Jan 21, 2023

Matt Kiel's pastel feature "Unicorn Boy" premieres this weekend at Slamdance

Slamdance 2023 opens this weekend in Park City, Utah, and Matt Kiel's animated feature "Unicorn Boy" will screen at the festival, which runs through January 29.

The coming-of-age story, which Keel wrote, directed, animated, and produced, released its pastel trailer last week ahead of its world premiere on Sunday, January 22 at 7:30 PM MT.

"Unicorn Boy" tells the story of Matty, an artist struggling to get over a recent breakup. Depressed, the hero is sucked into an alternate dimension inhabited by unicorns and tasked with conquering the forces of darkness in order to bring peace to the kingdom of horses.

"I've used most of my animation work as a way to digest my emotions, experiences, and spiritual issues," Keel explained to Cartoon Brew prior to the film's premiere. Animation has always been my medium of choice because "I love animation tremendously. So animation is a great storytelling vehicle.

Keel animated the entire film himself using Adobe Animate, Adobe Premier Pro for editing, and Procreate for creating backgrounds and other paint elements. But behind him, he notes, "was an unwavering team, including producer Neil Garguilo, who was invaluable in bringing the film to life, and Dimitri Smith, who created an amazing original score that perfectly complemented the visuals."

Kiel spent a little over four years producing "Unicorn Boy" and another two years developing and working on the project that led to the story told in his debut film.

Keel not only took on nearly all of the filmmaking roles in "Unicorn Boy," but also voice actors Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford, Harold Perrineau, Michelle Trachtenberg, Parvesh Cheena, Sarah Natcheny, Katie LeClair, Brett Davan, Bo Milchoff, Seth Ward, Cindy Paola, and Neil Garguilo star along with others.

Garguilo and Kiel produced the film, with Christine Sanchez serving as co-producer. Executive producers are Andrew McElroy, Donovan Mannert, Michael Hughes, and Brian Mandl.