Stop-Motion Animation: A Creaky Artist's Studio and a Little Clay Girl "On the Other Side of the Woods"

A small clay girl is lost in a creaky artist's studio, meets a wolf... and it's exactly as "fairy tale" as it sounds.

Gypsy shared this on Twitter the other day and we realized we had never posted it on OUABlog, which we should have. It's possibly our favorite stop-motion animated fairy tale short film.

"On the Other Side of the Woods" is "a beautifully realized stop-motion fairy tale about a small clay girl lost in a creaky painter’s studio."* It's a tale of art retelling a folktale, using the fourth-wall of an artist's space, commenting on itself & its story. Created, shot and directed by Estonian director Anu-Laura Tuttelberg (with animator Olga Bulgakova), it's the sort of film that stays with you and continues to delight, long after seeing it. It's not only beautifully done but it comments so well on the art of storytelling, on fairy tales, and on those who tell them & the resulting new tale variations.

It's short, sweet and beautifully shot.

Take a look:

One of the beautiful things about this film is that the deceptively simple presentation gives the viewer lots of room to consider different things it could be commenting on: the confusion, naïveté, and vulnerability of childhood; the artist's process and the life the creation has separate from its maker; the monsters of wolves and also of time; the nostalgia and inevitable passing of childhood; seeing our stories in our creations; the wilds of the creative process and the struggle to make a work that survives it; the contrast versus the interconnectedness of fantasy and reality; the different paths retelling an old tale can take...

“I didn't want to separate the two worlds,” says Tuttleberg, “but to make them fit together instead. I wanted to unify them all into one world and atmosphere. The black and white photography is very graphic and I like that kind of character of a visual, plus I started my studies in art with photography, with black and white analog photography and I find it beautiful and intriguing.” (source)

The description - and appreciation - below of the film, while focusing on the materials used, shows yet another aspect of this lovely film. This is from the Dragonframe website (Dragonframe is the industry-standard software used for stop-motion film):

Directed by Anu-Laura Tuttleberg, “On the Other Side of the Woods” is the story of a little girl made of clay who awakens and brings everything she touches to life. The films aesthetic is special because of its unique use of materials for its sets and puppets. The textures are extremely satisfying to watch. Wet clay becomes hardened, pools of water evaporate and replenish, and light slides across every scene . Shot using only natural lighting, both time and the animators touch are very present throughout the piece. “On the Other Side of the Woods” is a great example of what is so special about stop motion. It is a true labor of love and an enchanting and thoughtful film.

We love how the materials for each set and character are very specific and form part of the commentary on, not just the characters but the story itself, as well as being a commentary on the artistic process. Director Anu-Laura Tuttelberg writes:

"“Teisel pool metsa” / On the Other Side of the Woods is a poetic fairytale shot in an old house in the centre of my hometown Tallinn. The atelier where the story takes place used to be the working space for a famous Estonian painter Ants Laikmaa and is now giving inspiration for my works. The film studies different materials for puppet making and sets using such contrasting materials as wood and clay to bring out the differences in the film characters.  

The materials for puppets were chosen to express their characteristics. The girl for example is made of moist clay to express her dynamic and free personality. She is always flowing along with any event that she comes across in life. I used real clay for making her, and asked the animator to move the surface of her body in every frame so that it is visible that she is made of soft wet clay. The technique was quite time consuming as the clay deforms easily while animating and I had to make a new puppet for each shot.

The film is shot with natural light which makes the viewer aware of the stop motion technique and also shows the passing of time in the film."

If you think about the character of Little Red Riding Hood as you read the above description. doesn't it feel like subtext for this classic fairy tale character?

There's so much contained in this little gem!

And now, ever since seeing this film, we fully expect to stumble across other little characters living out their artistically-fairy tale lives in other busy ateliers, don't you?

