The Spine by Chris Landreth

The recently revamped National Film Board of Canada website is currently showcasing the new film by CG pioneer Chris Landreth.

The Spine tells the everyday tale of a marriage falling apart, made fantastical through Landreth's astounding signature 'Psychorealism' style of visualising human psychological states. The film was made with the assistance of fifteen animation students from Seneca College in Toronto at C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, Toronto.

The NFB site features the trailer, interviews with the Director, key personnel from C.O.R.E. and the student animators, and there's a fantastic blog by Chris Landreth.

Chris Landreth has been making animated short films since the mid-90s, including The End, Bingo, The Listener, Caustic Sky: APortrait of Regional Acid Deposition and Data Driven: The Story of Franz K. His film Data Driven: The Story of Franz K, made in 1993, is currently showing in our online exhibition Computer Baroque (online until 14 July). Landreth won an Oscar for his film Ryan in 2004, a documentary animation that recounts conversations between Landreth and animator Ryan Larkin, a once highly regarded Canadian animator who had fallen on hard times.

The Spine premieres at Annecy International Animation Festival this week (8-13 June).

Image: Ryan, Chris Landreth