BY KAREN BOSSICK
Sixty-five thousand oil paintings on canvas.
That’s what you get in “Loving Vincent,” a 2017 experimental animated biographical drama film about the life of painter Vincent van Gogh.
The Sun Valley Center for the Arts will show this fully painted feature film—the world’s first oil painted animated feature film--at 4:30 and 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, at the Magic Lantern Cinema in Ketchum.
Tickets are $10 for Center members and $12 for nonmembers, available at www.sunvalleycenter.org, by calling 208-726-9491 or at The Center’s box office at 191 Fifth St. East in Ketchum.
The film kicks off The Center’s 2018-19 Film Series.
The film was first conceived as a 7-minute short movie by Dorota Kobiela, a Polish painter who had studied Van Gogh’s techniques and story through his letters.
A team of 125 painters created the 65,000 frames for the animated film using the same technique as Van Gogh. And the film, written and directed by Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, was funded by the Polish Film Institute and a Kickstarter campaign.
The 95-minute film premiered at the 2017 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. It won Best Animated Feature Film Award at the 30th European Film Awards in Berlin and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 90th Academy Awards.
“This is a one-of-a-kind film about one of the 20th century’s most unique and enduring artists,” said Kristine Bretall, director of Performing Arts at The Center. “It combines art, art history and a historical mystery around Van Gogh’s purported suicide at the age of 37. The story is told via depictions of Van Gogh’s works, which were photographed, then painted over with gradual changes and repeatedly shot to create the animation.”
THE SUN VALLEY CENTER FOR THE ARTS’ 2018-19 FILM SERIES:
Manhattan Short Film Festival, Thursday, Oct. 4
“The Other Side of Everything,” Thursday, Nov. 1
“Two Trains Runnin’,” Thursday, Nov. 29
“Faces Places,” Thursday, Dec. 13
“The Irish Pub,” Thursday, Jan. 10
“Chef Flynn,” Thursday, Jan. 24
Oscar Shorts, screening date to be determined in February
“Dawson City: Frozen Time,” Thursday, March 21
“Dakota 38,” Thursday, April 18
Each film will be screened at 4:30 and 7 p.m. at the Magic Lantern Cinemas.
Kristine Bretall said the Center selected a wide range of films covering everything from artists and musicians to history. The Manhattan Short Film Festival, new to the mix, is a worldwide event where audiences vote on their favorite films.
ONE LAST FREE EXHIBITION TOUR
The Center is inviting art lovers to enjoy a wine while taking part in the final exhibition tour of “Burchfield’s Influence: Hayley Barker, Anna Fidler and Katy Stone” at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, at The Center, Fifth and Washington streets in Ketchum.
The exhibition features the work of Charles E. Burchfield, whose paintings were inspired by divine experiences, and three contemporary artists inspired by his work. The exhibition closes Sept. 21.