* Quoted from a review by This Is Colossal
- Additional source: Anu-Laura Tuttleberg portfolio -https://anulaura.com/on-the-others-side-of-the-woods/

Animator/director of 'The Girl Without Hands' on Why *This* Fairy Tale & Showing It To Kids

There is a really interesting interview at MovieMaker.com with the animator/director,
Sébastien Laudenbach, of The Girl Without Hands; the animated indie film making heads turn as it began it's limited theatrical release in the US last week.

In case you missed the latest news and overview of this film, go check out our post HERE, which includes trailers and art, to catch you up to date.

Specifically, Laudenbach responds very interestingly to three pertinent fairy tale questions, which we're extracting for you below.

Carlos Aguilar, MovieMaker Magazine (MM): What about this specific fairy tale did you find compelling?Sébastien Laudenbach (SL): When I read it, I immediately found it modern. I liked the path of the girl who has to leave a man’s world: her father first, then her prince. She has to be alone growing up. She needs time to be herself, to be whole. And when she is ready, she can come back to the world. This was very important for me. I think it was the first time I read a fairy tale that told such a story, a fairytale where being a princess was not the happy ending, where it was better to be a woman than a princess. It seemed universal to me. And it made me think about some parts of my youth. This is a story of a woman, but also the story of a man, the prince, who has to go away to fight in faraway wars, and come back. Also for him, it is better to be a man than a prince. This man is not a superman, not a superhero. He is a man, with his weaknesses. But as a simple man, he can be loved. 

MM: The stories in your shorts and in the one in this feature are similarly adult-oriented. Do you feel there is a lack of animated work that focuses on darker subjects, rather than being aimed at children? SL: I think you can tell everything you want with animation techniques. I am focused on adult topics, but I also like children-targeted movies. Children are a very good audience: They can understand a lot of things in a movie, even more than adults, sometimes. In France we released the film for an audience 8 years old and up. It was not easy, but it was very interesting. Their reaction was amazing. They understood the essence of the story: its violence and cruelty, but also its happy ending. Obviously they can’t understand some parts, but it doesn’t matter. The job of a child is to understand the world. So I like keeping some mystery, some dark parts. It is life! A lot of adult movies can be shown to children.  

MM: The Grimms’ ideas about greed, about vanity, about simplicity over opulence, and about persevering even in the worst of situations are expressed in the film with gorgeous visual poetry. Why do you think these concepts are still relevant today? SL: The most important theme for me is time. Everyone has to have time to be himself, to be whole and fulfilled. For someone it might take only a few years. For someone else it might take a lifetime. A lot of people, including myself when I was younger, take shelter in the wrong people. For me the tale is not about greed. The father is just troubled by his daughter’s body, which is changing. And he knows that she is ready to leave home, though he doesn’t want that. So between incest and the urge to keep his daughter at the house, the role of the father is mainly to cut off the possibility of the girl leaving and forcing her to be dependent on him. The more he does that, the more she wants to leave. Greed is just a medium to tell this. The concept of greed is always present in life, don’t you think?

For those fairy tale folk very interested in this tale, you may find Laudenbach's comments on how to portray her doing tasks/surviving without hands interesting too.

You can read the full replies and the whole interview HERE.

'Okja' - An Eco Fairy Tale/Monster Film Coming to Netflix

We just saw this and are pretty thrilled to see a Miyazaki-like story coming to Netflix as live action. While it has nothing to do with Studio Ghibli (that we can find), you can see the influence in the trailer.

Here's the synopsis:

“Okja” tells the story of a girl who travels from Korea to Manhattan to prevent Swinton, head of a sinister multinational meat company looking for a revolutionary product, from kidnapping her best friend, a massive animal named Okja, with some help from a (less extreme) PETA-like organization. The cast includes Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal.

It looks like a somewhat-edgy family film, except that Ms. Swinton does use the F-word in the trailer, so more information is needed on the final rating/age appropriateness.

Take a look (we are smitten with Okja!):

It's clearly another fairy tale-like, fantasy/action film, mirroring the eco-warrior trend of the 80's but with a, very relevant, 2017 twist, and perhaps a little Princess Mononoke thrown in. In some ways it reminds us of Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (remember that little gem, that was also much more violent than you remember?!) except that Okja is a GMO super-pig in serious peril.

