The Magic of the Molars (John Akre) – Two wand-bearing molars save the rest of the teeth from the terrors of decay and destruction in this stop motion animated short with music by Andy McCormick.
John Akre is an animator who was born in Minneapolis and lived there for most of his life, but is now living in Louisville, KY.
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The Synesthesiacs (Seymour Plank) – An unpopular band uses witchcraft in an attempt to win the crowd over. However, things go wrong very quickly.
Seymour Plank is a 2D hand drawn animator from Taylors Falls, MN, and a recent graduate from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. His focus is in episodic comedies and art inspired by 90s and 2000s era cartoons.
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Umbrella Man (Daniel Marcou) – A very short animation that I made for a VFX class at IPR. The purpose of the video was to work on compositing skills and make a short animated video.
Daniel Marcou lives in Minneapolis and has been exploring animation and motion design for the past two years.
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The Replacements Eat Lunch (Wayne Nelsen) – Join The Replacements for lunch at the CC Club in 1982!
Wayne Nelsen has a channel on youtube with about 127 videos.
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Practice (Joey Barrett) – One-year-old’s hands trying to put a shoe on.
Joey Barrett is an artist, educator, and mother living in Minneapolis. She studies the intimate objects and gestures that make up daily life. Her medium is drawing.
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Nervous System (Zoe Kothlow) – A man wakes up to find himself undead, due to mysterious circumstances. An atmospheric narrative unfolds without dialogue.
Zoe Kothlow is an MCAD graduate, born-and-raised midwesterner. Count Chocula enjoyer.
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MidLife (Robert Jersak) – Folk horror imagery meets existential dread in this experimental animated short film about a man running through his 40’s. It’s not a crisis; it’s just a jog in the woods.
Robert Jersak is an independent animation artist currently teaching at Century College and living in White Bear Lake, MN.
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hold my eyes (Ches Cipriano & Jake Quatt) – a film compiled, animated, and edited in a bit under than 48 hrs. we explored & want to know how you feel in the moonlight. has your shadow ever told you a secret?
ches(they/them) & jake(he/him) are a couple based in st. paul. they pursue & collaborate in a variety of arts including illustration, animation, and theater.
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Water (Lily Berg) – Arianna jumps off a bridge and is saved by the Water Lady, who gives her a choice between life and death.
Lily Berg grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and moved across the river to Minneapolis to attend the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Water is Lily’s 2D animated senior thesis and was made remotely over 9 months with the help of their voice actors and mentors.
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LOCUS (Hana Hartmann & Nori Donais) – (n.) the effective or perceived location of something abstract.
Nori Donais & Hana Hartmann are both students at MCAD. LOCUS was the product of their final project for Intro to Animation.
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Perpetual Notion Machine (CC Stanhill) – An unlikely figure dances through an uncertain space. Inspired by the animator’s experience of coming out as genderqueer during a year of social isolation. Drawn by hand on 70mm paper.
CC Stanhill is an animator working in Minneapolis. They draw all their films by hand on paper. According to Malcolm Turner, of the Melbourne International Animation Festival, they are “quite a lucid sort of fellow.”
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Unfortunate Family (Yinyin Niu) – Two narrators are describing the story of the unfortunate they witnessed, but the stories they know coincidentally involve the same family from two opposing perspectives. Why do two narrators only get one-sided information? It’s as if something is trapping them ……
Yinyin Niu, animator, fan art creator. She was born in Shanghai, China in 1998. She holds a MFA in Visual Studies from Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Her recent practice focuses on how the web and algorithms are subliminally influencing Generation Z in the information-explosive Internet age.
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let me just (Merit Thursday & Artemis Brown) – Two friends pull at the loose threads of communication and relationship making, to see what other sweaters they might weave.
Merit Thursday and Artemis Brown are two sweet homos deeply dedicated to injecting/ingesting love and creativity at all times. They enjoy hugging, eating snacks, and making weird things together.
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Us – Chapter 4 (Garden Greene) – “Us” is a four part coming of age story aimed to navigate the themes of gender, sexuality, and queer identity. The final chapter sees the couple reuniting for the first time in months after a summer filled with uncertainty and doubt over the future of the relationship.
Garden Greene is a writer, illustrator, animator, and film buff interested in telling personal stories with universal themes.
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See Thru (for Norman) (Adam Loomis) – An exercise in free association and stream of consciousness.
Adam Loomis is a self-taught animator and motion designer living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His work spans between commercial, experimental, and narrative, while using a variety of techniques including hand-drawn, vector, and stop-motion animation, as well as live action.
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Boy Brow (Jane Hornsby) – A woman has all of her facial features stolen from her by a carnivorous women’s magazine , only to have them advertised back to her on her TV for $100.
Jane lives in Minneapolis and teaches 8th graders. She has been goofing around with animation for many years, but this is her first time submitting one to anything!
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Thirty-One Infinities (Matt Semke) – An exploration of phenakistiscopes. In the month of October 2021, one phenakistiscope was created every single day. Each piece exists as a stand alone looping animation that can be viewed in augmented reality. This film is a compilation of that exploration.
Matt Semke is a prolific artist and animator from Minneapolis, MN.
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Detached (Emory Allen) – You ever wake up feeling not like yourself? Let everyone know by changing your head as easily as you would change your shirt. Put on your happy face! Or your sad face. Or your uh… upside down face?
Emory Allen is a Director & Illustrator that explores his insecurities through moving images. Inspired equally by Jim Henson, John Carpenter, and Wolverine, his work is the product of an adult who is afraid to forget what it was like being a kid.
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Optopum (Ed Heyl) – Opto-puum Op-topum Hopt-opum? A wizard and his wizard-baby explore a strange and dangerous world.
Ed is a wizard-dad with a wizard-child. He’s been animating for more than thirteen years and also loves performing aerial circus, massaging for money, and generally using his hands.
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Shells (Tom Schroeder) – What remains.
Tom has completed sixteen animated films since 1990. His films have been broadcast on Independent Lens, the Sundance Channel, Canal + France and Spain, SBS in Australia, CBC in Canada and Pacific Voice in Japan. The films have also played widely on the international festival circuit, including multiple screenings at Annecy, Rotterdam, Sundance, Ottawa and South by Southwest, and have won over forty festival awards. Retrospective programs of Tom’s animated shorts have screened recently in Seoul, Minneapolis and Melbourne.
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Concession Stand (Brian Barber) – A drive-in style concessions stand ad for the Free Range Film Festival, played at intermission.
Brian Barber is an illustrator, animator and videographer living in Duluth, MN. His work can be seen at brianbarber.tv or brianbarber.com.
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