Social & External
The people behind it
Gisel López
(voz)
The animation, music, and optical printing of Kitsch in Synch was produced by Beckett and the students in two classes he was teaching at CalArts. Although a group project, it is clear that Beckett was the director. The playful, catchy soundtrack is used to create a cycle of building tension and release. The brightly colored shapes create approximate symmetrical formations and become more densely layered, with glimpses of iconographic objects and even live footage near the end. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, in partnership with the iotaCenter, in 2007.
Sam the snowman tells us the story of a young red-nosed reindeer who, after being ousted from the reindeer games because of his glowing nose, teams up with Hermey, an elf who wants to be a dentist, and Yukon Cornelius, the prospector. They run into the Abominable Snowman and find a whole island of misfit toys. Rudolph vows to see if he can get Santa to help the toys, and he goes back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. But Santa's sleigh is fogged in. But when Santa looks over Rudolph, he gets a very bright idea...
This experimental film explores the relationship between what we perceive as natural and what we perceive as unnatural and how this relationship changes over time due to natural and unnatural decay.
A independent short stop-motion animation film with cut-out puppets.
Autumn adventurers unite! "Leaf Peeper" takes you on a frantic frolic of Fall foliage until your eyes pop out. Shot on Super 8 in single frames with pixilation, puppet stop motion, frenetic pans, and plenty of plaid, this very short short film packs every second with as many picturesque and picaresque frames as possible, turning leaf peeping into equal parts immersion therapy and extreme sport to capture the sublime bliss of a lovely day out and about.
Experimental narrative with comedy and horror made via long-distance collaboration between two artists.
Robbie the Reindeer arrives at the North Pole, ready to take his place as navigator on Santa's Christmas sleigh team. However, Robbie is soon plagued by doubt regarding his ability, and sets out to regain his self-respect and the admiration of his team-mates.
A postman, S.D. Kluger, decides to answer some of the most common questions about Santa Claus, and tells us about a baby named Kris who is raised by a family of elf toymakers named Kringle. When Kris grows up, he wants to deliver toys to the children of Sombertown. But its Mayor is too mean to let that happen. And to make things worse, the Winter Warlock lives between the Kringles and Sombertown.
Feeling forgotten by the children of the world, old St. Nick decides to skip his gift-giving journey and take a vacation. Mrs. Claus and two spunky little elves, Jingle and Jangle, set out to see to where all the season's cheer has disappeared. Aided by a magical snowfall, they reawaken the spirit of Christmas in children's hearts and put Santa back in action.
'This Socks' is a stop motion animation short film that experiments with different techniques to illustrate a common everyday annoyance.
A "fairy" who owns a toy store gives toys to good children who can pay for them on New Year's. The little boy Francesco really wants a train called "The Blue Arrow" but has no money, so the toys decide to step in. Based on "La freccia azzurra" by Italian writer Gianni Rodari.
In a haunting encounter, the film captures our fragmented perception of time during the pandemic while exploring the dynamics of mutual support. We are made aware of earthly transience (mono no aware) in a time when the Earth seems to stand still. Before We Collide is a short film shot on a Nishika N8000 analog lenticular camera consisting of over 800 photographs pieced together. The film does not give the impression that it is made for me, you, or anyone for that matter. It simply exists as an artefact that can be witnessed, like found footage of a ghostly apparition.
A student moves into their accomodation, only to find their room already decorated, a strange, inhuman flatmate, and a kettle that won't stop boiling.
Life as the sole sale item in the clearance corner of Eben's Bikes can get lonely. So Red, a unicycle, dreams up a clown owner and his own juggling act that steals the show. But all too soon, the applause turns into the sound of rainfall, as reality rushes back. Red must resign himself to sitting in the corner and await his fate.
A visceral journey through dysphoria in the internet age.
A dream can change your life. So can a nightmare.
Metru Productions presents the tale of the skeleton brothers, Skelly-Tom and Knuckle-Ron, as they spend the night drinking away only to discover an unusual newcomer to the land of the dead. A groom who seems to be newly married and still fleshy has appeared confused and frightened. The skeleton brothers do what any good welcoming committee does and decide to bring the newcomer to their good friend, Doc. Doc amazed quickly realizes his chance to bring his dream to life once again through the newlywed groom. After some skeleton brother fun, the groom's life will never be the same again.