Under some controversy at Cannes, due to being backed by Netflix (ie not a traditional/'real' film), Okja is one of two Netflix movies chosen to compete at Cannes. Director, Bong Joon-ho couldn't have been happier with this arrangement though, and his statement makes it easy to see why:

“Netflix guaranteed my complete freedom in terms of putting together my team and the final cut privilege, which only godlike filmmakers such as Spielberg get,” he said. (Variety)

We can hear indie filmmakers getting their proposals in order as we type! In fact, with the current conversations about the representation of fairy tales in films, this sounds like a great option to pursue if none of the big studios seem to be getting on board with a fairy tale vision.

Okja is only on Netflix, June 28.

In 'Losing Time' Red Has To Choose A Path... (Interview w/Director Lisa Stock)

A girl in red, chased by the Wolf of time: which path will she choose?

In Lisa Stock's latest magic realist film, 'Losing Time', which has just become available for the public to view, she asks the question: "If all time were to stop, would you start it again?"

Intrigued by the lovely images, and very different concept, we thought we'd ask Lisa Stock, of InByTheEye, who created, wrote and directed the film, a little about it. 

OUABlog: Congratulations on your new film, and thank you for visiting OUABlog today to talk a little about it. You chose to dress your protagonist in a red coat on purpose. How do you see your new magic realism film reflecting the tale of Red Riding Hood?

Actress Heather Witherill plays a girl with a choice in 'Losing Time'.

Lisa Stock (InByTheEye): I did indeed dress her in red for a reason! While Red is different for everyone, a red cloak or coat suggests potential; potential choices, potential dangers, potential futures. Time, the most ancient of systems is found in the forest. In my film, the grandmother's wisdom comes through at the portal when she makes her decision. Like Red my heroine doesn't let the trappings of fear keep her from persevering.

OUABlog: How did you arrive at this idea?

Lisa Stock (InByTheEye):  As the film is part of the Danny Elfman Challenge we were to choose a piece of his music off the album "Rabbit and Rogue". I chose "Lyric". Listening to the music over and over gave me a sense of both whimsy and urgency, and I immediately saw this character running. Running for something, but obstacles in her way creating tension. I saw her being interrupted, I saw her falling, I saw things getting in her way and came to the idea that perhaps they were frozen in front of her and then the idea of time stopping came to me. So it was a little bit of a backward process.

OUABlog: The film fits well into the 'magic realist' genre, bringing elements of wonder and the supernatural to seemingly ordinary situations. It also seems, if you pardon the pun, very timely, in terms of where society is at right now. We see parallels to concerns about the planet, about people with opposing views not knowing how to get on, as well as the importance of getting back to basics - through those woods that are different for everyone - to figure out just how you feel about something - for clarity. What issues were you thinking about most when having your 'Red' enter the woods?

Lisa Stock (InByTheEye): It does feel to me as if we're on the verge of a new era - there's so much potential, like the burgeoning science generation, but also that bubbling epidemic of despair on so many fronts. We really are at a crossroads. Which path do we take? Especially in light of so much sorrow, worry and anger today, I wanted my Red to reflect that we had a choice - with a very good and positive option.

OUABlog: 'Losing Time' is part of the Danny Elfman Challenge, in which you had the opportunity to use some of Elfman's music score from 'Rabbit & Rogue'. How did it feel being able to use his music? And what happens now?

Lisa Stock (InByTheEye): The Danny Elfman Challenge is part of the LA Film Festival, and 'Losing Time' has been officially accepted and uploaded for voter input and panel judging. Our film, has had a wonderful response the last day or so since it's gone live, and we're thrilled. At this point we have a really good chance of being selected for the finals!

The lady in the clock comes to life
to alert our heroine that time has stopped.

