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Interview with ‘Year Zero’ Director Richard Cunningham III

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Having premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival to a clamor of positive feedback, Bloody-Disgusting’s John Marrone caught up with “Year Zero” director Richard Cunningham III who talked about his 24-minute short starring Pat Rigby, Tim Brennan, Richard Cunningham III, Marie-Pierre Beausejour, Christina George and Bridget Carroll.

A month after a bacterial parasite began to plague New York City, a survivor remains barricaded his bedroom, trapped by the zombies beating at his door. Eating captured insects and drinking from a leaky pipe, he ekes out the numbed existence of someone caged and isolated. This animated zombie apocalypse tells the story of man’s slow breakup with the world that was.

Visit the film’s official website for more. Interview inside, along with an exclusive clip.


Year Zero interview – with director Richard Cunningham III
By John Marrone

BD: What type of artwork is this called and how long did it take you to create Year Zero from start to finish?

CUNNINGHAM: Essentially I think Year Zero is a motion comic. The composited moving sequences are all based on still shots, much like what animators are working with when giving life do an comic illustrator’s work. Though I hadn’t heard of a motion comic until I was nearly done animating, so it was really a process that I developed myself as my technique evolved.

I started test photography in the fall of 2008, had a first draft of the script by December, then I spent the next two years slowly putting it all together, teaching myself how to animate with After Effects and edit Final Cut Pro; recording the voice-overs in my apartment, along with the music; scouring the internet for royalty-free sound FX, mixing audio, learning about Compressor and a bunch of technical stuff. I made half the movie on a 10 yr old Dell Dimension and the rest on a Mac Mini, so both systems were completely over-worked and prone to crashing. I guess Year Zero wasn’t completely done until April 2011 though, when I did the final audio mix for its theatrical release.

BD: You had somewhere mentioned hopes of this becoming a series of some sort? What is the full and final vision for this work?

CUNNINGHAM: I have a lot of concepts in my head for a series, and 12 episodes outlined. Because I had no money to make Year Zero, and because the character was stuck in his apartment, I really tried to get into his head and with that intimacy I was hoping that the audience would connect with the character, and really want to see more of his journey.

The series opens up to larger themes, society on the brink of collapse, the idea of humans turning from predator to prey on a mass scale, our possible extinction, it’s parallels with humanity’s own penchant for over-consumption; though, it’s still a very personal story about the main character’s struggle. I’d really like to improve on the animation, to keep the style and feel, but go further with it, do stuff that I wasn’t able to do when it was just me hitting the timer on my camera in a cramped apartment and jumping in front of the lens with a pose.

BD: Favorite zombie films? Anything in particular spawn this vision / endeavor?

CUNNINGHAM: 28 DAYS LATER got me into zombies and really how horrifying they can be when depicted as rabid animals. I really like how NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD addresses social themes on top of being a groundbreaking zombie film. I think “The Zombie Survival Guide” definitely got me thinking about the actual scenario of a zombie apocalypse and how I’d react in a realistic sense. “World War Z”, by Max Brook, is also really great zombie reading. Ravenous is a cannibal movie that had some influence on the music I composed, as well as Johnny Greenwood’s scores. I discovered “The Walking Dead” as I was animating and I was a little bummed to be honest, because I was afraid they’d beat me to the punch with its gritty perspective, but it’s so well done, you have to love it purely as a fan.

BD: Noticed you went pretty deep into the psychology of such an apocalypse – is this character a reflection of your life personally (people who crash at your place and outstay their welcome) or is this your view of how the average New Yorker would handle the situation?

CUNNINGHAM: Ha! Yea, there are some parallels definitely and that was actually planned from the start. I’m from the country- upstate NY- so NYC was originally a big adjustment to the noise and loss of open space/nature. And then when I started investing all my time to making the film, I was stuck in my apartment for a long while working in front of my computer day in, day out, and it wasn’t really a stretch to get into the character’s mindset of isolation and detachment. But yea, the cockroaches, the car alarms, the spring showers, the claustrophobia, that’s all NYC. But I also wanted to have an everyman kind of experience, where the character isn’t entirely heroic, where the consequence of death or infection is always top on the survivor’s mind.

