Jo Jo in the Stars

Jo Jo in the Stars is a twelve-minute film that won the 2004 BAFTA Award for Best Animated Short Film.[1] Created and directed by Marc Craste, it was indirectly inspired by "The Carny", a song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

Jo Jo in the Stars
Directed byMarc Craste
Produced bySue Goffe
Written byMarc Craste
StarringOliver Miceli
Andrew Stirk
Music byDie Knödel (Harlem in Brünn, 1993);
Samuel Barber (Andante of Violin Concerto op. 14, 1939);
Toru Yamanaka (from Dumb Type, More Wings for Wheelers, 1998);
Urchin (Texas Yellow, 2001)
Edited byWilliam Eagar
Production
company
Release date
  • 22 November 2003 (2003-11-22)
Running time
12 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Madame Pica is the cold-hearted mistress of a circus of "monsters and misfits", attended each night by thousands of curious spectators. Hero is among them every night, but he is there only to see Jo Jo, the winged trapeze artist. One night after the show, he steals the keys of the cell where Jo Jo is imprisoned, freeing her. The two escape and start to dance a romantic waltz in the stars. But soon the two lovers are discovered and as a last desperate act, hand-in-hand, they jump from the highest window in the tower. Jo Jo attempts to fly the two of them to safety, but Hero loses his grip and falls to the ground. Jo Jo is blown onto a window sill and re-captured by Madame Pica. A single feather from JoJo's wing floats to the ground, landing on Hero's apparently lifeless body.

Ten years pass, and Madame Pica is in search of some new attraction to draw in the crowds. She discovers that Hero is still alive but horribly disfigured, and takes him on as the new star of the show. He is taken to the cell next to JoJo's, and the reunited lovers embrace through the bars.

Production

Marc Craste's original aim was to make a short film based on "The Carny", a song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He began work on a storyboard, intending it to be a "straight visual interpretation of the text", featuring live action sequences combined with 3D animation. He received encouragement from Nick Cave, but was ultimately unable to secure funding for the project.[2]

In the following years, Craste made three one-minute films for Studio AKA, starring Madame Pica in a circus setting. Studio AKA then asked Craste to make "a longer film using the same characters, but without any murders". JoJo in the Stars was the result.[3]

Craste's influences include David Lynch's Eraserhead (1977) and Wim Wenders's Wings of Desire (1987).[3]

Personnel
  • Marc Craste - Director, Writer
  • Sue Goffe - Producer, Executive producer
  • Oliver Miceli – voice
  • Andrew Stirk – voice
  • Mike Cachuela - Storyboard Artist (uncredited)
  • Dominic Griffiths - Animator
  • Boris Kossmehl - Animator
  • Fabienne Rivory - Animator
  • William Eagar - Editor
  • Melissa Lake – foley artist
  • Ben Meechan – sound editor
  • Barnaby Smith – foley editor
  • Michele Woods – sound mixer
  • Hilary Wyatt – supervising sound editor
  • Ren Pesci - Production Assistant
  • Lindsay Fraine - Production Assistant

Awards

Jo Jo in the Stars has won the following awards:[1]

Year Award Category – Recipient(s)
2004 Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival[4] Prix du Meilleur Film d'Animation
Bradford Animation Festival Grand Prix
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Film Awards Best Animation Short[5]
Aspen Shortsfest Special Jury Recognition[6]
Copenhagen 3D Awards Digital Hero Award for the Best Short Film[7]
Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival (SICAF) Animasia Grand Prize for Short Film[8]
Bristol International Short Film Festival (BriefEncounters) Best of British
2005 Paris Les Lutins du Court-Métrage Press Lutin
Cartoon d'or Cartoon d'or
2007 IFCT Awards Most Innovative Animation