I love this piece of music, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't somewhat intimidating to be creating a unique film for an Elfman composition. I had Heather (the actress) listen to the music over and over again. We would listen to the particular part of the music that went with each scene before filming so she could have it in her head. If you watch closely, particularly on the bridge, her movements are almost dance-like and are going along with the music. I know that the music was supposed to be "the soundtrack" but to me it's very much a character in and of itself. It's almost like a narrator, leading her on from one moment to the next. To me, the music dictated this story and took me through the process of the idea. Part of the rules were that we were only permitted to edit the music in very minor ways, so I have only one cut. When I was listening to the piece early on I could hear and see that fall over and over and I wanted a hard 'stop' (with the music). The whole story stops because she suddenly is becoming frozen and maybe she's going to stop too. But then, in true Red style, she crawls on and keeps going. When she stands up at the portal, the music picks back up and keeps going. When she decides not to restart time, and lifts her hands on that final note of the music, I had her lengthen that movement to extend that final note into silence. Those images after seeing her lift her hands sort of carry the music on, even though you're no longer hearing it. 

Elfman is such a singular and inspiring artist, and it was such a pleasure and honor for me to be able to participate in this Challenge. It shows what a generous artist he is by extending a piece of his own artwork to others, complete strangers, to use in their own stories. That's not something you see very often.

As to 'what next', right now a panel of industry judges are selecting finalists - BUT the public gets a say too, and we'd love some help getting us into that final films selection, and it's very easy to do: all you have to do is vote for our film on THEIR website at the link below (it takes you directly to 'Losing Time', so no hunting required):

'LisaKStock - Losing Time' - http://indi.com/8xcwv

There's a 'like/heart' button right below the film and every click counts. Sharing helps too, of course, (the share wheel is next to the heart) and the following hashtags are really helpful for those sharing: #buzzchallenge #indi_8xcwv

OUABlog: We have one last question: why chocolate?

Lisa Stock (InByTheEye): *laughs* Because chocolate is pure happiness and no matter what there is always chocolate!

OUABlog: Thank you for talking with us today. We wish you every success with this lovely new take on our very versatile Red!

Art Film: A Post-Truth Pinocchio In Venice

That title. We can't decide if it's ironic or tautological, nevertheless, Pinocchio - known the world over for his lies and the biggest tell on the planet - is having a revival, of sorts.

While Pinocchio has been associated with (almost) every President in the US (in fact, someone could probably create a book of Pinocchio POTUS', there have been so many images made with the telling long nose), our current era is more concerned in associating Pinocchio with fake news, specifically, fake news originating from the office of the Presidency (whether POTUS himself or his staff and entourage). With all the 'alternative facts' and 'post-truths' still constantly barraging the news and media, Pinocchio is fast becoming the poster boy for US politics (no matter which 'side' you take) and he, President of Fake News Pinocchio is cropping up more and more in writing, cartoons and contemporary works of art and film.

One of the most recent appearances is in a festival film, titled "Spite Your Face: A Dark Venetian Fairytale", by artist and filmmaker Rachel Maclean, where alt-Pinocchio is essentially displayed in a de-consecrated church in Venice, for the 57th Venice Biennale, a unique contest, "like the Eurovision song contest for art. People represent their countries." 

Fittingly, the film was created in a large, portrait format -something unusual, even for art films, and the constant impression that you're looking at a portrait, reinforces the sense of Pinocchio's importance - to himself and to those watching.

We've assembled a partial synopsis by combining two sources (both cited after their extracts):

Spite Your Face, transforms the 19th century Italian tale of a wooden puppet who wants to be a real boy into a dark and disturbing satire of the era of celebrity, fake news and reality television... and Maclean plays all the characters herself, (aided by) costumes elaborate costumes and the help of prosthetic designer Kristyan Mallett, who has worked on the Harry Potter movie franchise.

