Three Imaginary Girls

Seattle's Indie-Pop Press – Music Reviews, Film Reviews, and Big Fun

Last night, while Police fans jammed Key Arena, I was in another packed house nearby: SIFF Cinema, which hosted the most amazing animated shorts package I've seen in all of my six SIFF-going years.

It was a stellar lineup of mostly CGI animation, plus the latest works by two usual hand-drawn ani suspects: Bill Plympton (Shut Eye Motel) and Don Hertzfeldt, whose brilliant, scary, hilarious 17-minute magnum opus everything will be ok seemed to catch everyone unawares.

My favorite short of the evening was Harrowdown Hill, Chel White's music video for the Thom Yorke single. It features a variety of animation forms — claymation, live/CGI, modeling, and rapid-edit bits by local genius David Russo. Seeing it on the big screen, in digital HD and multi-channel audio, was a singular thrill.

By EOB today I'll have passed the 85 film/program mark. Here's what I've seen so far.