Film List - Alphabetical (30 short films, one feature, one iOS app)

 

 

 

After the Fall (1991, 6 min., drawings on index cards)

After the Fall is about human relationships and the frustration of not being able to connect.  The animation was drawn on index cards that were shot outdoors, at a fast food restaurant, garbage dump, flower farm and near Mt. Hood. After the Fall ends with the hero finding community by planting a

seed from his heart. The final shot reveals how the film was made.

​

“For segments of the 1991 piece, After the Fall, Priestley propped up a sheet of clear plexiglas at various outdoor locations and shot animation by

placing sequences of drawings in its center.  In the finished film, the smooth hand-drawn animation is framed by stuttering approximations of live

action backgrounds.” -Sharon Mizota, Los Angeles Times

​

Credits: Produced, directed and animated by Joanna Priestley.  Music composed and produced by Billy Oskay and Cal Scott.

​

Awards:
National Independent Film Competition (USA): Grand Prix 
Athens Film and Video Festival (OH, USA): First Prize 
Northwest Film and Video Festival (OR, USA): First Prize 
Sinking Creek Film Festival (TN, USA): Cash Award Winner 
Black Maria Film Festival (NJ, USA): Juror’s Award

Festivals:
New York Film Festival (NY, USA) 
Bombay International Film Festival (India) 
San Francisco International Film Festival (CA, USA)

Touring Program:

Northwest Film Festival Tour, Portland Art Museum (OR, USA)

Screenings:
Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY, USA)
Masters of Animation Festival (Trivandrum, India)
Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN, USA)
High Museum (Atlanta, GA, USA)

 

All My Relations (1990, 5 min., 16mm, drawings on paper with 3D frames)

All My Relations satirizes the pitfalls of romance, from marriage, childbirth and upward mobility to the disintegration of a relationship. The animation

is framed by a series of sculptural assemblages, which emphasize the message implied by the archetypal characters whose dilemmas may be familiar

to those who have bought into the American Dream.

​

Credits: Produced, directed and animated by Joanna Priestley.  Voices by Victoria Parker and Scott Parker.  Sound effects by Dennis Wiancko.  Sound produced by Joanna Priestley.  Assistant animation by Kathleen Nichols and Janet Karecki.

​

Awards:
National Independent Film Competition: Grand Prix (USA)
Black Maria Film and Video Festival: Jury Award for Excellence (NJ, USA)
Big Muddy Film Festival: Best of Festival (IL, USA)
American Film and Video Festival: Second Place/Red Ribbon Award (USA)
Black Maria Film Festival: Jury Award for Excellence (NJ, USA)
Northwest Film and Video Festival, Portland Art Museum: Honorable Mention (OR, USA)
Athens International Film Festival: Honorable Mention (OH, USA)
Marin County Film Festival: Third Prize (CA, USA)

Festivals:
New York Film Festival NY, (NY, USA) 
Annecy International Animation Festival (France) 
Hiroshima International Animation Festival (Japan) 
Tournée of Animation (CA, USA) 
Odense International Film Festival (Denmark) 
Bombay International Film Festival (India) 
Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany) 
PIA Festival (Japan) 
U.S.A. Film Festival (TX, USA)

Touring Programs:
Tournée of Animation (CA, USA)
Northwest Film and Video Festival Tour (OR, USA)

Screenings:
American Cinematheque (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
REDCAT Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Walker Art Center Retrospective (Minneapolis, MN, USA)
Museum of Modern Art Retrospective (New York, NY, USA)
Masters of Animation Festival (Trivandrum, India)
Cinemateca Santa Ana (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico) 3-2-09
POW Festival Retrospective (Portland, OR, USA) 3-9-14
Art Education Conference (Kutztown, PA, USA) 11-20-15
Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany) 5-3-17
British Film Institute (London, UK) 5-13-17

Trailblazing Women of Animation: Joanna Priestley, NW Film Center, Portland Art Museum (OR, USA) 12-6-17

Fantoche International Animation Festival (Baden, Switzerland) 9-3-19

Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Invitational (Baltimore, MD, USA) 10-18-19

Best of Animation Program, Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany) 5-5-21

 

Andaluz (2004, 05:55, drawings on paper, screen ratio 1.33:1)
A traveler’s love letter to Andalucía, this animated film is an homage to the culture, landscape, and architecture of southern Spain. The film explores

details of the natural world in relation to the four elements, and suggests the close relationship between people and the land which they inhabit.

