Demon Hunters KPop Academy Award-winning administrators Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans board award-winning animated brief Residing with a visionary as govt producers.
Narrated by James Cromwell, the documentary, written, directed and hosted by Stephen P. Neary, is a mirrored image on the 50-year marriage of a poet to an artwork curator battling Parkinson’s illness. The information comes earlier than the New York Instances Op-Docs previews the brief this week.
Residing with a visionary lately received the Grand Jury Prize for Animation at AFI Fest after receiving the Brief Movie Jury Prize for Animation on the Sundance Movie Pageant earlier this yr.
The movie, an adaptation of John Matthias’ memoir of the identical title, explores John’s “bittersweet reflection on John’s relationship together with his beloved spouse Diana, and the way it’s remodeled by the results of his therapy for Parkinson’s illness,” reads a synopsis. “As Diana’s drugs assault her with vivid and infrequently lovely hallucinations, John, now her caregiver, adapts to her imaginary world.”
Produced by Neary and Mireia Vilanova, the movie consists of hundreds of drawings, hand-illustrated on intersecting layers of vellum. The creator drew them for 3 years, at nights and on weekends, whereas working full-time as a screenwriter and educating lessons on the California Institute of the Arts.
Neary is named the creator and showrunner of The Fungi! on Cartoon Community and HBO Max and supervising producer of the Annie nominated present Clarence. As a historical past artist, his credit embody Demon Hunters KPop, Tremendous Mario Galaxy film, The Ice Age: Daybreak of the Dinosaurs, Rio And The Peanuts film.
Residing with a visionary
Courtesy of The New York Instances Op-Docs
“By some means, whereas working full time on Demon Hunters KPop and elevating a household, Stephen discovered time to make this lovely and heartbreaking movie,” Kang mentioned. “I do not understand how he did it, and actually I am apprehensive he would not get sufficient sleep, however we’re so excited for extra audiences to see it. Residing with a visionary. The world wants distinctive tales in animation and infrequently essentially the most impactful come from the least anticipated locations.
Appelhans shared, “Stephen’s movie is sort of a sketch of the human soul. This assemblage of strains that one way or the other captures love, heartbreak, hallucinations and connection. I had the chance to reside inside Cromwell’s narration and expertise the heartbreak of being alive alongside the enduring energy of affection. A really particular piece of documentary filmmaking.”
Neary expressed his gratitude. “It means all the things to the world that Maggie and Chris are supporting this little movie that I spent years drawing on paper,” he mentioned. “KPop Demon Hunters And Residing with a Visionary are, stylistically, worlds aside. However I consider there’s a line of uncooked, emotional honesty in each of those works, able to bringing much-needed catharsis to viewers the place they least anticipate it: animation.
Residing with a visionary joins eight different movies on Op-Docs’ 2026 slate that it considers awards contenders, together with The revolution towards demise by Joshua Oppenheimer, Tuners And A wolf within the suburbs.
Watch an unique behind-the-scenes animated teaser video from Residing with a visionary under.