Artist's Statement

The best movies are honest in one way or another. That doesn’t mean they’re based on a true story or that they’re even realistic. What they do have to do is connect with us in one way or another, to identify something that maybe we didn’t think other people experienced, at least something we don’t always talk about in candid terms or that can’t be expressed naturally in conversation or writing.

To a greater extent, movies should be eye opening. Explain something ineffable, that cannot be understood just through words and change the way you look at things. A good movie hits you with a wave of emotion when it ends and leaves you in a cathartic state of crisis as the credits roll, smugly, down the screen. 

Movies that are subdued and unflashy or at least sparingly flashy like Lukas Moodyson’s We Are The Best or most David Fincher movies. Ones that feel deliberate and controlled yet tender and naturalistic often feel the most honest. 

I don’t think medium has ever been a boundary for this type of movie, traditional animation and classic video film have been able to express a wide range of emotions. I’ve always appreciated though, the ability of animation to really transport an audience into a completely new meticulously designed world. I grew up watching the movies of Hayo Miyazaki and still I can appreciate the mystical and intensely emotional spirit of the worlds he created.

Obviously, I’m still sucked in by all the flashiness and technical prowess I see in a lot of movies but there’s something much more special than that, when a movie completely disarms you.