Jack Feldstein
Jack Feldstein is a Jewish animator and scriptwriter from Sydney, Australia, now living in New York. He is the pioneer of Neon Films.
His trademark style is the "neonizing" of a combination of live action video recording and public domain material, particularly cartoons. "Neonizing" is a complex computer technique that renders the lines of an image to be like a neon sign.
Jack studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) course in playwriting and graduated from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in scriptwriting in 1992.
Feldstein was a scriptwriter for many years before, as he puts it, he woke up one morning and began making neon films. In the 1990s he was instrumental in developing series for Australian television. He then went on to be Head Writer for Brilliant Digital Entertainment where he was involved in creating 3D computer animated multipath webisode series which included Xena-Warrior Princess, Superman and Ace Ventura. [1]
He describes neon animation, (neonism)...as a deconstructionist, post-modern animation filmmaking style that utilises appropriation and pop art techniques in a ”Warhol meets Vegas” look. It is a stream-of-consciousness narrative with a cartoon aesthetic. Neonism takes modernist stream-of-consciousness filmmaking into a post-modern and humorous form. [2]
Metempsychotic (reincarnated) modernism is another description of Feldstein's neon animation aesthetic.
Neon animation has also been described as re-animation. [3]
His rambling seemingly make-it-up-as-you-go-along, stream of consciousness ironic monologue narratives have been likened to Woody Allen and Spalding Gray but with an Australian twist. [4]
Recently Feldstein completed a six part series called "The Adventures of..." in which he continued the ironic exploration of his theme of rescuing great literary characters such as Oedipus Rex and Gregor Samsa and playfully interferring in the lives of modernist writers like Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Marcel Proust, JD Salinger and Jack Kerouac.
His narrative documentary neon animations "The Fantastical World of Scriptwriting" and "The Psychology of Scriptwriting" both exploring scriptwriting, have also now been released.
Currently, Feldstein is working on completing a neon animation adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Notes from the Underground and has completed versions of HP Lovecraft's tales "Ex Oblivione" and "Memory". He is planning to create a third neon animation in his scriptwriting trilogy, which will be called "Confessions of a Scriptwriter" and also in development is a collaboration with New York based actor, Shane Baker entitled " How to Break into Yiddish Vaudeville".
"You Might be the One" a song by Botanica, the New York based band, is Feldstein's most recent music video neon animation. And his latest project is neon animations to various New York spoken word poets including one of Walt Whitman's poem "Manahatta" performed by poet, George Wallace, the writer in residence at the Walt Whitman Birthplace, Huntington, New York.
As an active participant and supporter of the Kino (movement) in Sydney, Australia, Jack used to often screened his neon animations at their monthly events. [5]
On May 14th 2011, a retrospective of Feldstein's neon animation films was screened as part of the Personal Cinema Series at Millennium Film Workshop in downtown Manhattan and subsequently at the Filmwax Film Series in Brooklyn, NY.
During 2011, Jack was the art/film editor for "Unlikely Stories" an online US literary publication for poetry, film, art and essays.[6]
For New York Fashion Week 2011, Feldstein co-directed with top New York designer, Norma Kamali, the 3D Fashion Film presenting the Norma Kamali Spring Collection 2012. The film was premiered at Lincoln Center, September 14th 2011. Included in the 3D film is Feldstein's first foray in 3D neon animation. [7]
Feldstein's short films have been shown at film festivals around the world. Some of these festivals and honors include:
- Bowery Poetry Club, NYC, screened a preview of his ironic take on love "How to be Romantic in New York" in late 2010.
- California State University, Chico campus screened "The Atomic Adventures of Jack Kerouac" as part of their Annual Narrative Shorts International Film Festival 2009.
- Woodstock, New York Museum Film Festival 2009 and 2010, screened "The Fantastical World of Scriptwriting" with Feldstein presenting his seminar on scriptwriting.
- Singapore Short Film Festival (5th) 2009, premiered "Ex Oblivione" in September 2009 in competition for the International "Voice" Award, representing originality and artistic quality.
- Bornshorts, the Film and Music Video Festival in Denmark premiered Feldstein's neon animation music video "Neon Walk 'round Circular Quay" set to Sydney singer-songwriter Maxine Kauter's song, "Some Perfect Day" in late August 2009.
- Scinema 09 (Australian Science Film Festival) will premiere "The Psychology of Scriptwriting" during its National Science Week in August 2009. "The Psychology of Scriptwriting" was in competition for the Scinema best animation/experimental film prize.
- Moves 09 (Movement On Screen) April 2009, Manchester, the largest exhibition platform for New Media in the UK, presented the world premiere of "The Fantastical World of Scriptwriting". The 32 minute film was described as a fun, unconventional way to teach scriptwriting through educational therapy. [8] In April 2010, "The Psychology of Scriptwriting" screens at Moves 10.
- Soho Rushes Film Festival July 2008, London, UK, where "The Adventures of Virginia Woolf" was a contender for the Broadcast Design Award.
- Sarasota Film Festival 2008, Florida, where "Shmetamorphosis" had its USA premiere. ShortEnd Magazine wrote that Shmetamorphosis was "Thought jarring, often visually abrasive but also intriguing in its original freakishness." [9]
- Rotterdam International Film Festival, where in 2006 "The Ecstasy of Gary Green" was chosen to compete for the Tiger Award for short film, and his film "A Wondrous Film about Emma Brooks" was selected for the Rotterdam IFF 2007 program. "Shmetamorphosis" screened in the 2008 New Arrivals Section of Rotterdam International Film Festival 2008. "Shmetamorphosis" had previously been selected as winner of the April 2007 online New Arrivals section of Rotterdam International Film Festival.