A cupcake escapes a city of sweets and is marooned on an island with vegetables where he learns to reform his destructive ways in this tasty stop-motion from the talented Kirsten Lepore.
A hypnotic mise-en-abyme constructed from JVC camcorder footage of a parking garage. Produced in tribute to teacher, filmmaker and video artist Peter Rose and the work of Piet Mondrian.
Krisha is the daughter of the Yates who are the nomad tribe of the tundra. To save her sick mother, she follows the words of Shaman and takes off on her adventure to the end of Northern land to find the red bear she saw in her dreams. In the meanwhile, Captain Vladimir of the federal army and Bazak, the hunter, invades the forest to hunt the red bear. Krisha arrives at the forest where she hears the voice of the red bear.
When things go bad in Beantown, top assassin Killer Bean is called to clean-up the mess. Detective Cromwell finds himself in the middle between Killer Bean and mob boss Cappuccino.
Five tales by Edgar Allan Poe come to life thanks to a pictorical style animation, five tales that exude madness, pestilence, murder and torture.
Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.
When an unknown disease wipes out most of the world’s population, a man with unique blood is isolated for study. Fearing for his wife’s safety, he breaks his quarantine – into a world overrun by monstrous Infected and a shadowy agency hunting them down.
When innocent civilians begin committing unthinkable crimes across Metropolis, Gotham City and beyond, Batman must call upon mystical counterparts to eradicate this demonic threat to the planet; enter Justice League Dark. This team of Dark Arts specialists must unravel the mystery of Earth's supernatural plague and contend with the rising, powerful villainous forces behind the siege—before it's too late for all of mankind.
A bachelor party becomes a savage fight for survival when the groomsmen unwittingly unleash a fabled predator upon the festivities.
A man with the ability to exorcise demons fights to protect his loved ones after a sudden surge in demonic possessions. After discovering his nephew's girlfriend has the same supernatural gift, they join forces for the ultimate confrontation. Inspired by actual events.
A botched faith healing bestows supernatural Shaman powers on a bullied teenager. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that kills someone he loves, he uses his powers for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score.
A night at the movies turns terrifying when Michael and his date are attacked by zombies. Released at the height of Thriller’s success, the short film redefined the music video, broke racial barriers, and became the first inducted into the U.S. National Film Registry.
A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.
Batman works desperately to find a bomb planted by the Joker while Amanda Waller sends her newly-formed Suicide Squad to break into Arkham Asylum and recover vital information stolen by the Riddler.
A malevolent being known as The Jester terrorizes the inhabitants of a small town on Halloween night, including two estranged sisters who must come together to find a way to defeat this evil entity.
A French detective in London reconstructs the life of a man lying in hospital with severe injuries with the help of journals and a psychiatrist. He realises that the man had powerful telekinetic abilities.
In a massive, mysterious chamber, fifty strangers awaken to find themselves trapped with no memory of how they got there. Organized in an inward-facing circle and unable to move, they quickly learn that every two minutes, one of them must die…executed by a strange device in the center of the room.
A vacationing family encounters an alien threat in this pulse-pounding thriller based on the real-life Brown Mountain Lights phenomenon in North Carolina.
The story of Stan, an orphaned teenager stuck living with his abusive grandfather and tasked with routinely protecting his best friend from high school bullies. When Stan discovers a murderous creature has taken refuge inside the tool shed in his backyard, he tries to secretly battle the demon alone until his bullied friend discovers the creature and has a far more sinister plan in mind.
The Utah community of Santa Ynez is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town sheriff, Captain Wade Parent is determined to stop the murderous driver.
Will and his new girlfriend Kira are invited to a dinner with old friends at the house of Will’s ex Eden and her new partner David. Although the evening appears to be relaxed, Will soon gets a creeping suspicion that their charming host David is up to something.
A woman is haunted by recurring nightmares, which seem to be instigated by her late husband who supposedly was killed in a fire.
A group of international passengers on a flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai is forced to make an emergency landing in shark-infested waters. The terrified group is forced to work together and overcome their differences if they hope to escape their sinking plane and the frenzy of sharks drawn to the wreckage.
