This page contains links to articles, interviews, and videos that can be incorporated into course syllabi or used for individual student research. For detailed event information, visit saic.edu/cate.
Boys and Men
Thursday, February 13, 6:00 p.m. CT
Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St
Faculty can reserve tickets for their classes here.
Please note that All CATE events will have real-time captioning (CART). Hearing loops, wheelchair seating, and companion seating are also available at the Gene Siskel Film Center. For other accessibility requests, please visit saic.edu/access or write cate@saic.edu
Moving far beyond the confines of the manosphere, Boys and Men delves into the shifting and often treacherous terrain of masculinity through a selection of films by award-winning contemporary animators, including James Duesing, Sam Gurry, Gabriel Harel, Elizabeth Hobbs, Jinkyu Jeon, Nicolas Keppens, and others. Featuring an array of techniques—from stop-motion and pixelation to hand-painted and AI-generated imagery—these expressive, incisive, and occasionally darkly funny works explore themes of belonging, desire, power, and grief.
Jean-Jean Arnoux
Jean-Jean Arnoux is a Paris-based illustrator and director of animated short films.
Artist's website
James Duesing’s work has been exhibited and broadcast throughout the world. He is the recipient of numerous awards and grants including a Creative Capital Award, an American Film Institute Independent Filmmaker Fellowship, an Emmy Award from the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, among others.
Artist's website
Sam Gurry
Sam Gurry is an interdisciplinary filmmaker and curator living in Los Angeles. Their films have screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, South by Southwest, Slamdance, Ann Arbor Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, and the Ottawa International Animation Festival, amongst others.
Artist's website
Gabriel Harel is a Marseille-based animator known for his award-winning films Yul and the Snake and Night of the Plastic Bags.
Ryo Hirano is an animator and manga artist currently based in Fujimi, Nagano. Hirano’s award-winning work draws from cultural anthropology, folklore, and various subcultures. In addition to his independent work, he has also produced animations for Japan Broadcasting Corporation’s long-running series Minna No Uta.
Artist's website
Elizabeth Hobbs is an animator based in London. She makes her films under a rostrum camera using traditional animation techniques, while stretching the material possibilities of the medium. Her film I’m Ok was nominated for a BAFTA in 2019, and The Debutante was shortlisted for an Academy Award In 2023.
Artist's website
Jinkyu Jeon is a Korean-born animator based in Tokyo. He began his career at the Korea National University of Arts of Animation, before working at Studio Shelter, and eventually moving on to a second degree from Tokyo University of Arts of Animation, where he completed The House of Loss.
Artist's website
Nicolas Keppens
Nicolas Keppens is an independent animator and the new-media manager for the Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck. His animated films have screened around the world and received numerous awards.
Artist's website
Yuta Masuda is an animator, installation artist, and performer based in Tokyo.
Sam Gurry [Interview]
Mostly Moving | January 2019
Yul and the Snake by Gabriel Harel [Interview]
Taryn Joffe and Kelly Powell | Go Film Magazine | 2015
Breakfast with Yúl et le serpent [Interview]
Clotilde Couturier | Festival International du Court Métrage Clermont Ferrand | February 16, 2016
Krasue by Ryo Hirano [Interview]
Joseph Norman | Zippy Frames | June 6, 2022
I’m Ok by Lizzy Hobbs [Article]
Alex Dudok de Wit | Short of the Week | October 9, 2019
Lunch with I’m Ok [Interview]
Abla Kandalaft | Festival International du Court Métrage Clermont Ferrand | February 7, 2019
Know Your Indie Filmmaker: Elizabeth Hobbs [Article]
Alex Dudok de Wit | Cartoon Brew | December 27, 2021
The House of Loss by Jeon Jinkyu [Article]
Vassilis Kroustallis | Zippy Frames | October 2, 2024
Easter Eggs by Nicolas Keppens [Article]
Rob Munday | Short of the Week | February 16, 2023
Nicolas Keppens on “Easter Eggs” [Interview]
Berlin International Film Festival | March 3, 2021
Hyperanimation by James Duesing on Video Data Bank’s Educational Streaming Platform
Conversations at the Edge Lecture Recordings
Conversation at the Edge video recordings (2016–present.) Available with SAIC login credentials.