BD: (spoiler warning) The blood running down his torso at the end seemed to indicate that he had bought the farm, so to speak. Regardless of being picked up, do you plan on continuing this story from where it left off – would (our main character) still be the main subject or would it be expanded to other parts of the city / other people / other situations within the calamity?

CUNNINGHAM: I’m happy to give up a spoiler. Yeah, the main character is bitten at the end and he is now infected; however, there’s a short clip earlier in the story inserted when he’s drinking from a bowl of water. Briefly an antibody swims around some cells: As presented in the series concept, the government has already introduced into urban water systems (much like with Chlorine, etc.) an inoculation that stops the parasite’s growth, but still leaves the infected with a desperate urge to eat living flesh. So the main character struggles with this curse, as well as protecting an orphaned girl during the apocalypse; the girl herself becomes a murderous schizophrenic, after having been forced to put down both of her infected parents in the pilot episode. That’s the direction it’ll go, if I can get it realized.

BD: Do you privately, deep down inside, pray for the zombie apocalypse like I do?

CUNNINGHAM: Ha, Hell no! Well… At least not while I’m living in NYC. I really don’t think I’d make it out of this place alive, even with the Highlander katana. But, yeah, the idea of the apocalypse is great. I’ve prepared a little for it, and I do actually have a friend who is gearing up some for the end- of- days, so I take a little comfort in that connection.

BD: Anything else you’d like to mention (and do you have any insight as to when/where non festival goers might be able to see this in its entirety)?

CUNNINGHAM: Right now you can follow Year Zero on Facebook.

Also I have a Twitter feeding Year Zero-related links and the storyline of random Year Zero survivors in NYC.

Hopefully there will be some news on where people can watch Year Zero in the weeks/months to come!

Exclusives

Brazil’s Fantaspoa Film Festival Announces Second Wave of Titles for Epic 20th Edition This April

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Azrael SXSW 2024
Pictured: Samara Weaving in 'Azrael'

Brazil’s Fantaspoa film festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and the festival is breaking numerous records, presenting an impressive total of 114 feature films, 22 of these as World Premieres, marking the largest number of feature films in Fantaspoa’s long history.

The final selection of feature films for Fantaspoa’s highly-anticipated 20th edition has been exclusively presented to Bloody Disgusting, so read on for everything you need to know!

The festival tells us this week, “With a diverse selection, the feature films screening at Fantaspoa XX have been divided into seven distinct competitive categories: International, Ibero-American, National, Documentary, Animation, All-Nighter, and Low Budget, Great Films. These categories promise audiences a variety of cinematic experiences, from the fringes of horror and fantasy to the depths of the human imagination.

“In addition to feature films, Fantaspoa will screen 123 short films, totaling 237 participating works, making this edition of the festival the largest in its history.

“The stunning lineup of competition titles includes the International Premiere of E.L. Katz’s SXSW charmer AZRAEL and the World Premiere of The Butcher Brothers’ new Devon Sawa-starring thriller CONSUMED, and Fantaspoa is also proudly presenting a diverse selection of special screenings, including Demián Rugna’s recent Argentinian hit WHEN EVIL LURKS with the writer/director in attendance. The fest will also feature special screenings of two Argentine films, 2014’s JORGE & ALBERTO VERSUS THE NEOLIBERAL DEMONS, Fantaspoa’s first original production which is celebrating its tenth anniversary, and TRENQUE LAUGUEN, which was selected as the best film of 2023 by Cahiers du Cinéma.

“Fantaspoa XX will also have the honor of presenting a special screening of Robin Hardy’s classic British folk horror film THE WICKER MAN (1973) in the presence of the director’s sons, Justin and Dominic, who will be also attending the festival for the previously-announced World Premiere of their stunning new documentary, CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN, which offers a very unique perspective on the lasting legacy of this cinema masterpiece.

