My Seagull Espanhola

Il n'y aura jamais assez d'images

Pebble, a unique caterpillar made of pebbles, is determined to reach a green leaf.

Centuries ago in the past, the witch, who doesn't like Beauty, puts her to sleep, then flies throughout the castle spreading sleep powder, placing all into slumber. Eventually we flash forward to present time: A young hepcat in a convertible tries awakening Sleeping Beauty, and everyone in the castle, with some Big Band music. Will it work? A Puppetoon animated short film.

Years after immigrating to the United States, Matt (Gabriel Berm) grapples with the notion of family. A call from his sister, Callie (Callie Morken), becomes the catalyst for a realization: he learns that family transcends borders and manifests in varied forms. The deepest connections endure physical separation, teaching Matt that what truly matters is the unbreakable bond they share, echoing louder than any distance.

Rua de Santa Catarina, a street that was formerly home to dozens of local businesses and hundreds of Porto residents, now sees a crowd of tourists attracted by the cheap, disposable amenities that are popping up everywhere at once. Gentrification has decontextualized Portuguese culture, rendering the landscape uncanny. The Basin Woman, a symbol of the female workers of the historic Bolhão Market, is chased down by seagulls in the midst of this transcendent chaos.

On a vacation trip, the turbulent life of a young writer changes completely when he reconnects with a childhood friend.

Marlene's journey is one of rediscovery. Once she saw darkness as the truest reflection of her soul—a place of comfort and identity. But life's trials reshaped her understanding, transforming that darkness into a wellspring of resilience, insight, and unexpected strength.

Melancholie vnějších mezí

A Luta Continua explains the military struggle of the Liberation Front of Mozambique (FRELIMO) against the Portuguese. Produced and narrated by American activists Robert Van Lierop, it details the relationship of the liberation to the wider regional and continental demands for self-determination against minority rule. It notes the complicit roles of foreign governments and companies in supporting Portugal against the African nationalists. Footage from the front lines of the struggle helps contextualize FRELIMO's African socialist ideology, specifically the role of the military in building the new nation, a commitment to education, demands for sexual equality, the introduction of medical aid into the countryside, and the role of culture in creating a single national identity.

After getting injured in a fight, the steward of the luxury steamer Honolulu Star encourages Smiling Jimmy to take over the job of the beaten stoker and waiter, in exchange for both of their wages. On the ship, he meets Mr. Irving, who is incognito, playing the role of the Archduke St. Antonio, as he wants to get to know the "underworld" from the inside. They teach each other how to avoid being exposed during their few-day adventure, and eventually, they switch roles. But the real adventure is only just beginning.

A strange night in a small town, illuminated by the town's lighthouse.

Landscapes revealed themselves through text, paper through movement, while the sun gave them relief. This is a journey across found words, enunciating a discovery, their textures constructing the sea and the waves, in a travelogue from the first exploration, the first step over the sand towards the shore. “Amor” writes this joy to underline it in its time, captured on paper. This film has been composed through a scanner, and it’s the first chapter of the “Reír al Sol” series.

Autobots, Decepticons, Predaking and Predacons form an unlikely alliance to battle a resurrected Unicron.

In this Puppetoon animated short film, Judy, an enticing blonde, lives across the way from Punchy and uses all her feminine wiles to try to snare him.

Rita et crocodile

A Paisagem de Artur Pastor

Based on the Oz books by L. Frank Baum, the Tin Woodman wanders into an old cabin and rediscover's his own past.

When 17-year-old Abigail stumbles upon her old piano, painful memories of her late father resurface. But when a mysterious entity tries to stop her from playing, she must make a difficult choice: continue avoiding the pain - or confront it head-on.

A compilation of animated shorts restored by Thomas Stathes. A snapshot of the state of animated filmmaking 100 years ago. Includes several 1923 films.

Terra Incognita is a multi-plane cut out animation made from photocopies of 19th century illustrations made during the race to the poles and drawings by Eric Leiser. For the puppet performance it was flat-rod puppets on a proscenium stage with a screen behind them, onto which the animation Terra Incognita is projected. Many of the sea monster puppets and ships performed in sync with the animated ones, along with splashes of water and powdered chalk to mimic snowfall. These techniques came from my time studying puppet theater in Prague, in 2002, and learning from Svankmajer and Svankmajerova. It was a lot of fun to both animate and to perform live with Jeffrey's wonder score. At the same time the film comments on the colonial race to claim the Arctic by various countries—a race that, in a sense, is still going on today, but this time again for oil—and the murders of the Inuit people who had inhabited the land for millennia.