Animated films come in all shapes and sizes. For the November installment of Flaherty NYC, The Flaherty will present a program of experimental animated shorts, focussing on the role of animation in nonfiction films.

In the Experiments with Animation program, The Flaherty will bring together a broad spectrum of animated works, ranging from quirky and humorous to dark and haunting, and often falling somewhere in-between. Each film tells a poignant story using very different mediums – watercolor, pencil illustration, paper cut-outs, and even video game footage. What holds the program together is the ability of the filmmakers to convey authentic human emotions using inanimate objects and forms.

Select filmmakers will be participating in a discussion after the film.

Featured filmmakers include :

*Martha Colburn
Born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania (USA). Based in Holland and New York since 2000, Colburn is a self-taught filmmaker who has completed over 40 films since 1994. Her films have screened at Sundance, Rotterdam International and New York Film Festival, MoMA, and Cannes. Filmmaker Jonas Mekas said of her work, “Bordering on the outrageous, crackling frame energy, Martha Colburn films are naked testimonials of our times, and of her generations.”

*Jesse Epstein
Jesse Epstein was selected for “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine, for her series of short films on physical perfection. The first part, Wet Dreams and False Images, received a Short Subject Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival. The second part, online The Guarantee , received Best Short Film at the Newport International Film Festival, and the third part, 34x25x36, was broadcast on P.O.V. this summer.

*Signe Baumane
Signe Baumane is originally from Latvia and educated in Moscow, and began her New York career working in the studio of Bill Plympton before starting her own studio in 2002. She has produced and co-produced, written, directed and designed more than 9 independent animated shorts, which have screened at such prestigious festivals as Annecy, Tribeca, Sundance, Berlin, Ottawa, and Venice.

*Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung
Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung makes socially conscious art using Hi-Definition video animation, video game, net.art, digital graphics and mixed-media installations. His work has been exhibited at the New Museum, Yerba Buena Center Of The Arts, Berkeley Art Museum, and Sundance Film Festival, amongst others. In 2008, Ken Johnson of Pills The New York Times described Hung as a ?Fierce, funny and inventive political satirist.?

*Jeff Scher (2007 Samu Award Winner)
Jeff Scher lives and makes films in Brooklyn, NY. His films may be seen on The New York Times blog, The Animated Life. Heteaches at New York University and the School of Visual Art. Scher was the winner of the 2007 Samu Award. Time Out New York said his ??quicksilver shorts are like Muybridge motion studies for the MTV generation.?

*Phil Solomon http://blog.mgkglobal.com/?p=6818 http://poshlashboutique.com/?p=7544 (2004 Flaherty Seminar featured artist)
Phil Solomon is an American experimental filmmaker and professor at Colorado University. His work is often described as haunting and lyrical. Solomon has recently earned acclaim for a series of films that incorporate machinima made using games from the Grand Theft Auto series. In 2007, The Village Voice named Rehearsals for Retirement one of the top ten experimental films of that year.

*Steven Subtonick (2006 Flaherty Seminar featured artist)
Steven Subotnick’s animated films are associative explorations of themes found in history, folklore, and his own unconscious. He has been making independent films since 1985. They have screened in festivals, galleries, and curated shows around the world. He has worked as an animator, director, illustrator, author, and has taught animation at numerous institutions, including Rhode Island School of Design and Harvard University.

Anthology Film Archives is located in the old Second Avenue Courthouse building in the East Village at 32 Second Ave. at the corner of 2nd Street. General admission tickets to the Flaherty NYC series are $9. Tickets are $7 for IFP members, NALIP members, and students with valid I.D., and $6 for Anthology members. Tickets can be purchased at the Anthology box office the day of the show. For more information, call the Flaherty at 212-448-0457.