John C. Kelley’s Animated Documentary Screened at Slamdance Film Festival
John C. Kelley is an Assistant Professor of 4D (undergraduate) and Time-Based Arts (graduate) at the UT School of Art. His award-winning work in film and animation has screened internationally in 24 countries around the world. In December 2022, Kelley was notified that his animated short documentary, “Slower Animals”, was chosen to be screened at the 2023 Slamdance Film Festival. Kelley created the story, sound, and images for this film and directed the production.
The Slamdance Film Festival is a showcase for raw and innovative filmmaking that lives and bleeds by its mantra: By Filmmakers, For Filmmakers. Slamdance has created a track record for showcasing breakthrough artists that is beyond dispute. Filmmakers who first presented their work at the festival are now amongst the biggest names in the entertainment industry.
Slamdance offers an intimate community experience in which audience members, filmmakers, festival programmers and industry professionals all mingle in the same hallways and sit side by side in screening rooms to discover the next generation of cinema talent.
Slamdance 2023 took place in-person from January 20-26, 2023, in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah and virtually from January 23-29. John Kelley’s short film has been described as “experimental documentary,” and was found in the Slamdance Lineup under Documentary Shorts.https://slamdance.com/festival#lineup
Kelley’s film short premiered in Knoxville at the 2023 Big Ears Festival, where he participated in post show Question and Answer sessions. The short animated film was paired with the full-length documentary, “King Coal,” which was produced and directed by another of UT School of Art’s faculty, Elaine McMillion Sheldon.
The login for the Kelley’s animated film states, “While aimlessly following a winter goose migration across the American south, a professor slips in and out of childhood memories that all surround a forgotten trauma. This short animated film explores the ways we are shaped; both by what we remember and what we forget.”