| 11.07.08 Wow, it's been almost a full year since my last update! So this last year has been full of new and wonderful experiences working for Walt Disney Animation Studios on BOLT, which opens November 21st. Please go and see it open weekend, you won't be sorry! We're all extremely proud of the film and believe it is a big step forward for the studio - it's hilarious, exciting, sweet, and beautiful. But don't take my word for it, check out the trailer and sneak peaks HERE. For those that are curious, I've got about 50 shots in the film including 6 shots in the "TRAILER" clip , 10 shots in "THE CHASE" clip, and, well...zero shots in the "ANIMAL RESCUE" clip (but watch it anyway cuz it's still great!). |
| 11.20.07 Well, we're just now getting settled into our home in California. It's so crazy, there are boxes everywhere! Anyway, I wanted to let you know that The Mantis Parable is now available at Amazon.com! It's considerably better for me if folks purchase it directly from themantisparable.com, but for those that have wanted the film but are uncomfortable using paypal definitely use the Amazon site. ALSO, for those of you that have seen the film already, please stop by and leave a review on the Amazon page. Thanks! |
| 10.18.07 MAJOR NEWS!!! It's been a while since I posted here, but I wanted to let you know that after almost 14 years at Cyan Worlds (makers of Myst, Riven, URU) I will be leaving my day job as Art and Visual Design Director to move into animated film full-time. Last month, with work on Cyan's current project dying down for a bit I informed a select group of studios that for the right opportunity I would be available, and two weeks later I had two job offers - one from Blue Sky Studios in New York, and the other from Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, CA. After much deliberation, I accepted the Disney job. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to contribute my tiny thread to the fabric of Disney's storied animation history, particularly with the studio undergoing radical transformation under new creative head John Lasseter. At least initially I will be working in the Lighting Department, setting up the scene lighting and color to achieve the proper mood, compositing and making final visual tweaks, and working with the team of people responsible for the final visual touches to make sure every animated frame looks perfect before it hits the big screen. My wife and I are anxious but excited, and my kids are - of course - ecstatic. When I explained it to them the first words out of their mouths were "Woohoo! We're moving to Disneyland!" :) |
| 4.29.07 New Website! After much procrastination I finally created a new-and-improved portfolio website at jubileestudios.com. My previous and dusty-old portfolio site joshstaub.com (may it rest in peace) should now be pointing to jubileestudios.com as well. Comments are welcome! Enjoy! :) |
| 4.10.07 Many thanks to Chad and Ken for an amazing weekend in Banff! A couple years ago Ken and Chad invited me to speak at a storytelling summit at the Banff Media Center in Banff, Alberta (CANADA) and I was unable to make it, so when the opportunity arose again I jumped at the chance. WOW! How else can I describe spending every waking hour (and then some) with like-minded storytellers in such a beautiful setting - it really was a transformative experience. Thanks also to my co-presenters (and new friends) Ronnie del Carmen, Kris Pearn, and George Geargeadis. So inspirational! :) |
| 3.9.07 After receiving countless requests from teachers around the country, I have finally put up a freely downloadable "lesson plan" - available on the front page of the website. It's a simple assignment and can be easily modified for a variety of different ages and skill levels. And you don't NEED to be a teacher, it's fun for parents and kids to do together as well. Oh yeah, and thanks to teacher Larry Shurilla for his help in setting it up! |
| 2.1.07 Just a quick update to let you know that The Mantis Parable has won the Best Animated Short Film Award at the Beloit International Film Festival in Beloit, Wisconsin. This is the 17th award for The Mantis Parable! Woohoo! Also, last week I spent a couple days in Park City to screen The Mantis Parable at the Windrider Forum, and also got the opportunity to take in the Sundance Film Festival. What a blast! In just 2 days I saw 4 films, including the Jury Award Winner Padre Nuestro which is fantastic. |
