Animatus News November 2006

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's a run-down of recent Animatus news.

IRONDEQUOIT LACROSSE DOCUMENTARY SCREENING

We'd like to remind everyone to come out and support Howard Nielsen and
his documentary on the history of high school Lacrosse in upstate New
York. This Friday, November 24th, there will be a screening at
Irondequoit High School at 7pm.

Read all about it at http://stickylipsbbq.com

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HIGH FALLS FILM FESTIVAL A GREAT SUCCESS

This year's High Falls Film Festival went extremely well. We at
Animatus took part in several events, including the festival's
animation workshop screenings, a screening of the French noir/animation
feature Renaissance, and a retrospective for independent filmmaker
Emily Hubley. Emily was a pleasure to have at the festival, and we had
positive feedback from attendees all during the festival.

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NEW TV AD FOR ROCHESTER'S SUBWAY

The holiday season is upon us, and now's the time to buy The End of The
Line - Rochester's Subway for the history buff in your family. We just
cut together a new TV ad that will be airing soon on Time Warner cable.

Catch it on our website at http://animatusstudio.com/subway

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ANIMATION WORKSHOP STUDENT PRODUCED AD

Young DJ, one of our most enthusiastic students, put together a fun
promotional cartoon for the Animation Workshop. It shows a lot of
charm, so check it out "The Greatest Place on Earth" at:

http://animatusstudio.com/workshops/studentwork.html

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FLAPPY RABBIT VS. THE TORNADO

Another of our veteran students, Adam, made a short commercial for "OZ
Saferooms," featuring his own character Flappy Rabbit. The people at
OZ have devoted a page to the project (and online video links) at the
following address:

http://www.ozsaferooms.com/kidz%20korner.htm

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WON'T YOU BE OUR MYSPACE FRIEND?

The Animation Workshop now has a page at MySpace. We'll be publishing
more student videos there in the future, so come on by and add us to
your friends list.

http://www.myspace.com/animationworkshop

New TV Ad for The End of The Line

Time Warner subscribers! Look for this soon on RNEWS and The History Channel!

Irondequoit Lacrosse Documentary Screening

For many months, we at Animatus have been doing post production on Howard Nielsen's latest feature length documentary, Irondequoit: Lacrosse Town U.S.A. You may remember Mr. Nielsen's last film, When Football Was Bigger Than Life, about Aquinas football, also produced at Animatus. Well, now he's turned his attention to the history of high school lacrosse in upstate New York, with a focus on his alma mater, Irondequoit.

The documentary will have its premiere screening at Irondequoit High School on November 24th at 7pm. A donation of $5 per person will be taken at the door.

To pre-order your copy of the upcoming DVD, visit StickyLipsBBQ.com, or see some online news coverage at SportsFive.net and InsideLacrosse.com



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: Howard Nielsen, Single Wing Productions
PHONE: 585-451-0066
EMAIL: howie(AT)animatusstudio.com
WEBSITE: www.StickyLipsBBQ.com

LACROSSE DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES AT IRONDEQUOIT HIGH SCHOOL

Rochester, NY, November 2006

Restaurant owner Howard Nielsen is back in the movie business with an all new documentary. After covering Aquinas football in his last project, Nielsen has now set his sights on another local sports phenomenon, Irondequoit High School's legendary lacrosse program.

Two years in the making, "Irondequoit: Lacrosse Town U.S.A." will premiere to the public on Friday, November 24th at 7:00 PM in Irondequoit High School's 600 seat auditorium. Admission will be five dollars at the door.

Nielsen says taking on an enormous movie project just eight months after opening his second restaurant, Sticky Lips Pit BBQ, has taken a toll on him. "It was my son's senior year at Irondequoit, and this would be my last chance to pull off a movie idea that I had been thinking about for a few years. This is my gift back to the Irondequoit community and Section V lacrosse, which has done so much for my son Danny and myself."

Even though the main focus is on Irondequoit, it really is a story about Upstate New York and Monroe County Lacrosse. Lacrosse is North America's oldest and fastest growing team sport.

Take a trip back in time and witness the start of high school lacrosse in upstate New York by way of Irondequoit High School's legendary program. Witness firsthand 50 years of lacrosse history, including the fierce rivalry between coaches Erni Lisi of Irondequoit and Joe Corcoran of Corning East, whose teams dominated upstate New York in the 1970s.

Irondequoit lacrosse teams have won 28 championship titles and have produced 30 High School All-Americans, plus a long list of college lacrosse coaches. Its alumni include such legends as Jeff Long (Navy and Team USA), Paul Cantabene (MLL Baltimore Bayhawks), Andrew Whipple (Maryland), and Joe Walters (Maryland and Team USA).

Relive your high school days as we follow the entire 2005 Irondequoit Lacrosse season through its challenges and successes with the can-do spirit of its players. This full-length documentary includes rare archival footage, photos, articles, and stories from players and coaches, past and present. See clips from the first NCAA championship title in 1971, Cornell vs. Maryland! Plus, a tribute to one of Lacrosse's true greats, Eamon McEneaney, who tragically lost his life on 9/11.

Feel the town's passion for the Indian game of lacrosse. Irondequoit: Lacrosse Town U.S.A. marks the first time any high school lacrosse program has been the subject of such an in-depth documentary.

