CHICAGO

     Soooooo yeah, Chicago was so cool and I must say it was one of the best experiences this semester. I had so much fun with friends. Walking around Chicago with these people was soooo much fun; I even got a new nickname; the Weatherman. That story is soooo long  that I'll have to tell it to you another time.

    The purpose of the trip was to eat and watch film and I must say that is pretty much what we did. We ate great pizza and great beef sandwiches ahhh. Anyhow, there were so many great films and others not so great.  One of my favorite film was about a hobo that every night went to the subway and every time transported to a different world through the ads in the subway; while being at those worlds he collected things and then he would take them to his house at the dumpster. At the end the Hobo dies and he looses one of his most prized possessions; a doll, later another kid finds the hobo's doll. This hits that the story will repeat itself, or maybe not. Overall, this was a great experience and it was so much fun. I would totally encourage you to go next year because it is great. 

CICFF

The chicago international children's film festival was among the few trips I will most definitely never forget. This trip was full of many inspiring moments. I was also able to get an insight into some of the stuff I would be working on in the many years to come in my life as well as the many challenges I would have to deal with in my career. The trip was full of so many great experiences and jokes to be remembered for a long time (Hey Pantless what is the weather like today?)  Need I say I have had countless things checked off my bucket list since my arrival here at huntington and the CICFF was the trip that knocked off more than a few of the things on my list! I experienced many great films and even some films that I still get angry to think about. I was initial not going to go on the trip but through the mighty words of Steve and my brother (Karli) they convinced me to go to the trip. Can I say I was quite glad to go on the trip. Not only was my passion for animation and filmmaking reawakened furthermore I was able to dig into the heads of a few film makers of a couple shorts during a Q&A. It was really cool to meet filmmakers from LA and Brazil (whose short film was previously at the Toronto  Film Festival which also feature Only Lovers Left Alive by Jim Jarmusch) Any way I highly suggest if you haven't already jump on to the bandwagon for the next CICFF trip it was highly worth it, inspiring, filled with great laughs, and fantastic food.

▲Super Late Chicago Blog▲

▲Super Late Chicago Blog▲

Welp, I intended to write this blog almost two months ago, but here we are.

So Rachel, Karli, Taylor, Pantless, Caity and I went to Chicago for the Chicago International Film Festival, and it was a blast! Definitely one of the best times I've had in a while (besides the dinner with PES that blogged previously about). We screwed around, laughed, walked around with our arms in the air to embarrass Leeper and watched tons of short films. One film we watched was feature length called A Letter to Momo.

The film was very reminiscent of studio Gibli's style, both in storytelling and visuals. I enjoyed it more then I expected, which was good since I had to sit through about two hours of it. It is a very cute film that also has some funny comedy in it. I would suggest it to anyone who likes studio Gibli's films. It's not exactly my cup of tea, but still enjoyable and worth the watch. 

Oh also we saw the best short film ever about unicorns, fairies, and goblin things. It had all of my favorite things; glitter, sparkles, pink, glitter, colors, hair, rainbows, glitter, unicorns, fairies, flowers, glitter, children, happiness, joy, death and glitter.

~Josiah▲

The Chicago International Children's Film Festival

A long time ago in a weekend sweetly remembered I was in the land of Chicago for my very first ever film festival. I was so excited to have an opportunity to see films from around the globe in a manner of a few short days.

The experience did not disappoint as I was able to view somewhere around 50 or 60 short films both animation and live action. There were such a variety of styles in both the animation and live action. Some tried to be funny as they told their story while others told a compelling story with an underlining big question such as death.

Some of the most memorable short films for me was Emmeline, which followed the story of a girl different from every one else who tried to fit in the world, also Air Balloon Circus, a Canadian made short film about a little girl with extraordinary power that was a delight to watch. The coolest thing about going to this festival was that we had the chance to actually meet the director of Air Balloon Circus as well as a couple of creators of another short film from Brazil. It was just fantastic to see this wonderfully made piece of art and then be able to talk about it with the makers, I had never experienced that before.

The festival really was a wonder and if it is possible I will go again every year. Their was such beautiful stories told and it really motivated me to want to be better at the art myself, to try and push myself as far as I can our medium and make the best stuff I can possibly make. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life and I am so glad that I got to have such a great weekend.

Chicago!

     So the Chicago International Film Festival was absolutely FANTASTIC. Not only was it fun to explore a bit of Chicago and see the Bean, the actual event itself was awesome! I was exposed to so many different types of short films and movies with a whole variety of animation styles and techniques! 
     

This is the bean(so quality) and it was actually the most fantastic thing I've ever seen in my life. There was a Halloween group there taking pictures and a ton of Halloween themed parties going on because it was the weekend beforehand :3

     The films ranged from cartoons, to acting, to 3D! Some were fantastic, and others just plain sucked, but that was totally okay because it was awesome to see anyways. There was one point where we got to meet some filmmakers! 

     Though watching a ton of movies all day was great, I honestly had the most fun hanging out with those that came and walking around Chicago. There's so much modern art and sculptures just sitting out in the open and it's so neat to see! I was super cold the whole time, but I'm pretty sure that's my favorite city now. There was one point where some friends and I walked around while trying to find a Starbucks instead of heading to the hotel like we were supposed to, and that lead to the Great Adventure of Walking Around and Being Cold Only To Find That Starbucks Was Closed After All and Having To Walk Back, produced by us; to be released never.

     Anyways, I think my favorite film was a cartoon (of course) about a hobo who lived underground in a subway. He came out at night and could go into the huge ads that are hung on the wall to get food and stuff. It's a bit more complicated than that, but it was absolutely fantastic. It's one of those films that just sticks with you, and I think I'll remember it for the rest of my life. 

     If y'all didn't get the chance to go this year, I definitely recommend you jump at the opportunity to go next year!!