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Tennis, Oranges

When all the humans have gone away due to Covid lockdowns, a lonely hospital cleaning robot, left with nothing to do, begins to question its purpose in life. It’s a journey that will lead it to befriend an elderly rabbit who makes his living on the streets of Los Angeles’ Chinatown, in this often comedic but surprisingly poignant short animation by Sean Pecknold. A few months ago io met Sea at an animation event where he talked about the film and how he developed its distinctive characters.

Tennis, Oranges

“The project began as a seed for a story in 2014, a long time ago,” Sean begins. “When I first moved to Los Angeles, I didn't have any friends, I didn't have any work, I didn't have any money. I was struggling to find my place. But on Craigslist, I found a workspace on really quiet street in Chinatown called Chungking Road.

The Denver Film Festival has announced the winners of its annual Audience Awards and Festival Juried Awards, with films like “Bob Trevino Likes It” and “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” taking top prizes.

Following the conclusion of the 47th edition of the festival, which ran from November 1 to November 10, Denver Film Festival artistic director Matthew Campbell said via statement, “This year’s Denver Film Festival brought us fantastic films, phenomenal guests, and unforgettable experiences. The films recognized this year tell strong stories through powerful perspectives, providing viewers with the chance to see themselves on the screen while also seeing something completely new. We are honored to recognize so many voices, both new and familiar, and to bring those stories to audiences right here in Denver.”

It is worth noting that, outside of the audience favorite short film “Jellyfish and Lobster,” the audience award winners were not eligible for juried prizes.

Although 2024 marks another year where I won’t make it to SXSW in person, I’m lucky enough to have access to the majority of short films screening at the festival, and so have binge-watched my way through them over the last week. Animation undoubtedly reigns supreme this year, with half of my 10 favourites being animated pieces, but as always at SXSW, there’s a diverse programme of films, from moving docs to Wtf classics.

Here are the 10 titles that caught my attention in the 2024 line-up:

A Crab in the Pool – Alexandra Myotte & Jean-Sébastien Hamel

A truly surprising short, A Crab in the Pool initially sucks you in with its strange introduction to the world of two siblings left to fend for themselves on a hot summer’s day, before leaving you reeling from the gut-punch impact of its narrative. Reminiscent of a contemporary Mike Judge animation, but with a surreal twist,...

Rooftop Films has announced the recipients of their 2023 Filmmakers Fund grants. A total of 21 cash and service grants will be awarded to a variety of independent filmmakers to support the production of their next short or feature film. Four Rooftop Films Water Tower Feature Film cash grants will be exclusively awarded with support from the Laurence W. Levine Foundation.

Rooftop Filmmakers Fund grants are made accessible to Rooftop Films alumni directors who have had their work screened during the annual Sumer Series in New York City. This years grantees include a demographic of over 60% women, 30% people of color and 10% people a part of the LGBTQ+ community.

“We’re unbelievably excited about the projects we’ve had the privilege of helping to fund this year! Every single one of these filmmakers approach their subjects in ways that are wholly unique to their style and vision, and we can’t wait to see the finished works,...

Fleet Foxes have released a new visual for “I’m Not My Season,” a track from their latest album Shore.

The video was filmed at St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn (the same location as the band’s recent Colbert performance with the Resistance Revival Chorus) and was directed by Sean Pecknold, a long-time Fleet Foxes collaborator and brother to frontman Robin Pecknold.

Fleet Foxes released Shore, their fourth album, in September, following their 2017 LP Crack-Up. The album features contributions from Kevin Morby and Grizzly Bear members Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen.

Fleet Foxes have released a new music video for “Sunblind,” a track off the group’s latest album, Shore.

The clip was directed by Sean Pecknold — brother of Fleet Foxes frontman, Robin Pecknold — and is centered around behind-the-scenes footage of the two-year recording process for Shore, particularly the close collaboration between Robin Pecknold and production engineer Beatriz Bartola. The video features footage shot between September 2018 and September 2020, with scenes from Long Pond studio in Hudson Valley, New York, St. Germain in Paris, and Vox in Los Angeles. It also incorporates...

Fleet Foxes have released a new video for “Can I Believe You,” a track off their most recent album, Shore.

The clip was directed by Sean Pecknold — brother of Fleet Foxes frontman, Robin Pecknold — and boasts a simple but compelling concept and an alluring aesthetic. In a statement, Robin Pecknold said “Can I Believe You” “draws from the age-old folk tradition of headbangers about trust issues,” and the video plays on that idea: The clip features two dancers (Jade-Lorna Sullivan and Jean Charles), who move around sparse sets bathed in warm lights and colors,...

A man finds himself stuck in a surreal Sisyphean loop in Fleet Foxes’ new short film for their Crack-Up opener, “I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar.”

Sean Pecknold, the brother of Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold, directed the video, which opens on a man sitting alone in a room, cigarette dangling from his mouth, staring at a floating cube. The man (played by Jean Charles) eventually leaves the room and begins sprinting up a mountain. At the top, he finds an even larger cube, but each...