"Short but sweet, this new animated tribute to southern Spain is just six minutes long, but the tale spans centuries."  -Cheryl Sinapis, Boston Globe

 

Credits: Directed, produced and animated by Joanna Priestley and Karen Aqua. Sound designed, produced and mixed by Lance Limbocker.  Edited by

Cam Williams. Music composed by Juanito Pascual.  Music produced by Ken Field.  Musicians:  Juanito Pascual (guitar, palmas), Fernando de Malaga

(vocals), Adolfo Herrera (percussion, palmas), Ken Field (flutes). Camera by Joanna Priestley and Shannon Turk.
 

Awards:
Black Maria Film and Video Festival: Director's Choice Award (NJ, USA)
ASIFA-East Animation Awards: Excellence in Experimental Techniques (NY, USA)
Kalamazoo Animation Festival International: First Prize (MI, USA)
USA Film Festival: Finalist (TX, USA)
ASIFA-San Francisco Animation Awards: Second Prize (CA, USA)
Bimini International Animated Film Festival: Special Jury Diploma (Latvia)
New England Film & Video Festival : Jury Award for Best Independent Animation (Boston, MA, USA)

Festivals:
New York Film Festival (NY, USA)
Big Muddy Film Festival (IL, USA)
Tehran International Animation Festival (Iran) 
James River Film Festival (USA)
Platform International Animation Festival (OR, USA)
Leipzig International Festival for Documentary and Animated Film (Germany)
Nashville Film Festival (TN, USA)
Newport International Film Festival (RI, USA)
Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films (Croatia)
Culture2Culture Tricky Women Festival (Vienna, Austria) 
Anima Mundi (Brazil)
Starz Denver International Film Festival (Denver, CO, USA)
China International Cartoon and Digital Art Festival (China)
I Castelli Animati (Italy)
Animac International Animation Festival (Spain)
Northwest Film and Video Festival (OR, USA)
Jeon Ju International Film Festival (Korea)
Córdoba Animation Festival (Argentina)
Down Under International Film Festival (Australia)
KROK International Animated Film Festival (Ukraine)
CineMujer Film Festival (TX, USA)
Northampton Film Festival (NY, USA) 
Womanimation! Film Festival (NH, USA)

Screenings:
Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MA, USA) 
Portland Art Museum (OR, USA)
Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, MA, USA)
American Cinematheque (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN, USA)
Paris Cinéma (France)
Jacob Burns Film Center (Pleasantville, CA, USA)
Prince Music Theater (Philadelphia, PA, USA)
Cinemateca Santa Ana (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico) 3-2-09
POW Festival, Hollywood Theater (Portland, OR, USA) 3-9-14

Fantoche International Animation Festival (Baden, Switzerland) 9-3-19

Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Invitational (Baltimore, MD, USA) 10-18-19

​

Bottle Neck (2015, 02:39, mov file, stereo, 16:9)

A luminous crush of still life silhouettes, abstract shapes and complex, interlocking patterns, Bottle Neck renovates the commonplace objects of a

classical painting genre in a modern setting. It is the third film in Priestley’s abstract trilogy about patterning that includes Eye Liner (2011)

 

Credits: Directed, produced and animated by Joanna Priestley. Sound designed and produced by Seth Norman. Title design and compositing by Brian Kinkley. Special thanks to Petit Pattern Books.
 

Festivals:
Hiroshima International Film Festival: Best of the World Program (Japan)
Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany) 
Melbourne International Animation Festival (Australia) 
Stockholm Animation and Experimental Film Festival (Sweden)
interfilm International Short Film Festival (Berlin, Germany) 
Sydney Film Festival (Australia) 6-8–16 
London International Animation Festival (UK)
Northwest Filmmaker's Festival, Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR, USA)

Athens International Film Festival (GA, USA)
INDIE hype (Australia + Germany) 6-28–16
TMC London Film Festival (UK) 
Portland International Film Festival (OR, USA)
Insomnia Festival (Moscow, Russia) 
Cinema Pacific Fringe Festival (Eugene, OR, USA) 4-2-15 
Northwest Animation Festival (Portland, OR, USA) 
Miami Independent Film Festival (FL, USA)
Tricky Women Animation Festival (Vienna, Austria) 3-3-16 
New Zealand International Film Festival (Auckland, NZ)
Flying Robot International Film Festival (USA)