| 1.9.07 Yikes! It's been almost 2 months since my last update! I'm ashamed. Actually, I've been really busy getting ready for the official launch of Myst Online: URU Live at Cyan. It's released exclusively on GameTap (where it's already available to subscribers!). In other news, I suppose I should update you on my last post regarding the 2D Or Not 2D Festival in Everett, Washington. It was a blast! The Mantis Parable screened immediately following a fantastic keynote presentation by Roy E. Disney (Director Emeritus of The Walt Disney Company and famous nephew of Walt) at the Historic Everett Theater in Everett, WA. Roy presented highlights from an enthralling history of the great, glorious and invariably ground-breaking Disney animated shorts… from "Steamboat Willie" to the studios last award-winning film, "Lorenzo"… with many a tale inbetween. It was an inspiring presentation, particularly in the way he described the future of animation. To a crowd of mostly 2D enthusiasts (of which I am one!) he commented on the sheer "stupidity" of Michael Eisner's comments regarding "2D being dead" and pledged Disney's support for future 2D feature films, while also fully supporting 3D and its unique storytelling aspects (yeah!). Basically, he described 2D and 3D as a choice specific to each and every project. YESSSS! Best of all, I got the opportunity to spend a couple minutes with him alone outside before his presentation. He's a very sweet, gracious, and humble man. And yes, I gave him a copy of The Mantis Parable. ;) Oh yeah, and for those that haven't received the Merry Mantis Christmas Card (digital only), HERE it is! I know it's late notice, but better late than never! Enjoy! :) |
| 11.15.06 I'm honored to announce that The Mantis Parable has been requested by the director of the 2D Or Not 2D Festival to screen immediately following a keynote presentation by Roy E. Disney (Director Emeritus of The Walt Disney Company and famous nephew of Walt) this Saturday night at 7:00pm at the Historic Everett Theater in Everett, WA. Roy will be presenting the highlights from an enthralling history of the great, glorious and invariably ground-breaking Disney animated shorts… from "Steamboat Willie" to the studios last award-winning film, "Lorenzo"… with many a tale inbetween. Too cool! |
| 10.30.06 The Mantis Parable has won another award, winning Best International Animated Short Film of the PIAFF in Italy! Woohoo! This is the 16th top festival award for the film. Amazing! Also, I would like to commend Toni Powell on what sounds like an amazing festival - The Heart of Gold Film Festival in Queensland, Australia. Oh how I wish I could have attended! From everything I've heard it was a wonderful event, and sure to be a major stop on the Australian (and worldwide) film festival scene in the coming years. Nice work Toni! :) Finally, my family and I went to the IMAX yesterday and saw a wonderful (and educational) film about insects titled BUGS: A Rainforest Adventure. We all loved it - amazing footage of mantises, caterpillars, butterflies, all sorts of amazing insects. If you've got an IMAX theater in your area, it's really worth the trip. |
| 10.21.06 So, while I wasn't able to attend the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) screening of The Mantis Parable in New York, all reports are that it was fantastic! My Dad and sister were there and word is that MoMA had a wonderful audience and that there was lots of great discussion afterwards. If you were in attendance, please drop me a note and let me know what you thought! Oh, how I wish I could have been there! :) |
| 10.9.06 Long time no post! Sorry! I've had to work out a bunch of kinks with my new hosting service so I haven't wanted to update anything in case my changes didn't "stick." So this past weekend I spent a few days in LA at the Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival and had a wonderful time. It was GREAT to meet a bunch of other filmmakers (you know who you are) and I saw several wonderful films. Special thanks to Dan Bennett for his generous work with the festival, and for securing such a great venue (the Los Angeles County Museum of Art). The Mantis Parable had a fantastic screening on in front of a large very enthusiastic crowd. Awesome! |
| 9.18.06 First of all, I'm thrilled to be receiving your kind messages regarding the film - it's so nice to be able to share it with you! For those of you who haven't ordered a copy of the DVD, what are you waiting for? ;) Simply click on the "Get the DVD" link in the top right corner of any page on this site to access the Mantis Shop page. In other news, I've been having MAJOR web and email problems this past week, so if I haven't responded to an email or you haven't been able to get on the site my apologies. Please keep trying! It's horrible timing to be having all these problems, and I'll probably end up with an ulcer because of it. As I write this now, the front page of www.themantisparable.com is down so I assume very few are able to order the DVD! :( I'm working to move over all of my web stuff to a different host to avoid such problems but it may take a couple days to get it sorted out. Until then, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that everything will hold together reasonably well...it feels like my entire online world is being held together by chewing gum and popsicle sticks right now, and it's all out of my control. I don't like things that are out of my control. Aargh! |