The film has been screened at more than 80 festivals to date, including: Melbourne International Film Festival Short Film Competition, Sydney Film Festival, Anima Mundi, Cinémathèque québécoise, Prend ça court! (Montreal), Zagreb Film Festival, Tampere Film Festival, Annecy International Animated Film Festival (CICA), Festival Némo (Paris), Tübingen International Short Film Festival, Wiesbaden International Weekend of Animation, Holland Animation Film Festival, Holland Youth Film Festival, l0110 (India), Darklight Festival (Ireland), Cartoombria (Perugia), Castelli Animati (Genzano di Roma), Kraków Film Festival, IndieLisboa, Vila do Conde, Donostia Kultura, Sitges Film Festival, SWAMP (Switzerland), British Animation Awards (BAA),[9] Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), Glastonbury Festival, onedotzero, Raindance Film Festival (London), Rêl Institiwt (Real Institute; Wales),[10] Soho Shorts Film Festival, SAND,[11] Independent Film Festival of Boston, Los Angeles Film Festival,[12] Tallgrass Film Festival, and The World According to Shorts[13] in 2004.[1]

Adelaide Film Festival, Anima, Hong Kong InDPanda International Short Film Festival, Tehran International Animation Festival, Skopje Film Festival, Norwegian Film Institute, Future Shorts (South Africa), Fantoche Film Festival (Switzerland), Draken Film Festival (Sweden), Stockholm International Film Festival, Golden Horse Film Festival, Turkey British Council (tour of Turkey), Animated Encounters (UK), Animex (University of Teesside), Cambridge Film Festival, Cinemagic, Commonwealth Film Fest (Manchester), Hertfordshire International Film Festival (HIFF), London Institute's Arts Festival, Northern Film Network (UK), Norwich Film Festival, Antelope Valley Independent Film Festival, Brooklyn In Film Fest, Milwaukee International Film Festival, Portland International Film Festival,[14] REDCAT, Red Stick International Animation Festival (Louisiana) in 2005.[1]

Singapore RestFest, Bucharest Festival, Short bl Movifest (Russia), Kyiv IFF Molodist Festival, Animacor (Spain),[15] Flip Animation Festival (UK), and Milwaukee International Film Festival in 2006. Ankara Uluslararasi Film Festivali (International Film Festival), Taiwan International Animation Festival, and CineGuernsey (Guernsey) in 2007. Berlin International Film Festival, Lucca Animation, Brussels Short Film Festival, Rooftop Films, Fresh Film Festival in 2008.[1]


gollark: Wait, no, aren't there high-level synthesis tools now?
gollark: You have a good excuse.
gollark: It's annoyingly unproductive.
gollark: Do *not* C.
gollark: Excellent. Good imagination throughput.

References
  1. JO JO IN THE STARS Awards Archived 31 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Awards. StudioAKA. Retrieved on 14 December 2009.
  2. "Inspirations". Computer Arts. Archived from the original on 2 December 2005.
  3. Carter, Jonathan (2004-06-04). jojo in the stars interview. features, film interview. BBC. Retrieved on 14 December 2009.
  4. Jo Jo In the Stars International Short Film Festival - Clermont-Ferrand. Retrieved on 30 November 2008.
  5. Jury quote: "A real Grand Prix winner, for its mysterious yet believable world and poignant love story."
  6. Aspen Shortsfest 2004. Aspen Filmfest. Retrieved on 29 November 2008. "For artfully balancing a delicate story of rebellious love against an inventive and visually stunning world."
  7. 3D Awards - Winners 2004 (PHP). 3D Awards. Retrieved on 14 December 2009.
  8. http://www.sicaf.org
  9. British Animation Awards 2004. Retrieved on 14 December 2009.
  10. Real Respite Care: Surreal Screen Libre. Rêl Institiwt - Real Institute, Wales, UK. Retrieved on 17 December 2009.
  11. SAND at Swansea Metropolitan University, Wales, UK. Retrieved on 17 December 2009.
  12. JOJO IN THE STARS Archived 2 July 2004 at the Wayback Machine. Shorts Programs. 2004 Los Angeles Film Festival. Retrieved on 14 December 2009. "In a fascinating gothic world, two lovers stand against those who want to destroy them."
  13. 2004 Season. (8 September 2004). The World According to Shorts, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.. Retrieved on 17 December 2009. "Jo Jo in the Stars: Marc Craste, U.K., 12 min, animated, N.Y. Premiere."
  14. 28th PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Archived 4 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine. 11–26 February 2005. Retrieved on 14 December 2009.
  15. JO JO IN THE STARS Archived 18 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine. ANIMACOR 2006 - II International Animation Festival, Provincial Circuit. Retrieved on 14 December 2009.
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