“Among the confirmed guests for the festival’s second wave of films are Alejo Rébora and Daniela Jimenez (7 Lives), Paulo Caldas (Atmosphere), Jaco Bouwer (Breathing In), Karim Lakzadeh and Arash Jooyandeh (Dark Matter), Ryan Ward and Mackenzie Leigh (Daughter of the Sun), Nando Martínez (Fantastic Golem Affairs), Mike McCutchen and JJ Weber (A Game in the Woods), Mario Mayo and Jaime Arnaiz (I’ll Crush Y’all), Roger Elarrat (I, Nirvana), Mike Hermosa (The Invisible Raptor)Gonzalo Quintana and Hernán Quintana (Jorge & Alberto Vs. The Neoliberal Demons), Benjamin Pfohl (Jupiter), Gabriel Papaléo (Liminal Space), Igor Bastos (Motherboard), Armando Fonseca (Remind), Julio Cesar Napoli (Road to the Mouth of Hell), Gonzalo López-Gallego (The Shadow of the Shark), Máncel Martínez (Shit Happens and Miracles too), Guto Parente (A Strange Path), Juliana Muras (Trenque Lauquen), Kenichi Ugana (Visitors – Complete Edition), and Demián Rugna (When Evil Lurks).

The 20th edition of Fantaspoa takes place between April 10 and 28, 2024, and is presented by the Ministry of Culture, Fantaspoa Productions, and Instituto Ling, with sponsorship from Crown Embalagens, America Embalagens, and Banrisul.”

Below is the full second wave of feature films to screen at Fantaspoa XX:

