Man in a Cat got its first public screening last week, and not only that, I got to see the completed film for the first time after a year or so of development.
The very first showing was at Shorts on Walls as part of Birmingham’s Flatpack Festival and there was a great turnout (140 I’m told) crammed into The Dirty End (so to speak), to see a selection of local animated shorts as well as fellow Digishorts film Best by Stephen Spencer and our film.
As the other shorts played I was worried that everyone was a bit quiet, reverent even, and by the end might see our film as a bit brash and silly. Just before Man in Cat, Best impressed, giving a stylised retelling of George Best’s life in the limelight and his hounding by the press. It was a nice mix of stop-frame-style CG and had some really nice visual touches.
By time our film started the nerves had gone and thankfully I was able to enjoy it, laughing along with the audience and revelling a bit in their gasps and other audible reactions. It was nice to see it after such a long time and still be surprised by it and, importantly, still find it amusing.
After our lovely reception, Louis, Stephen Spencer and I sat on stage for a Q&A with the audience about our films, which was nice. We attracted quite a few questions and even managed to get a couple of laughs. We could talk about the film for hours, and probably will, but thankfully Dave Allen at Animation Forum was a good chair, even if we did have some trouble with the microphones, and kept us from babbling too much.
Despite seeming like an ending, I reckon the adventure begins here. Man in a Cat will have more screenings, do more festivals and hopefully will entertain a few more people. It’s a bit of a mystery as to what will happen as a direct result of it, but we’re hoping some serendipitous goings-on go on and opportunities present themselves.
The next step for now is to enjoy being creative again, making comedy sketches and personal projects, and continuing to develop other ideas. Whatever happens, it’s bound be fun.
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