The film tells the rags to riches story of an urchin called Pic. His life is transformed when he is catapulted into "The World Above", a consumer heaven where money equals power. (BBC News)

Pic (full name Pinocchio Gepetto) is a street kid in a grey, hopeless world. He makes a wish on an iPad in the Other World Offerings temple – a digital recreation of the Chiesa di Santa Caterina – and finds himself transported by the blessing of a fairy godmother / Virgin Mary figure to a golden heaven where (through the application of a perfume named Truth) he is able to become a gilded hero punting rubbish perfume (named Untruth) to the masses. 

Standing atop a golden plinth, Pic rants and raves to an adoring crowd. "Smell that? This place used to smell great. Now it stinks. The facts aren't known because the media don't report them." (TheSkinny - we recommend reading their whole article)

As the face of a perfume brand called Untruth, Pic becomes a rich and famous media personality, and a political demagogue, at the expense of his ethics and happiness. 

... "I was interested in how lies had played out in the Brexit campaign and the Trump campaign. Journalism exposed the lies but that didn't affect the outcome. I was interested in how democracy works. We are less rational than we like to think we are and driven by belief systems." (said Maclean - BBC News again) 

Venice is a city that still exudes luxury. Things glint and glitter, look expensive, of high status, and that adds to the setting of Pic, aka, alt-Pinocchio's journey. Perhaps the fact that it was written 'in situ' helped capture that.

The Herald (Scotland) got a preview of the film, and additional comments by Maclean are so very relevant, we had to include an excerpt to give readers a better idea of why this film has caught so many people's attention:

The Herald had a preview of the film - which also features song, satire, special effects and parody - and afterwards Ms Maclean said of the disturbing assault scene: "I've been disturbed and troubled by the recent rise and confidence in misogyny, the rise in anti-feminism, and reactionary attitudes to feminism, and that coupled with a feeling that we are immune, as a culture, to violence against women in images and the exploitation of women, images of women's bodies used to sell perfume or cars, and it is so ingrained we are not shocked by it anymore. I wanted the film to feel jarring, to make it uncomfortable and difficult to watch, and didn't want it so sit at that level of immunity." 

The film does not directly make reference to either Trump or Brexit, but the artist said: "I was processing a lot of the sense of how these lazy lies that were used through the Brexit campaign and the Trump campaign, and that didn't effect the result. 

"I got interested in how difficult it is to penetrate a narrative that has gained political currency, and how easy it is to use lies to substantiate ideas that already have currency. 

"The rags-to-riches tale is so much in our culture, you see it in things such as Britain's Got Talent...I was inspired by how compassion-less those [rags to riches] narratives are, and generate a lack of compassion for other people's suffering."

And so Pinocchio meets Cinderella - and neither look good because of it.

We became even more interested in how this film came to be, knowing it had its genesis well before Trump campaigned or before Brexit rose its head. We found that fairy tales were always a part of her exploration but things evolved quite differently when finishing writing it at the end of 2017.

From TheArtNewspaper:

...Maclean anticipated (the film) might be an extension of her earlier films and photographs exploring fantastical, fairy-tale and clichéd images of Scottish identity, The Lion and the Unicorn and I ♥ Scotland. Presciently, the latter, made in 2013, included a Donald Trump-like figure. Back then he was merely symbolic of corporate greed—a golf-club wielding, saltire-faced, frightwig-sporting ogre, enacted, like all the figures in her work, by Maclean herself.  

But in early December, Maclean visited Venice and her ideas shifted: Spite Your Face (2017), her film for the Biennale, has a wider political target. “Because I went to Venice for about a week or so to write a script for it, and it was shortly after Brexit and shortly after the American election, I was quite interested in this political landscape and the rise of nationalism and the ‘alt-right’ and something that was larger than specifically Scottish nationalism,” she says.  

...Does her Trump-like character reappear? “It’s more allusive,” she replies. “You can pick up on certain things or certain tropes in political characters, but I didn’t want there to be somebody who, for example, directly referenced Trump or directly referenced a recognisable political figure. I wanted the characters to feel a little bit more like an amalgam of different characters and different ideas.

