FxF: the Frame-By-Frame Animators Conference

FxF: the Frame-By-Frame Animators Conference is back in person! After going virtual during the pandemic, Frame-by-Frame, among the premiere animation events in the Midwest, will return to Chicago on Saturday, May 20th. FxF is a day-long conference held at DePaul University in Chicago for animators/by animators. The conference brings together animators from across the country in a variety of disciplines, including TV, film, experimental, games, motion graphics, stop motion, hand-drawn, and 3D. A wide array of guest artists will participate in events with an audience of animators and animation students. FxF is hosted by the DePaul Animation Program and the School of Cinematic Arts Visiting Artist Series, and is co-sponsored by Malt Adult. Previous FxF guests include PES, Joanna Priestley, David OReilly, Phil Tippett, Priit Pärn, and Julia Pott.

FxF is open to the public. Due to limited seating, events will be ticketed through Eventbrite LINK

11:00am-12:30pm Laura Harrison is a contemporary animation artist utilizing unorthodox painterly techniques in her animation practice. Her works push the boundaries of experimental storytelling and pull apart themes such as feminism, trauma, and mortality. Films like "Lingerie Show"(2015) and "Little Red Giant, The Monster That I Was" (2017) have helped earned her several awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship in 2017. Harrison's latest film, "The Limits of Vision" (2022), explores the inner and outer turmoil of a trapped housewife named Marcia. She is currently based out of Chicago.

1:00-2:00pm Georges Schwizgebel is one of the most well-known and respected artists of Swiss animation. In 1970 he founded Studio GDS with Claude Luyet and Daniel Suter. He is an international award-winning filmmaker; several retrospectives have been presented in Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Tokyo, Osaka, Annecy, Montreal, Paris, and New York. In 2017 the Annecy International Animation Film Festival awarded him its Special Lifetime Achievement Award. His paint-on-glass film “The Man with No Shadow” was included in the “Animation Show of Shows.” A similar painterly technique is used in his 2011 film Romance, a co-produced with the National Film Board of Canada; this film won the “Best Animated Short” at the 32nd Genie Awards.

3:00-4:30pm Jeron Braxton is a contemporary, self-taught 3d animation artist and musician currently living in Los Angeles. Known for his groundbreaking and unique methods of storytelling, his surreal work explores themes of identity, race, technology, and the American Nightmare using Y2K gaming aesthetics. He broke into the worldwide animation festival circuit with the critically acclaimed "Glucose" (2017) which took home a top prize at the Sundance Festival as well as many others. He has since created several works including "Octane" (2018) and FX's "Daytime Noir" (2019). His work has found a home on Adult Swim as well as Christie's in New York City.

5:00-6:30pm Bruce W. Smith's career marks multiple cultural touchstones of the representation on television. His directorial debut, Paramount's "Bebe's Kids" (1992), laid the groundwork for animation in the 1990's and helped in part lead to the huge success of Disney Channel's "The Proud Family" (2001-2005). Having worked on everything from "Garfield in the Rough"(1984) to "Space Jam"(1996), as well as on multiple Disney Animation Studios works, Smith continues to be a prolific force in animation. In recent years, he has directed the Oscar-winning Netflix animated short film "Hair Love" (2019) and has returned to the Proud family world with Disney+'s "The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder"(2022-).

BONUS EVENT!!!

Join us the night before just off the Blue Line at Public Works Gallery for Malt Adult Independent Animation Night #26, a collection of contemporary animation shorts curated by MFA student Sarah Schmidt. The show will take place from 8-9:30 with an intermission featuring looping work from local and international artists. A limited number of programs/collaborative zines will be available at the door. Local animators and animation fans will be in attendance.

Malt Adult

Friday May 19

Malt Adult Independent Animation Night #26

Public Works Gallery 2141 W North Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

7:45 doors 8pm show