| 9.9.06 Finally, the time has come - THE MANTIS PARABLE SPECIAL EDITION DVD IS NOW AVAILABLE!!! Simply click on the "Get the DVD" link in the top right corner of any page on this site to access the Mantis Shop page. MORE ABOUT THE DVD: This professionally replicated DVD contains the 8 minute film (NTSC* / 1.85:1 / Stereo), 3 Director's Commentaries (1 Creative and 2 Technical), 17 Making Of "Featurettes" including WIP images and clips from the film, and more! The DVD is just $15 USD**, and is currently only available at the Official Mantis Parable Website. Also available is an 11x17 Poster for just $5 USD, which I will personally sign before shipping unless you request otherwise. Thank you again for your support and encouragement, and please spread the word to anyone you think may enjoy the film (or better yet, purchase additional copies for them as gifts!). I'm so excited to share my labor of love with you - you have been so incredibly patient...for many of you this is 3 years in the making! :) MORE INFO: *The Mantis Parable Special Edition DVD is a professionally replicated region 0 NTSC DVD which will play on both NTSC and PAL players. Click HERE for more info. **All purchases are handled by PayPal - however you don't need a PayPal account, just a credit card. Please EMAIL me if you have any questions. |
9.4.06 |
| 8.28.06 THE MANTIS PARABLE is NOW AVAILABLE for VIEWING on iTUNES! Shorts International, Apple's provider of independent short films on iTunes, has handpicked The Mantis Parable to participate in the launch of a new section on iTunes delivering award-winning independent animated shorts In addition to The Mantis Parable, this shortlist of award-winning animated shorts available for viewing includes John Canemaker's Academy Award winner The Moon and the Son, academy nominee and Annecy favorite The Mysterious Explorations of Jasper Morello, and legendary animator Bill Plympton's The Fan and the Flower. GO VIEW THE FILM! Don't forget to leave a review! Woohoo! :) BTW, The Mantis Parable Special Edition DVD is currently being replicated and should be available for purchase in about a week! |
| 8.25.06 Okay, so the BIG, FAT, EXCITING NEWS hasn't happened quite yet...should be any minute now! |
| 8.22.06 BIG, FAT, EXCITING NEWS coming VERY SOON (like hopefully today!) Stay iTuned for more details! ;) Also, The Mantis Parable has a myspace page! Check it OUT! |
| 8.12.06 Putting the finishing touches on the DVD graphics for the Special Edition DVD...HERE is a sneak peak of the cover! Enjoy! :) |
| 8.5.06 THE MANTIS PARABLE SPECIAL EDITION DVD coming end of August! The Special Edition DVD will include 3 director commentaries, 17 making-of featurettes with never before seen "work-in-progress" footage, never before "heard" alternate music themes, and more! Stay tuned for more information VERY SOON! |
| 7.27.06 MAJOR MANTIS PARABLE NEWS! Exciting information coming soon for those interested in finally seeing the film! Stay tuned! :) |
| 7.14.06 A "Google Alert" on The Mantis Parable notified me this morning to the fact that the film will be showing tonight as part of a "Best of the 2005 Palm Springs Short Film Festival" (the top short film festival in the US and debatably the world) at the Gardens on El Paso in Palm Springs, CA. The Palm Springs Desert Sun ran a nice article on tonight's screenings, including calling TMP perhaps the "Highlight of the Highlights". :) |
| 7.13.06 Long time since my last update...sorry! :( Last weekend I attended the Festival of Visual Effects where The Mantis Parable screened in Hollywood at the Egyptian Theater. It was a wonderful weekend filled with lots of insightful panels and great speakers, many of whom I was able to chat with, including Dennis Muren who I had previously met at the Hollywood Film Festival last fall, and Tim Johnson, the director of Over the Hedge. The final night of the festival included a preview screening of Monster House, the upcoming animated feature film by Sony Imageworks which I really enjoyed. It's a bit too scary for little kids, but a lot of fun for older ones (and big kids like me). All in all, a great trip! ALSO, I will have VERY exciting news about an opportunity to view The Mantis Parable in the coming weeks. So stay tuned! :) |
| 6.29.06 Things are happening fast and furious folks! Here are a few of the hilites: ...A couple days ago I got word that The Mantis Parable won the award for BEST SHORT FILM at the Solstice Film Festival. Cool! ...TMP will be screening TONIGHT in Austin, TX at Screen Door Film. It's screening in a program of 5 shorts including a really hilarious short film I saw at Tribeca called K-7 and the cost is only 5 bucks. If you live in the Austin area, you've gotta go! ...TMP will be screening at the Smithsonian Institute Hirshhorn Museum next Thursday night, July 6th! ...TMP will be screening in a program put together by Animation World Network at the Festival of Visual Effects for the Visual Effects Society next week. It screens every day for the length of the festival (July 6th - 8th) at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, CA. I think that's it for now. Of course if you can't make any of the upcoming screenings, why not take a few minutes and read the FEATURE ARTICLE on The Mantis Parable at CGNetworks.com, then go and sign the guestbook, and then purchase a copy of The Mantis Parable at Short Film Central? :) |