And so they do. But they can't help but mirror the most obvious public examples either, and the images - both the public one of Trump and, in the film, Pic, are such strong ones, it takes a while to see the other characters woven in, characters like Cinderella, Jack and the Ugly Duckling and perhaps a Midas who has yet to learn his lesson.

The show will be on display in Venice from 13 May-26 November then will be shown at Talbot Rice Gallery at the University of Edinburgh from March 2018 and at Chapter, Cardiff from Oct 2018.

#RRR

'Colossal' Is A 'Giant Fairy Tale for Grown Ups' We Want To See

Gloria is an ordinary woman who, after losing her job and being kicked out of her apartment by her boyfriend, is forced to leave her life in New York and move back to her hometown. When news reports surface that a giant creature is destroying Seoul, South Korea, Gloria gradually comes to the realization that she is somehow connected to this far-off phenomenon. As events begin to spin out of control, Gloria must determine why her seemingly insignificant existence has such a colossal effect on the fate of the world.

At first glance this movie appears to be a monster-comedy movie with a lot of laughs, potential for some genuine emotional depth, but little to do with fairy tales. The fact there's a giant creature (known in Japan as a kaiju), connected to a human, might have prickled your folklore senses, and so it should. Giants have been having a quiet but steady presence in movies for the last decade, most recently with The BFG, A Monster Calls and even Pete's Dragon and Monster Trucks. But there is a different fairy tale connection to this movie as well.

The casting of Dan Stevens as the ex-boyfriend (most recently seen on the big screen with horns and a whole lotta CG covering his features) might give you a clue... Yes: it's Beauty and the Beast. It's just not one you've likely seen.. yet. (And it didn't need to be played by Dan Stevens to have that vibe.)

Unlike the Disney live action fairy tale, however, this one is less cinematic-magic-filled and more quirky and down-n-out around the edges, with a lot of tongue in cheek and an edgier lifestyle thrown in, (thanks to the initially unmotivated protagonist and her partying ways) but most specifically it's also less... 'neat'. There is no fairytale ending here, in the usual sense of the notion; note the use of the word 'fairytale' as in dreamy, as opposed to 'fairy tale' to which this bears a much closer tie. The Beast here is manifested fairly obviously, but it's not until the movie unwraps itself a little that you begin to discover what the monster truly is and the real Beast revealed, along with Beauty's role.

Refreshingly, it's not as simple as 'managing one's inner-demon with a sense of humor' plot line, but instead an exploration of more than might be expected. The result might just be one of those cult classics that people can't forget, no matter the crazy premise initially appears. Wonderfully, it doesn't set out to answer ALL the questions either (Where did it come from? Why now? How? Why her?). It just 'is', and accepting that, you can get on with the story. Much like experiencing that wonder element in fairy tales.

Here's the trailer:

(The) how and why (of Gloria's connection to the monster appearing on the other side of the world) bring “Colossal” into the supernatural realm, but the initially affable Oscar’s reaction to Gloria and her newfound superpower turns the fun genre mashup into a dark and scary analogy for very real-world issues.  

“It has so much different kind of meaning for different people,” Levine said. “To some people it is a kaiju film. To other people it’s a romantic comedy or a dramatic comedy. To some people it’s a psychodrama, a science fiction film. I personally look at it as an adult fairy tale.” (Bizjournals)

Oh, and did we mention a woman is carrying this genre movie? There are more than a couple of tropes being twisted here and she might just remind you of some conflicted fairy tale heroines while you watch.

Also worth mentioning: this indie film has proven to be a festival favorite... (see below), and more than a few noted genre movie critics are begging folks to give this off-beat premise a chance - not just because it is a fun genre movie, and flips tropes on their heads, but because it's also well-made overall, well paced and manages to be both an homage and flip of kaiju movies and rom coms, while ultimately being very fresh and original.

This movie is apparently best gone into without spoilers so we will stop discussing this here and (hopefully) at some point in the future, when we've had a chance to view it, (since it doesn't seem to be coming to our local theater and we might have to wait till DVD/streaming release!), we can give a better breakdown. 

