slow Wave” (3:28) by Andy Kennedy
3. “Concrete Jumble: Midtown Twist” (1:06) by Gary Leib
4. “The Lost Tribes of New York City” (3:00) by Carolyn and Andy London
5. “Something Left, Something Taken” (10:13) by Ru Kuwahata & Max Porter
6. "Video 69" 7:00 by Ingo Raschka
7. “Backwards” (4:17) by Aaron Hughes
8. “Blank on Blank: Ayn Rand on Love and Happiness” (4:30) by Pat Smith
9. "Hedgehug" (5:00) by Dan Pinto
10. “A Life With Asperger's” (4:09) by Jaime Ekkens
11. "Mirage" (9 min) bu YoungWoong Jang
12. "The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger" (6:00) by Bill Plympton
13. "Hunger Like a Wolf" (1:30) by Eun Ha Paek
Avoid Eye Contact (new films): Program 3
Still from "Cee Cee's Bedtime Stories"
The conflict and war is the theme kicking off the Program 3. Do wars happen because someone is hungry or stupid? Or because one is just obsessed with winning? Unexpectedly, the New York female animators bring a fresh take on conflict - don't invade my personal space, she warns. The program continues on with major existential questions (what is sex? can you undo what you have done? what if you are only an empty bubble in a billion bubble's bubble wrap?). The closing statement is on impossible-to-live-with-this-sensitivity of an artist. We will live and we will continue to make films despite all the bleeding.
1. "Divers" (3:11) by Paris Mavroidis
2. “The Terrible Thing of Alpha 9!” (5:45) by Jake Armstrong
3. “Wandering Eye” (1:00) by Edwin Chavez
4. "Gastronomic Shark" (1 min) by Bill Plympton
5. “Too Many Crows” (4:00) by Morgan Miller
6. “The Stressful Adventures of Boxhead and Roundhead: Brothers in Arms” (4:24) by Eliot Cowan
7. "More Than Winning" (3:00) by Nick Fox Gieg
8. “My Kingdom” (5:55) by Debra Solomon
9. “Boobatary” (2:47) by Leah Shore
10. “Cee Cee's Bedtime Stories” (2:12) by Joy Buran + Noelle Melody
11. “Teat Beat of Sex: Episodes Job and Hair" (4 min) by Signe Baumane
12. “Command Z” (5:00) by Candy Kugel
13. "Fantaisie in Bubblewrap" (4:16) by Arthur Metcalf
14. “Fluidtoons” (3:32) by Brett Thompson
15. “Pangs” (1:43) by Wendy Cong Zhao
16. "Egg" (8:00) by Jack Wedge
17. "Down to the Bone" (4:20) by Peter Ahern
Still from "Down to the Bone"