| 6.23.06 FEATURE ARTICLE on The Mantis Parable at CGNetworks.com! Woohoo! What are you waiting for? Go there NOW! :) ***UPDATE*** BTW, after months of having to lock up the guestbook due to incessant spamming, it's back open and ready for your comments (just don't tell the spammers!). I'd love to hear from you! :) |
| 6.20.06 The Mantis Parable is NOW AVAILABLE for purchase through Short Film Central! It's a very slick service and I'm really excited to see how it works out - simply select it for your own compilation (along with other short films if you so desire), Short Film Central puts together your customized DVD, and ships it to you. The service just got going a couple weeks ago, and already there are close to 20 award-winnings short films available, many of them Academy Award winning and/or nominated. The bad news is Short Film Central is in Australia (!), so you'll pay 4 bucks for shipping to the U.S., but even with the shipping it's only 12 bucks or so. I'm still planning on putting together a "Special Edition DVD" with commentary and other bonus features, but it may be a little while still until I get the chance to do that, so go get your copy TODAY and help support me, your friendly neighborhood independent filmmaker! ;) |
| 6.9.06 Featured artist interview on Animation Arena with your's truly, Check it OUT! :) |
| 6.8.06 This week The Mantis Parable is screening 8 times in 4 different festivals around the globe: Annecy (the top animation festival in the world), the Newport International Film Festival, the Jackson Hole Film Festival, and the Atlanta Film Festival, and will be screening at 2 more festivals in the next 2 weeks: the Maui Film Festival, and the Solstice Film Festival. Speaking of the Maui Film Festival, they've given TMP a beautiful description in their festival guide: "Winner of so many festival awards that it qualified for Oscar nomination, The Mantis Parable is what Aesop would have done if he'd worked for Pixar: a lyrical fable of a sympathetic caterpillar, a praying mantis, and a compassionate deed. Exquisite animation brings to life two unforgettable characters whose eloquence needs no words." WOW! Thanks Maui! :) |
6.1.06 |
5.31.06 |
| 5.17.06 First MoMA, then the National Gallery of Art, now...the Smithsonian! Wow! Just this morning I learned that The Mantis Parable will be screening at the Hirshhorn Museum of the Smithsonian Institute as part of the Black Maria Film Festival. TMP has been screening/traveling with Black Maria for a couple of months now (it received both a Director's Choice Award and the Audience Choice Award) and apparently it will be screening this Thursday evening (May 18th) at the Smithsonian as part of a block of 7 award-winning short films. If you can make it, I'd love to get a full report! Woohoo! :) |
| 5.16.06 What an amazing year this has been - as of this weekend The Mantis Parable will have spent a year on the festival circuit. Hard to believe that one year ago the film was about to make its World Premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival! Amazing! Since it's premiere The Mantis Parable has screened in over 40 festivals around the world (many of the world's finest, and 11 of them Academy Award qualifying fests), won more than a dozen top awards, qualified for Oscar nomination consideration (TWICE!)...and its run appears far from over! Just take a look at the month of June and you'll find TMP screening in at least 6 more festivals, with several more on the horizon, not to mention screenings at both the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA requested a copy of the film for the permanent MoMA archive), as well as the National Gallery of Art in the coming months. Woohoo! Oh yeah, and I'm looking forward to my trip to LA this weekend for the Damah Film Festival. Hope to meet some of you there! Should be fun! :) |
| 5.7.06 Wow! What an amazing experience! The Tribeca Film Festival more than lived up to its billing. Every moment of the trip was packed with screenings and parties, which provided opportunities to meet and mingle with some amazingly talented folks. From the filmmaker welcome party at the HUGE Apple Store in Soho to the Director's Brunch at ONO (where I got the chance to meet Robert DeNiro) filmmakers at Tribeca are treated like royalty. From A-list celebrities and big budget features (Mission Impossible's world premiere was there), to indie films and up-and-comers, Tribeca really has it all. I only wish I could have stayed for the entire festival! I met so many wonderful people - the list is really too long to mention everyone, so thanks to all who made my trip so special (you know who you are!), and I look forward to getting back to Tribeca soon! :) |
| 4.22.06 Yikes, it's been a while since my last post. Sorry! I'm SO looking foward to the Tribeca Film Festival next week. Aside from the expectations of seeing some amazing films and making new filmmaker friends, I LOVE New York - especially the food: Patsy's, Grimaldi's. Empire Diner, Mesa Grill...my mouth is watering already! :) Meanwhile, The Mantis Parable continues to receive invitations to festivals and is screening all over the place...most recently being invited to the Jackson Hole Film Festival which takes place in quite possibly the most beautiful spot in the United States. Woohoo! Oh yeah, and don't forget - if you've seen The Mantis Parable I would really appreciate a vote over at IMDB - give it a score and let your voice be heard! :) |
