Asian Film Festival of Dallas 2009 - ‘Animation: The Illusion of Life’

ANIMATION: The Illusion Of Life How do you coax life out of thin air? Come and find out in this program dedicated entirely to the magical art of animation co-presented and curated by the San Diego Asian Film Festival. Mature Content not suitable for children. TRT: 86 min

AGAINST THE GRAIN Director: Kevin Kolodinsky I USA I 2 min. I Video I 2008 A hapless karate fighter meets his biggest and baddest opponent. medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya.

NADAL VS. ALIEN Director: Tak Hoon Kim I Korea I 3 min. I Video I 2008 International tennis superstar Rafael Nadal battles "Nadaltron" in a balls-to-the-walls fight for global domination. medium: traditional stopmotion.

ALIEN ABDUCTION Director: David Han I USA I 2 min. I Video I 2008 What happens when a hungry space alien attempts to cow-tip a three-eyed mutant bovine? medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya. MAGICICADA Director: Benett Kim I USA I 3 min. I Video I 2007 A magical cicada attempts to win the sympathy of a boy who has captured it. medium: traditional 2D. SNOW DAY Director: Kim Hazel I USA I 2 min. I Video I 2008 Can a helpless T-rex dinosaur save himself from the impending doom of the Ice Age with only one sock? medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya.

AWKWARD Director: Cesar Kuriyama I USA I 3 min. I Video I 2004 Three friends enjoy a night of debauchery over some beverages until their humiliating discovery. medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya, AfterEffects.

ABRIDGED Director: Arjun Rihan I USA I 4 min. I Video I 2007 A romantic comedy set on the Golden Gate Bridge. medium: CGI; software: Maya

APPLE/BIRD & THE BEE "AGAIN & AGAIN" Director: Dennis Liu I USA I 3 min. I Video I 2008 Tons of cool ways to use a Mac, set to the song of 'Again & Again' by the Bird & the Bee. medium: CGI 2D; software: OSX.

BATTLE OF THE ALBUM COVERS Director: Rohitash Rao & Abraham Spear I USA I 3 min. I Video I 2006 Famous animated album covers fight to the death! medium: CGI 2D; software: AfterEffects

HALLUCII Director: Goo-Shun Wang I USA I 4 min. I Video I 2006 A drunken man is trapped and attempts to escape out of an Escher-esque world of endless stairs. medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya.

THE POSSUM Director: Chris Choy I USA I 5 min. I Video I 2005 A story about an apple farmer and a clepto possum. medium: traditional 2D;

THE MOUSE TRAP Director: Woon Han I Korea I 6 min. I Video I 2007 A butterfly sets off a chain reaction of chaos in a subway train full of mice & men. medium: traditional 2D;

SWIMMING MOON Director: Nahomi Maki I USA I 4 min. I Video I 2008 A being is driven to madness by the full moon, but then discovers a sensitive, beautiful and surreal world within. medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya, AfterEffects.

SPORTS AND DIVERSION Director: Bum Lee I USA I 4 min. I Video I 2006 A series of short experimental animation that reinterprets the themes of Erik Satie’s piano compositions "SPORTS ET DIVERTISSEMENTES (1914)." medium: CGI 2D; software: AfterEffects, Maya.

KETCHUP Director: Wenchung Lu I USA I 7 min. I Video I 2008 A young boy and his family resort to the dark side in order to grow bigger and better tomatoes. medium: traditional stopmotion.

PREKISSTORIC TIMES Director: Leonardo Matsuda I USA I 5 min. I Video I 2008 A lovable caveman finally meets his dream cavewoman, only to find a more evolved and greedy adversary standing in his way. medium: traditional 2D;

YELLOW STICKY NOTES Director: Jeff Chiba Stearns I USA I 6 min. I Video I 2007 2,300 drawings, 4x6 inch yellow sticky notes and a black ink pen – a small internal reflection on one’s role as an artist manifests into a discussion about major political and environmental crises. medium: traditional 2D.

SHOOTING STAR Director: Ryan Chen I USA I 3 min. I Video I 2008 A frustrated boy makes a big mistake and searches for a way to return home. medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya, Blender, AfterEffects, Vicon.

MEAT DAYS Director: Joe Hsieh I Taiwan I 12 min. I Video I 2006 In a chaotic time of men eating men, Ah Orr is a prostitute who exchanges meat everyday to bring food for her child and a sick husband. medium: CGI 2D; software: Flash.

JOSIE'S LALALAND Director: Yibi Hu I UK I 4 min. I Video I 2007 An abstract piece depicting a dying little girl's last words based on a true account. medium: CGI 3D; software: AfterEffects.

Curated by Sam Chen, Artisitc Programmer for the San Diego Asian Film Festival

Information from the festival's website