Mar 26, 2013

Motorville" Patrick Jean

America's toughest social critics are not leaders from distant foreign lands, but French animators: remember the Oscar-winning 2009 short "Logorama" and its unrelenting take on American consumerism? Jean's previous film, "Pixel," which turned New York City into a mass of pixels, was a huge hit both online and off, winning best picture at the 2011 Annecy International Film Festival and attracting the attention of Sony Pictures and Adam Sandler.

His new film, "Motorville," is a scathing critique of America's dependence on the natural resources of other countries and its impact on the world. The work was originally commissioned by the American broadcaster Showtime Channel, but after Gene submitted his work, Showtime decided not to air it. Some ideas, even animated ones, are too risky for the American mainstream. A key visual element of [Motorville] is the use of a map of a large city (in this case Los Angeles) as a metaphor for the human body. Jean created the map using open source data from OpenStreetMap.org. While "Motorville" is not the first time map data has been appropriated for cinematic art, Jean's sharp and witty concept elevates the film to a dimension of its own.

Credits. Director: Patrick Gene Production: Showtime Channel Sound Design David Kamp Animation OneMoreProd, Stephen Vuillemin [7].