| 4.5.06 Returned home from a wonderful trip to Florida for the Florida Film Festival this past weekend - a trip that can only be described as very short, but very sweet! :) Got the opportunity to hang out with some great filmmaker/animators, including the legendary Bill Plympton, director of the beautiful animated short (but very "un-plympton-like") The Fan and the Flower. Special thanks to Dominic, Gregg, Paulo, and John who basically adopted me on Friday night after a long day of flying, and to David Meyers for the great conversation(s). All in all, a great trip. Next up: TRIBECA!!! |
| 3.28.06 Headed to Florida this weekend and really looking forward to the trip (especially considering the weather here in the Pacific Northwest has been so dreary)! Lots of great animated films screening at the FFF, widely considered one of the top film festivals in the United States (and the world!) - not to mention its another Academy qualifying fest (one of 10 that TMP has screened at so far! Amazing!) In other news, The Mantis Parable just won the Best Animated Short Film award at the Omaha International Film Festival! I wasn't able to attend, but it sounds like it was a great event. Kudos to Jeremy Decker (festival director) for a wonderful job organizing the festival. :) |
| 3.18.06 ANNECY!!! Amazing! The Mantis Parable has been officially selected to screen at Annecy, THE top animated film festival in the world! Seriously, Annecy (which is in France) is considered the "Cannes Film Festival" of the animation world, and I'm thrilled to have TMP participate. More details to come. WOOHOO! |
| 3.16.06 CGW!!! The Mantis Parable is the featured article in the March issue of the popular computer graphics magazine Computer Graphics World.I had heard there was a chance it might make the cover, but I wasn't sure until today when I received my copy! (With a circulation of 90,000+ worldwide, CGW is the leading publication covering advances in the computer graphics visualization industry and the premier authority on innovative graphics technology.) How cool is THIS!? :) UPDATE (3/21/06): HERE is a direct link to the article. |
| 3.8.06 TRIBECA!!! Last week I received word that The Mantis Parable has been invited to screen at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Tribeca is hands-down one of the top film festivals in the world! Woohoo! But don't take my word for it, here's a little bit of info from their website: In 2002, the Tribeca Film Institute successfully launched the First Annual Tribeca Film Festival. Created by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro, the mission of the Tribeca Film Festival is to enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of film by redefining the film festival experience. The Tribeca Film Festival was founded to celebrate New York City as a major filmmaking center and to contribute to the long-term recovery of lower Manhattan. The Tribeca Film Festival brings more than 300,000 people downtown and in excess of $50 million to the local economy. I've also been contacted by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Turns out they would like a print of The Mantis Parable for their permanent film archives, and will be screening it this summer as part of their ongoing children's film series. Wow! :) BTW, finally got rid of those nasty pop-ups that had taken over both this site and the joshstaub.com site. They should be gone forever now. Phew! Sorry for the inconvenience! :) |
| 2.26.06 Ever seen a short-film receive its own spot on a theater marquee? Well, apparently The Mantis Parable was such a draw at my hometown Spokane International Film Festival, that on closing night they chose to put TMP on the marquee outside! Check it OUT! As you can see, The Mantis Parable was paired with the wonderful Chinese film Stolen Life (winner of Best Narrative Feature Film at last year's Tribeca Film Festival). For you Myst and URU fans out there, keep your eyes (ears) open for an upcoming podcast interview with your's truly! Stay tuned! :) |
| 2.13.06 The Mantis Parable train just keeps chuggin, folks! This past week was a veritable embarrassment of riches for me and my little film - 2 wonderful screenings at the Spokane International Film Festival, 2 screenings on a splendid evening with the Cinema Society of San Diego, and 2 screenings at the marvelous Santa Barbara International Film Festival, all of which culiminated in TMP winning the Bruce Corwin Award for Best Animated Short Film! I was lucky enough to be on hand to receive the beautiful award in front of a crowd of 2,200 eager Santa Barbara film fans. This is the 2nd Academy Award qualifying festival victory for The Mantis Parable (the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films being the other). All in all, a fantastic week - thanks to all the friends, old and new, who I had the fortune of spending time with over the last few days! :) Oh yeah, and again, I've had to temporarily lock-up the guestbook due to massive spamming,,,but please don't be a stranger! Drop me an email at josh@themantisparable.com. Finally, if you've seen The Mantis Parable, don't forget to give it a rating at IMDB! :) |
