Today I saw the Animation Competition at AFI Dallas. The final animation they showed was by Don Hertzfeldt, known primarily as the creator of the Academy Award-nominated short cartoon Rejected. That's how I first found out about him, and it was a favorite of mine in eleventh grade. I initially found it on YouTube and loved it so much that I bought the DVD.
The film of his they showed was titled I Am So Proud of You. That's what the subject of this post is, so if you thought the topic was me telling you I'm proud of you, you were mistaken. Hopefully I didn't get your hopes up.
I wasn't aware a film of his was in the competition, and when the film first started, with its crude, FBF drawings and dark humor, I immediately thought "This was either made by Don Hertzfeldt or someone who's ripping him off as closely as possible." As the film went on, I knew for sure that it must be one of his works.
But this one is more than his previous works that I've seen (though I never did see Everything Will Be OK, the film to which this is apparently a self-contained sequel). It was actually incredibly poignant. Yes, it still has the silly, random, semi-dadaist humor that his previous works had, but it also had a sympathetic protagonist and genuine human emotion. Before I saw this, I thought that it would be impossible for such a nonsensical absurdist work to come this close to making me cry. ("This close" is approximately halfway.) I thought that, if you go that far into silliness and insanity, it would be impossible for one to care about the characters in any way other than "lawl". I'm glad to have this film prove me wrong.
It also has a very innovative visual style. It's still composed of crudely-drawn stick figures, but there's a lot more to that now. I won't say anything about it because that would spoil the initial experience.
The rest of the cartoons in the competition all had lavish, usually very expensive-looking animation, but in terms of message, comedy, and heart, they all paled in comparison to I Am So Proud of You. I really hope it wins the competition.
And no, you can't find the film anywhere online. It hasn't been shown anywhere as of yet except festivals. Everything Will Be OK is out on DVD, however, and I'm definitely going to buy it.
[Film] I Am So Proud of You
Moderators: Rebuild/OT Moderators, Board Staff
[Film] I Am So Proud of You
"Today?... hmm... today... right... Um... I'm just gonna wing it." -Guess who
- Sailor Star Dust
- Kept you waiting, huh?
- Age: 38
- Posts: 23063
- Joined: Aug 13, 2006
- Location: 私の中いる自分の心
- Gender: Female
Oh, I'm definately interested. Rejected was pure genius.
"My anus is bleeding!"
"YAY!"
"My anus is bleeding!"
"YAY!"
Rest In Peace ~ 1978 - 2017
"I'd consider myself a realist, alright? but in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist. It means I'm bad at parties." - Rust Cohle
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
"The internet: It's like a training camp for never amounting to anything." - Oglaf
"I think internet message boards and the like are dangerous." - Anno
"I'd consider myself a realist, alright? but in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist. It means I'm bad at parties." - Rust Cohle
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
"The internet: It's like a training camp for never amounting to anything." - Oglaf
"I think internet message boards and the like are dangerous." - Anno
Re: [Film] I Am So Proud of You
The Full Film is called its such a beautiful day. Its one of my favorites.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 47 guests