The documentary will soon be available on DVD for $24.95. Pre-orders will be taken the night of the premiere. For additional information on "Irondequoit: Lacrosse Town U.S.A." contact Howard Nielsen at (585) 451-0066 or visit www.StickyLipsBBQ.com

ABOUT HOWARD NIELSEN - Mr. Nielsen is the owner of Chester Cab Pizza and Sticky Lips BBQ in Rochester. His first documentary, released in 2000, "When Football Was Bigger Than Life," took an in depth view into the famed Aquinas Institute football program during post-war America.

The Greatest Place on Earth

Young DJ, one of our Animation Workshop students, was kind enough to create an entire advertisement for us. It's charming and funny, so enjoy!

"The Greatest Place on Earth" by DJ



Visit us on MySpace at http://myspace.com/animationworkshop

Animatus and the High Falls Film Fest 2006

Here's a run-down of High Falls Film Festival events that Animatus is taking part in this year. Enjoy!

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INDEPENDENT ANIMATOR EMILY HUBLEY IN PERSON

Animatus Studio and the High Falls Film Festival are pleased to welcome Emily Hubley to the 2006 program.

Join us for a special screening:

PIGEON (AND MORE) WITHIN
The Animated Mind of Emily Hubley

Little Theatre 1
240 East Avenue, Rochester
11:15 AM
Sunday, November 12, 2006

Working in a simple hand-drawn style, EMILY HUBLEY has been making short animated films for almost 30 years. Her work explores personal memory and the unexpected turbulence of emotional life.

She is currently working on a feature, THE TOE TACTIC, now in preproduction with Orchard Pictures. Her newest short, OCTAVE, premiered in a program of recent work earlier this year at The Museum of Modern Art in NYC.
She is a 2004 Annenberg Film Fellow named by the Sundance Institute, and attended their 2002 Screenwriters’ and 2003 Filmmakers’ Labs.

Hubley created artwork and animation for John Cameron Mitchell’s HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH. She worked in collaboration with Jeremiah Dickey on inserts for the documentaries BUBBLE BOY, directed for American Experience by Barak Goodman, ORIGINAL CHILD BOMB, by Carey Schonegeval, and BLUE VINYL, by Judith Helfand and Daniel Gold.

For a summary of shorts we will be screening, visit http://animatusstudio.com/highfalls/hfmain2006.html

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LIVIN’ LIFE: TEENS’ VOICES

For this year's HFFF animation workshop, fifteen students from various schools and community organizations in the greater Rochester area collectively produced a remarkable short reflecting critical aspects of teens’ lives.

These filmmakers came together through "Raising 100,000 Voices," a media literacy community education project run by WXXI Public Broadcasting, the University of Rochester Medical Center and The Roadwork for Success in Young Adulthood.

We're proud to say that the film turned out great, and will be screening twice during the festival.

Saturday, November 11 at 5 pm (Little Theatre 4), it will precede the documentary FREESTYLE: THE ART OF RHYME.

Also, "Livin' Life" will play at the Saturday Gala Night Screening at the Dryden Theatre.

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PARALLEL WORLDS

This Rochester film will be playing as part of SHORTS PROGRAM #1, Wednesday November 8, 9:15 PM at the Little Theatre.

PARALLEL WORLDS
US, 2004, 6 minutes
Animator/Writer/Composer/Editor: Dave Puls
Assistant Writer/Editor: Luann Lindstrom

The abuse of the Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers moved the filmmaker to reexamine his own memories of working at a New York State Mental Hospital in the early 1970's.

Luann Lindstrom lives in Rochester, NY and assists Puls with many of his projects at Animatus Studios.

For more about Fresh Toones, visit http://animatusstudio.com/freshtoones

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ANIMATUS SPONSORED FEATURE: RENAISSANCE



Renaissance, the new animated sci-fi feature from France, will be playing Friday night at 11PM at the Little Theatre.

Imagine METROPOLIS and BLADERUNNER, then step further into the imagination where science fiction and digital animation meet to create an extraordinary world, giving film noir a new look and new life. It is the year 2054, and Paris is a city-state where big brother watches from above and all movement is monitored and recorded. The once ancient and beautiful skyline is overlaid with high tech skyscrapers. Avalon – the multinational cosmetic company – casts a long and dark shadow over the city. When a human genome scientist whose research may change the evolution of mankind forever is kidnapped, detective Karas is called in to help. In an underworld of dark secrets, corporate espionage, organized crime and genetic research, Karas finds a trail of dead witnesses and more. Christian Volckman stunning imagery combines high-tech animation, the look of black and white cinema with his own chiaroscuro painting style to bring the illusion of still-frame comics vividly to life. The narrative woven with futuristic imagery is completely absorbing and speaks of unlimited potential. (Kathy Kristich)

Director: Christian Volckman
Producers: Alexis Vonarb, Roch Lenner, Aton Soumache
Voiceovers: Ian Holm, Jonathan Pryce, Daniel Craig, Catherine McCormack
Casting Director: Celestia Fox

· 2006 Annecy International Film Festival: Feature Film Award

Celestia Fox began her casting career in 1978 with THE HOUND OF BASKERVILLE. She has taken on wide ranging projects from the edg: PINK FLOYD THE WALL, THE NAME OF THE ROSE, LOCK STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS to the extremely elegant REMAINS OF THE DAY, UP AT THE VILLA, THE GOLDEN BOWL. She currently resides in London.

http://www.highfallsfilmfestival.com/2006/films.html