| 2.4.06 Screened last night at the beautiful Met for the Spokane International Film Festival. There was a wonderful crowd and everyone seemed to really enjoy the film. Looking forward to closing night of the festival next Thursday where TMP screens again. Don't miss it! Tomorrow I'm off to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival where TMP screens on Sunday evening AND Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday evening I'll be screening at the Cinema Society of San Diego as well. Should be a great trip! Now for some housecleaning: Fixed the weird font color problem on the site, but there's still a nasty pop-up on the home-page...sorry about that, I'll look into it as soon as possible. The guestbook has been getting major spamming these days too, so I'm gonna have to remedy that somehow. Ugh. I may have to lock the guestbook up for a while, so if it doesn't seem to work, please drop me an email at josh@themantisparable.com. I'd love to hear from you. :) |
| 2.2.06 Busy! This morning I woke up bright-and-early (and I mean REALLY early) for a brief TV interview at The Met with KXLY-ABC TV to promote the Spokane International Film Festival where TMP screens tomorrow night (February 3rd) at The Met at 5:30pm. If you can't catch that screening, make sure you come to next Thursday's 8:30pm showing. I'll be at both, so I hope to see you there! :) This Sunday, I'm off to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where TMP screens on Sunday evening AND Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately, I may be unable to catch the Tuesday screening in Santa Barbara because I have a prior engagement with the Cinema Society of San Diego which will be screening TMP at the Sherwood Auditorium in the the Museum of Contemporary Art that evening. I've also learned that TMP has received a Director's Choice Award at the Black Maria Film Festival (TMP's 9th Academy qualifying festival acceptance!). Last but not least, keep your eyes on the newstands next month because a feature interview with your's truly is scheduled to be published in the March issue of CGW Magazine - there's a chance that The Mantis Parable will be on the cover. Finger's crossed! :) Oh yeah, and if things look a little funny on the site these days (font colors and such) it's because my web host has been moving my data over to another server, and...ah, whatever, I dunno. I just hope they fix it. :) |
| 1.19.06 It's a festival explosion! Check out the screenings page to find out if The Mantis Parable will be screening near you! :) Added this week are 2 more Academy qualifying film festivals, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in early February and the Florida Film Festival in late March. In other big news, I have learned that The Mantis Parable has been selected for nomination in the Best Short Film category of IMAGINA in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Here's an excerpt on the IMAGINA AWARDS: "With more than 650 works in 2005, the IMAGINA AWARDS remain the unchallenged spearhead of international digital creation. For almost a quarter of a century, the IMAGINA AWARDS have recognised the genius of artists, directors and students." The Mantis Parable finds itself nominated among top-caliber shorts like Blur's Gopher Broke and In the Rough, as well as Imago, and Henry Selick's Moongirl. Woohoo! :) |
| 1.12.06 A couple months ago, the Starz Denver IFF short curator asked if she could submit TMP to Frontier Airlines to be shown on flights during the month of January. I told her that sounded like a really cool opportunity - I didn't realize this at the time of the request, but it's actually part of the Cloud 9 Film Festival. I've been extremely cautious with regards to screening TMP on the internet due to festival conflicts/regulations, so you can't watch the film on the website (only in the AIR - so fly Frontier!), but you CAN view the other films and you CAN vote - once per day in fact (!). This goes without saying, but if you've SEEN The Mantis Parable, would you be so kind as to go view the films and VOTE for your favorite? Thanks! |
| 1.7.06 Happy New Year! Long time since my last update...Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and New Year's...we did! :) Lots of things going on right now. Next month, The Mantis Parable will screen at the Cinema Society of San Diego as part of "An Evening of Award Winning Short Films" on Tuesday, February 7th at the Sherwood Auditorium in the the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA. This roughly coincides with TMP screening at the Spokane International Film Festival but I'm going to do my best to make it to all the screenings (!) Additionally, TMP has been invited to screen at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. this summer. Stay tuned for more details! |