In the meantime, for those that have seen it, or don't care about spoilers, or would like to revisit this AFTER seeing the movie, this awesome and VERY SPOILERY discussion by two female film critics, who talk about the unique aspects of this movie (and why they are even more impressed with it than they thought they'd be), is definitely worth bookmarking. And yes - you'll see fairy tale ideas and tropes discussed in this post as well. We wish we could expand on why we feel this is relevant to a contemporary fairy tale discussion but we don't want to spoil the viewing experience. :)

'The Singing Bones' World Premiere in Los Angeles Tomorrow! (Dec 8, 2016)

Have you read the short story "Bones" by Francesca Lia Block from "The Rose and the Beast - Fairy Tales Retold"?

It's a Bluebeard story... with a difference. (Anyone familiar with Block's writing will know exactly what I mean.)

Award winning indie fairy tale film film director, Danishka Esterhazy, has been working with Block on a project to bring her story to life. Now, thanks to some wonderful support via crowd funding and an amazing collection of film talent, behind the camera and in front, Esterhazy is presenting the World Premiere of the short film Thursday, December 8th, 2016, tomorrow night as of this writing and TONIGHT for many readers seeing this post for the first time.

We are happy to announce our WORLD PREMIERE at the Culver City Film Festival in Los Angeles. Thursday December 8th at 1pm. Tickets are available HERE. (FTNH: $10-$50)

Production still from The Singing Bones - Red Czarina

Block posted a brief, but illuminating announcement when the first image from the film was released. We're including most of it here, as it will give you insights into the story, the film, why this is one to keep an eye out for, and, if you're in LA, worth giving up your Thursday night to go check it out, if it's at all possible.

I wrote the story "Bones" as part of my collection of fairy tale retellings, The Rose And The Beast.  It is an emotional story for me  because the nameless main character represents the sense of loss, isolation, and loneliness, and the self-destructive tendencies, of my late teens and early twenties.   When Danishka Esterhazy shot her adaptation The Singing Bones in Oakland this last weekend, I was transported forward into the world of her fairy tale and backward into my past.  As I sat behind Katie Polley, while Michael Klinger seduced her with blue cake, blue drinks and his blue gaze, tears filled my eyes. Katie's stunning, fine-tuned acting skills and the fascinating way I was situated made me feel I was reliving my painful past through her, facing my seductive self-destruction embodied by a gorgeous, charming and intelligent young actor playing a Bluebeard-like character. 

The cathartic aspect of theater is something I've never been so fully aware of. 

This is one reason I want to work in film. Perhaps nothing is more powerful.

(Doesn't that make you want to go to the theater or get involved in creating and supporting a film of a story you love as well? Us too. If you're serious about film, we know some worthy indie filmmakers, Esterhazy and her company Red Czarina included, who could use your help.)

Award winning, indie filmmaker, Danishka Esterhazy

Block also interviewed Esterhazy about her love of fairy tales and aspects of creating this new film. From Block's blog:

FLB: We share an interest in dark retellings of classic fairy tales. What do these tales mean to you? You’ve based work on Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood and The Snow Queen (as well as Bluebeard in The Singing Bones). What do these specific tales represent for you? What other tales are important in your  life? Who introduced you to these stories? 

DE: My mother read fairy tales to me and encouraged me to be an avid reader. So I have her to thank. She has always liked ghost stories, too, so I grew up hearing a lot of fabulous scary tales. But what I love about retelling fables is the power of layered meaning that becomes possible when a story is ancient and well-known. The audience is already familiar with the characters, with the plot, so you have a shorthand for communicating ideas. You can draw attention to important themes in a powerful way. And I love to take a story where the moral is all about a woman's need to conform - to turn that upside down - and make it about empowerment.

You can read the whole interview HERE.

If you are one of the lucky ones to attend the premiere, let us know! We'd love to hear about it and what you thought. (We are predicting all good things!)

Indie Short Film 'Charming' Looks Completely, Well, Charming!

