At a glance
Alfred State Associate Professor of Digital Media and Animation Jeremy Speed Schwartz recently received a pair of awards for his short film titled, “The Land of the 3-Drink Minimum.”
Alfred State Associate Professor of Digital Media and Animation Jeremy Speed Schwartz recently received a pair of awards for his short film titled, “The Land of the 3-Drink Minimum.”
Specifically, the film earned a silver award in the Animation category at the 2019 Chautauqua International Film Festival, and an award for “Outstanding Western NY Micro-Short” at the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival. The film originally premiered at the Athens Animfest in March and had its North American Premiere at the Detroit International Festival of Animation in April.
Since then, it has had broad screenings internationally, including the UNDER_the_RADAR festival in Vienna, the SorsiCorti Short Film Festival in Italy, and the Florida Animation Festival. The film also has a few additionally upcoming screenings, including the Swedish premiere at the Vasteras festival in October.
According to a description of the film, “The attractive denizens of The Land of the 3-Drink Minimum desperately try to connect with each other, but are unable to see past their own desires or past their own alcohol-soaked heads.” The film, Speed Schwartz said, is a personal reflection on cultural associations between masculinity and alcohol presented in two parts.
Speed Schwartz notes that the film relies on a hybrid technique, combining pixilation (stop motion with humans) with digital hand-drawn animation. Music, he said, was composed and performed by Hornell-based musicians Anton Flint and Jonathan Neff.
Speaking about his film, Speed Schwartz said, “It’s exciting that the film has found an audience locally. It’s been a wonderful experience connecting with other members of the western New York film community."
To view a trailer of “The Land of the 3-Drink Minimum,” visit http://jeremyspeedschwartz.com/the-land-of-the-3-drink-minimum/.