- Impakt Film Festival, Utrecht, The Netherlands, where in 2006 "The Ecstasy of Gary Green" screened and selected for 2007 was " A Wondrous Film about Emma Brooks". In 2009, Impakt Film Festival screened "The Fantastical World of Scriptwriting" during their Festival. [10]
- Melbourne International Animation Film Festival, where in 2006 he received an Honorable Mention for "The Ecstasy of Gary Green."
- Sydney International Film Festival where "The Loser Who Won", his neon animation about a guy who's unlucky-in-love finally finding love, which had premiered at the New York Jewish Film Festival at Lincoln Center, was screened at the Dendy Awards for 2005. In 2007, "A Wondrous Film about Emma Brooks" was again a finalist for the Dendy Awards, Sydney Film Festival. A Sydney film reviewer wrote "Jack Feldstein is a comic genius. This neon animation samples our (Freudian) dreams, paranoias and obsessions until young Emma's coming-of-age journey becomes our own. Fantastic." [11]
- Short Fuse Film Festival, 2005, for his film "The Theft."
- The Bunker International Film Festival 2007 (Italy/The Netherlands) where " A Wondrous Film about Emma Brooks" won an audience favourite prize.
- Wollongong, Short-Sited Festival where in 2005 he received the Best Short Film prize (Australian National Short Film) for "The Great Oz Love Yarn". In October 2007, "The Great Oz Love Yarn" was awarded a prize in the under 12 minute films category, at the inaugural Hawkesbury Film Festival, New South Wales, Australia.
- Over The Fence Comedy Festival, where in 2005 his film "Rock Hard" won the Best Film prize. In 2007 "The Great Oz Love Yarn" won Best Director Prize in that festival.
- The Australian Effects & Animation Festival 2002 where his film "Three Months with Pook" was awarded a Certificate of Excellence. In 2004, "Three Months with Pook" was selected for the New Filmakers Film Series in New York.
- As a scriptwriter, in 2000, Feldstein won first prize of $5000 in the Queensland Speech and Drama Teachers' Jubilee National Playwriting Competition for his play "A House Like Any Other" about a Jewish family in a small Australian town. In 2001, his play script of "Three months with Pook", was a finalist in that year's BBC World Service/British Council International radio playwriting competition. In October, 2009 the mini musical "Ordinary" was staged in Short and Sweet and Song at the Pligrim Theatre, Sydney. Feldstein wrote the book and lyrics and the music was composed by Benjamin Ward. A review by Australian Stage, October 9th 2009, said "Jack Feldstein's book & lyrics were, on the whole, sobering and inspirational. The premise, of two carnies desirous of running away from the circus, to join ordinary people was a stroke of pure, fresh, unadulterated genius." [12] In 2009, Feldstein's full length play "The Sparkling City Of Omar Mazen" received a "commended" by that year's BBC World Service International Playwriting Competition. [13]
- In January, 2010, Feldstein's one act play, "The Great Dazzlo" was presented by the Elite Theatre Company, Oxnard, California, directed by oscar-winner Steve Grumette. [14]
- During 2011, Jack's full length playscript "The Ansonia" was workshopped at Broadway Theater Studio in midtown Manhattan.
Selected filmography
External sources and References
- ^ The Multipath Adventures of Superman http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:pzlNG1veFvQJ:www.steveenglehart.com/Games/Superman%2520Multipath.html+jack+feldstein+superman&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au
- ^ Montreal Jewish Film Festival "The Loser who Won" 2005 http://www.hour.ca/film/film.aspx?iIDArticle=6101
- ^ Alex Deleon-Pevny, FilmFestivals.com, 2005 http://www.filmfestivals.com/cgi-bin/shownews.pl?obj=ShowNews&CfgPath=ffs/filinfo&Cfg=news.cfg&news=general&text_id=27664
- ^ Interview with Kitty Arends, Rotterdam International Film Festival 2007 http://metempsychotic.wordpress.com/2007/07/23/interview-with-kitty-arendsrotterdam-international-film-festival/
- ^ Music Feeds, Culture + Events: Kino #29 Robbie Gadsbey, August 20, 2009 http://musicfeeds.com.au/art-and-culture/culture-events-kino-29/
- ^ http://www.unlikelystories.org/biofeldstein.shtml
- ^ http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/38614/how-werner-herzogs-cave-of-forgotten-dreams-inspired-norma-kamali-to-go-3-d/
- ^ Moves09 Film Festival, UK. http://www.movementonscreen.org.uk/m09programme/?selected=1&short=77783&id=78244
- ^ Noralil Ryan Fores, ShortEnd Magazine, http://shortendmagazine.com/content/view/529/69/
- ^ Interview with Miguel Escobar for Impakt Film Festival 2009 http://www.impakt.nl/index.php/blog/blog_feldstein
- ^ Matt Ravier, Last Night with Riviera http://www.mattriviera.net/2007_06_01_archive.html
- ^ Lloyd Bradford Syke, Australian Stage, October 9th 2009. http://www.australianstage.com.au/200910082896/reviews/sydney/short-sweet+song-2009.html
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/2009/08/090819_radioplay_2008_commended.shtml
- ^ http://www.elitetheatre.org/special.html
External links
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