Prince Charming recounts his disastrous search for true love in a re-imagining of classic Grimms’ fairytales with a contemporary touch.

This, very charming (it's difficult to find another word that suits as well), under-the-radar, indie film, is busy adding yet more laurels to its already-loaded list of accolades (and poster).

Sydney Indie Fest (Australia), just announced Charming as an award winner, something which is becoming a regular announcement from this team. (Congrats Charming crew!)


It should be noted, that the journey to those awards was long and difficult, including many years battling the Hollywood process, only to give up and work outside it. With help from crowd funding (via Indiegogo), it turns out, working around the studio system, might have been the smartest move to get their film made and seen around the world, and, hopefully, open the door for larger, projects down the road.

But what is this film about you ask? It's a lovely premise. Here's an extract from the Director's statement.

"Who is Prince Charming? As a kid, I always remembered him as the guy who swept in at the end of my sister’s favorite movies to kiss the princess, save the day, and ride off into the sunset, leaving everyone to live happily ever after. But why was he kissing all these princesses? What happened after the prince and princess rode off into the sunset? Can everyone really live happily ever after? 

So began Charming. My friend, Christopher Jones, and I wrote a feature length screenplay telling the untold story of Prince Charming’s search for true love by weaving together existing fairy tales with familiar characters. We optioned Charming to Inferno Entertainment (Killing Them Softly, The Grey) in 2012. After over a year of rewrites, Hollywood turmoil and our story languishing in the shadows, we received back the script’s rights and soon re-envisioned Charming into a twenty page short film containing the feature’s theme, tone and characters so that we might bring the story to life ourselves. 

Will Hawkes as "The King", Tom Albanese as "Charming", Mary Bonney as "Sleeping Beauty", Marian Frizelle as "The Queen" in CHARMING.

..So, after all those years of my mind wrapped in fantastic dreams and fairy tales, who is Prince Charming? Some hero valiantly fighting off dragons, saving the princess, and falling in love? No. I think he’s us. Just a guy doing his best… hoping one day he might live happily ever after."
-- Tom Albanese, Writer & Director

And here's the sweet teaser trailer:

Despite the general groans emitted when it was announced Hollywood was making a Charming film of their own (based on Cinderella's Charming), this approach, by Director Tom Albanese, gives us the absolute opposite reaction. The teaser makes you want to see the rest of the story, doesn't it?

Here's a little more insider info via a WeAreMovingStories.com interview with Albanese:

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?The universally beloved ’fairy tale’ characters created by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Charles Perrault, etc. were firmly planted into pop culture after Disney immortalized them. “Charming” takes these characters and their various stories and weaves them into Prince Charming’s own, original story that hasn’t been told. It answers the question, “Why was Prince Charming kissing all those princesses?”
Besides that, it’s funny, cute, and teaches you a thing or two about that funky thing “true love”.

Beatriz Mendonca as "Snow White" in CHARMING

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?I’m fascinated with relationships. Why some work out and why some don’t. We’ve all had our hearts broken and most of us have been in love at some point (or at least thought we were). I’ve had many situations where I’ve wanted a relationship to work out but it ultimately wasn’t meant to be. You can’t make someone fall in love with you and “You Can’t Hurry Love” as the Supremes once said. “Charming” takes our hopes of finding true love and and applies it to these classic characters who ultimately want the same thing — to live “happily ever after”.
Sometimes the prince and princess might not actually be good for each other, despite all appearances and what’s on paper. Maybe “true love” doesn’t happen the way we’ve always been told it does.

Charming has also just been announced as part of the official selection at the Zamoxis Film Showcase, being held in Santa Monica Film Center (California), in mid-November, so it's likely we'll hear even more buzz about them shortly.

As the awards continue to roll in, we look forward to the end-of-year plan to make this film available to the public.

We could all use a feel-good, Shrek-meets-Pretty Woman type of story, with a more realistic, yet still hopeful, portrayal of 'true love', to share with all those young boys overwhelmed by Princess Culture, and our families.