Music to Our Ears: Luping’s ‘Classics Explained’ Wins Best Animated Web Series

Animated web series Classics Explained, directed by DEGANZ member Jo Luping (Incubator 2024), won Best Animated Web Series at the UK Online Web Fest in London this year with its episode on composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. The festival praised the series for its “creative brilliance and [how it] bring[s] characters to life in extraordinary ways.”

The series is a collection of ‘edutainment’ videos exploring the stories and inspirations behind some of the world’s greatest compositions. Through fast-paced and witty episodes, it aims to make the world of classical music more accessible.

Classics Explained is an international effort created in the UK, produced from Aotearoa, and animated in Malaysia by Jo’s animation company, Siung Studio.

You can watch the episode on Sergei Rachmaninoff and more on YouTube.

 

Last updated on 4 December 2024

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‘PleasureDora’ PÖFFs Off

PleasureDora, directed and edited by Mark Prebble (DEGANZ), is continuing its successful international festival run. In November, the sci-fi short screened at PÖFF Shorts in Talin, Estonia.

It was aptly selected for the Night Cinema programme, showcasing a range of films where relationships are complex and isolation is crippling, but that every once in a while, we can come together to be better people. PleasureDora fit right with its focus on morality, second chances, and life on the scrap heap when a glitchy AI love companion from the ‘semi-mature’ range meets her final customer.

PÖFF Shorts, part of the Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), is one of Europe’s biggest short film and animation festivals. The Academy Award and BAFTA-qualifying festival highlights bold shorts from international cutting-edge talents. This year, PleasureDora was the only film selected from Aotearoa New Zealand.

Congratulations to Mark and the team for the international recognition!

 

Last updated on 4 December 2024

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