Cartoons Underground 2015
The selection for Cartoons Underground 2015!
One of our earlier editions, 2015 was another great year. We had a submission of around 300 films, out of which 8 were chosen to be screened. It was still one of our earlier years and things were still picking up, but the turnout was great and we played to a full house at the Kult Kafe.
Cartoons Underground 2015
Film Selection
2015
IOA
Gabriel Möhring (Switzerland)
Synopsis: A vowel reciting speaking machine describes in a soliloquy its miserable existence as a tool of a despotic singing-teacher.
Biography: Gabriel Möhring was born in 1986 in Basel-Stadt, Switzerland. Since his early childhood, he has been an enthusiast of the Arts with a strong passion for animation, experimental films and mixed media. His first animation short film “IOA” was shown at more than 60 film festivals around the globe.
April 21
Jessica Poon (USA)
Synopsis: Anxious Cubeman getting ready for his first date.
Biography: Jessica Poon recently graduated from California Institute of the Arts’ Character Animation program. Apart from her participation in various international festivals and screenings, her Annie Award nominated animation “Origin” also won the International Student Creative Award in Japan and was a semi-finalist in the Adobe Awards. In 2014, her first music video “Oh! Stargazer” was officially selected by Animafest, Zagreb and International Short Film Festival, Oberhausen.
ColdStream
Nicholas Chia (Singapore)
Synopsis: A girl struggles for water in a post-apocalyptic world infested with mysterious creatures.
Biography: Nicholas Chia graduated in 2015 from the School of Art, Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University. His passion for sound and music led him to be involved in freelance projects and short films, some of which were nominated together with his collaborator Joshua Conceicao for ‘Best Music’ at the Singapore Youth Film Festival and the National Youth Film Awards.
Bendito Machine V
Jossie Malis (Peru)
Synopsis: Trapped against his will in a turbulent conflict, an exotic traveler must wait patiently until the storm has passed.
Biography: Jossie Malis (1976) is an illustrator, animator and filmmaker of Peruvian-Chilean origin and director of the studio Zumbakamera, sending signals to the outer space from the island of Mallorca (Spain). With special passion for the imaginary which incorporates machines and the cosmos, he is dedicated since 15 years to the creation of short films, music videos, series such as the award-winning “Bendito Machine” and all kinds of audiovisual projects. He has participated as a jury member in different international film festivals such as Animatou or Animabasauri and his short films have been selected in numerous festivals around the world such as Annecy, BAF and SICAF, receiving a long list of distinctions. His work is an acute commentary on humans and their weaknesses, their machines, their fears and the mysteries of the universe.
The Octopus Lady
Amanda Wang (Singapore)
Synopsis: Moving from the sea to the city, the Octopus Lady finds herself literally a fish out of water. Dreaming of a home, she is torn between her desire to fit in to the industrious yet impersonal city that she is now trying to make a living in, and returning to the sea.
Biography: Growing up insatiably curious, with an intrinsic need to create, Amanda began writing and illustrating stories since she was five. These days she is happiest when marrying her twin passions of art and writing (or more specifically storytelling), which she achieves through working on 2D animation with an eye for design, illustration and motion graphics which she honed as a recent graduate with first class honours in Digital Animation at Art, Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University. She also likes tea and knitting, and is currently working as an editor at ONE Animation. “The Octopus Lady” is her graduation film.
Need a Hand
Kong Yee Rou (Singapore)
Synopsis: Caitlin is a teenage zombie that struggles with the fact that she has an arm with a mind of its own.
Biography: Kong Yee Rou is a spirited young individual who is passionate about art. She excels in digital and traditional medium, and is constantly exploring and experimenting new ways to produce animations and illustrations.
The Swallow
Chen Xi and An Xu (China)
Synopsis: Three women. Three generations. A Chinese family without love in the 1940s.
Biography: Chen Xi started to draw comics at his early age. His works were published serially for many Chinese magazines. He graduated from Beijing Film Academy with the master’s degree in 2010. He once worked as a TV animation director and an independent director.
Xu An graduated from Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University in 2001, and has been co-directing independent animation films with Chen Xi since 2007. The animation films were selected in competition at international animation festivals including Annecy, Stuttgart, Zagreb and Hiroshima.
Their work “The Winter Solstice” was awarded the International Jury Prize at Hiroshima International Animation Festival 2010.
You Ci Ke (有刺客)
Ronald Fong (Singapore)
Synopsis: Nucai is a dedicated servant to the Emperor who finds himself neglected when the Emperor chances upon a new pet. Sensing something fishy about the pet, Nucai warns the Emperor about his suspicions but his good intentions fell onto deaf ears. It’s now up to Nucai, to stop an assassination plot against the Emperor.
Biography: Ronald specializes in 3D animation, storyboarding, and concept art for animated films. He believes that a well-crafted story is the key piece in making films work as he consciously aims to make his projects meaningful and relatable. He assumes the role of a complete geek when faced with technical challenges encountered within the 3D animation creative process. Not to say less love is given to the more traditional approaches to animation, as Ronald appreciates – just as much – the fluid and expressive nature of hand-drawn animation.
Rating Advisory
All films | 50 mins | Rating: M18 – Mature Content