  • 7 LIVES (dir. Alejo Rébora. 2024, Argentina, World Premiere)
  • ALBERT PYUN: KING OF CULT MOVIES (dir. Lisa D’Apolito. 2023, United States, International Premiere)
  • ANNA’S FEELINGS (dir. Anna Melikyan. 2023, Russia, Latin American Premiere)
  • ANOTHER CURSED MOVIE (dirs. Alberto Andrés Fasce and Mario Gonzalo Varela. 2023, Argentina, Brazilian Premiere)
  • ATMOSPHERE (dir. Paulo Caldas. 2023, Brazil/Germany, Regional Premiere)
  • AVIVA (dir. Boaz Yakin. 2020, United States, France)
  • AZRAEL (dir. E.L. Katz. 2024, United States/Estonia, International Premiere)
  • BA (dir. Benjamin Wong. 2024, United States, International Premiere)
  • BABY ASSASSINS 2 BABIES (dir. Yugo Sakamoto. 2023, Japan, Latin American Premiere)
  • BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES (dir. Junta Yamaguchi. 2021, Japan)
  • BREATHING IN (dir. Jaco Bouwer. 2023, South Africa, Latin American Premiere)
  • CLARICE’S DREAM (dirs. Fernando Gutierrez and Guto Bicalho. 2023, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • THE COMPLEX FORMS (dir. Fabio D’Orta. 2023, Italy, Latin American Premiere)
  • CONSUMED (dir. Mitchell Altieri. 2024, United States, World Premiere)
  • DARK MATTER (dir. Karim Lakzadeh. 2023, Iran, Latin American Premiere)
  • DAUGHTER OF THE SUN (dir. Ryan Ward. 2023, Canada, United States, Brazilian Premiere)
  • DEMIGOD: THE LEGEND BEGINS (dir. Chris Huang Wen-Chang. 2022, Taiwan, Latin American Premiere)
  • DIE NIBELUNGEN: KRIEMHILD’S REVENGE (dir. Fritz Lang. 1924, Germany)
  • DIE NIBELUNGEN: SIEGFRIED’S DEATH (dir. Fritz Lang. 1924, Germany)
  • EIGHT EYES (dir. Austin Jennings. 2023, United States/Serbia, Brazilian Premiere)
  • ENCOUNTERS (dir. Dmitry Moiseev. 2023, Russia, Latin American Premiere)
  • ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE (dir. David Gregory. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE FANTASTIC GOLEM AFFAIRS (dirs. Juan González and Nando Martínez. 2023, Spain/Estonia, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE FUNERAL (dir. Orçun Behram. 2023, Turkey, Latin American Premiere)
  • A GAME IN THE WOODS (dir. Mike McCutchen. 2024, United States, World Premiere)
  • THE GLASS HOUSE (dir. Taras Dron. 2023, Ukraine/Cyprus/Romania/Germany, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE HANDS OF ORLAC (dir. Robert Wiene. 1924, Germany, Austria)
  • THE HYPERBORIAN (dir. Jesse Thomas Cook. 2023, Canada, Brazilian Premiere)
  • I’LL CRUSH Y’ALL (dir. Kike Narcea. 2023, Spain, Brazilian Premiere)
  • I, NIRVANA (dir. Roger Elarrat. 2024, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • THE INVISIBLE FIGHT (dir. Rainer Sarnet. 2023, Estonia/Greece/Finland/Latvia, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE INVISIBLE RAPTOR (dir. Mike Hermosa. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)
  • JORGE & ALBERTO VERSUS THE NEOLIBERAL DEMONS (dirs. Gonzalo Quintana and Hernán Quintana. 2014, Argentina/Brazil)
  • JUPITER (dir. Benjamin Pfohl. 2023, Germany, Latin American Premiere)
  • KIM’S VIDEO (dirs. Ashley Sabin and David Redmon. 2023, United States, Regional Premiere)
  • THE LAST SPARK OF HOPE (dir. Piotr Biedroń. 2023, Poland, Latin American Premiere)
  • LIMINAL SPACE (dir. Gabriel Papaléo. 2023, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • M (dir. Vardan Tozija. 2023, North Macedonia/Croatia/France/Kosovo/Luxembourg, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE MONSTER WITH MANY NOSES (dir. Abigail Schaaff. 2023, Spain/France, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE MOOR (dir. Chris Cronin. 2023, United Kingdom, Brazilian Premiere)
  • MOTHERBOARD (dir. Igor Bastos. 2023, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • THE MUTATION PROTOCOL (dir. Marcelo Leguiza. 2024, Argentina, World Premiere)
  • THE OTHER SHAPE (dir. Diego Felipe Guzmán. 2022, Brazil/Colombia, Regional Premiere)
  • PANDEMONIUM (dir. Quarxx. 2023, France, Brazilian Premiere)
  • REMIND (dir. Armando Fonseca. 2024, Brazil, World Premiere)
  • RESTLESS WATERS, SHIVERING LIGHTS (dir. Ángeles Hernández. 2023, Spain, International Premiere)
  • ROAD TO THE MOUTH OF HELL (dir. Julio Cesar Napoli. 2024, Brazil, World Premiere)
  • SATRANIC PANIC (dir. Alice Maio Mackay. 2023. Australia, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE SHADOW OF THE SHARK (dir. Gonzalo López-Gallego. 2024, Spain, Latin American Premiere)
  • SHIT HAPPENS AND MIRACLES TOO (Dir. Máncel Martínez. 2024, Colombia, World Premiere).
  • THE SLEEPING WOMAN (dir. Laura Alvea. 2024, Spain, Latin American Premiere)
  • A STRANGE PATH (dir. Guto Parente. 2023, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • THE TENANTS (dir. Eun-kyoung Yoon. 2023, South Korea, Latin American Premiere)
  • TRENQUE LAUQUEN (dir. Laura Citarella. 2023, Argentina, Germany)
  • VISITORS – COMPLETE EDITION (dir. Kenichi Ugana. 2023, Japan, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE WAIT (dir. F. Javier Gutierrez. 2023, Spain, Latin American Premiere)
  • WAKE (dirs. Thom Arizmendi and Austin Parks Stewart. 2024, United States, International Premiere)
  • THE WEIRD KIDZ (dir. Zach Passero. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)
  • WHEN EVIL LURKS (dir. Demian Rugna. 2023, Argentina)
  • THE WICKER MAN (dir. Robin Hardy. 1973, United Kingdom)

Head over to the official Fantaspoa website to learn more.

Devon Sawa in ‘Consumed’

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