The Rhythm of Objects: International Puppet Animation Short Films
Room 4955, SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 West Hastings Street, Vancouver The Rhythm of Objects: International Puppet Animation Short Films
Curated by Hongyan Sun
The great Czech animator Jan Svankmajer calls puppet animation “a fantasy world built of real things.” Made of physical materials, inanimate yet somehow alive, every puppet has its own order of movement and rhythm of breath. Puppet animation blurs reality and fantasy with wild imagination.
“Hongyan Sun, a world expert in puppet animation, has put together a stunning program of award-winning films, many never before screened in Canada. We’re lucky to see these rare movies here in Vancouver. And all the artists are getting paid!” says SFU Contemporary Arts professor Laura Marks.
From six different countries, different eras, and in markedly different styles, each of these movies is a beguiling material fantasy world.
Hongyan Sun is a Ph.D. candidate at the Communication University of China, finishing her dissertation on Puppet Animation Aesthetics. Her research is supported by the China Scholarship Council, allowing her to study for a year with Professor Laura Marks at Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts.
1. The Love Story of A Frog
Director: Natalya Dabizha
Time: 13’10’’
Country: Russia
Year: 2005
2. Negative Space
Director: Max Porter & Ru Kuwahata
Time: 5’17’’
Country: US
Year: 2017
3. Deer and Cow
Director: Zou Qin
Time: 9’34’’
Country: China
Year: 1990
4. Mr. Sea
Director: Geng Xue
Time: 12’46’’
Country: China
Year: 2014
5. Bydlo
Director: Patrick Bouchard
Time: 8’56’’
Country: Canada
Year: 2012
6. My Strange Grandfather
Director: Dina Velikovskaya
Time: 8’46’’
Country: Russia
Year: 2011
7. Screen Play
Director: Barry Purves
Time: 11’18’’
Country: UK
Year: 1992
8. Harbor Tale
Director: Yuichi Ito
Time: 18’06’’
Country: Japan
Year: 2011