Screenings:
Art Education Conference, Kutztown University (Kutztown, PA, USA) 11-20-15
Zip! Animation Event, St. Dennis Hall (Harrisville, NH, USA) 12-5-15
Homebrew Animation, Fertile Ground Festival (Portland, OR, USA) 1-24-16
Focus on Joanna Priestley, Tricky Women Animation Festival (Vienna, Austria) 3-3-16 and 3–6-16
Women in Film, Northwest Film Center, Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR, USA) 9-15-16
Celebrating Women in Animation, Animated Women UK (The Horse Hospital, London) 12-8-16
Best of the We Like 'Em Short Film Festival (NWFC, Portland Art Museum, OR, USA) 4-27-17
Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany) 5-3-17
British Film Institute (London, UK) 5-13-17
ASIFA-SF Spring Show, City College of San Francisco (USA) 6-16-17
Boathouse Microcinema (Portland, OR, USA) 3-8-17

Trailblazing Women of Animation: Joanna Priestley, NW Film Center, Portland Art Museum (OR, USA) 12-6-17

Fantoche International Animation Festival (Baden, Switzerland) 9-3-19

Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Invitational (Baltimore, MD, USA) 10-18-19

 

Candyjam (1988, 7 min., 16mm, object animation, puppets and drawings on paper)

Candyjam is a whimsical, animated collaboration by ten animators from four countries. Candy is the subject and each filmmaker brings their own

unique style to this experimental film which includes animated candy and objects, drawings and puppet animation.

 

Credits: Produced and Directed by Joanna Priestley and Joan Gratz. Sound designed and produced by R. Dennis Wiancko. Sequence directors: David Anderson (England), Karen Aqua (USA), Craig Bartlett (USA), Elizabeth Buttler (USA), Paul Driessen (Holland), Tom Gasek (USA), Joan Gratz (USA),

Christine Panushka (USA), Joanna Priestley (USA) and Marv Newland (Canada). 

 

Awards:
Black Maria Film Festival (NJ, USA): First Prize 
National Independent Film and Video Competition (USA): Honorable Mention 
Chicago International Film Festival (IL, USA): Certificate of Merit 
Sinking Creek Film Festival (TN, USA): Cash Award Winner  
Northwest Film and Video Festival (USA): Honorable Mention

Cinanima International Animation Festival (Portugal): Honorable Mention

Festivals: 
Zagreb International Animation Festival (Croatia) 
Flaherty Film Seminar (NY, USA)
Aspen Film Festival (CO, USA) 
International Tournée of Animation (LA, USA) 
Mill Valley Film Festival (CA, USA) 
Denver Film Festival (CO, USA) 

Screenings:
Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY, USA)
Masters of Animation Festival (Trivandrum, India)
American Cinematheque (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
REDCAT Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN, USA)
Northwest Film Festival Tour Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR, USA)
Cinemateca Santa Ana (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico) 3-2-09
Canal+ (Paris, France)
POW Festival Retrospective (Portland, OR, USA) 3-9-14

 

Choking Hazard (2012, 01:05, digital file, 16:9)

What happens to our recycled plastic? A plastic tub takes a long trip in this short short by award winning indie animator Joanna Priestley. Our best intentions can go awry when it comes to recycling plastic.

 

Credits: Directed and Produced by Joanna Priestley. Sound Design by Chris Barber. Music by Thomas Barber. Animation by by Joanna Priestley and Jed Bursiek. Musicians: Casey Bozell: Violin, Adam Trachsel: Bass, Cellos and Guitar. Chris Barber: Percussion. Meredith Adelaide: Vocals. Thomas Barber: Trumpet, French Horn and Tuba. Produced for and financial support provided by: Create Plenty, Scrap and the Surfrider Foundation, Portland Chapter.

 

Festivals

Eco Comedy Film Competition (USA)

Dawson City International Short Film Festival (Yukon, Canada)

Screenings:

Northwest Film Center, Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR, USA) 1-28-12

The Art Zone, Seattle Channel (Seattle, WA, USA) 3-21-12

Sisters Movie House (Sisters, OR, USA) 2-21-13

Plastics 360 Conference (Berkeley, CA, USA) 3-16-13

Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Invitational (Baltimore, MD, USA) 10-18-19

Earth Day Celebration, NW Film Center, Portland, Art Museum (Portland, OR, USA) 4-22-20

For the Planet, Icario Espacio (Mexico City, Mexico) 12-20

​

Clam Bake (2012, iOS app available from the Apple Store, interactive animation, 16:9)

Clam Bake is an ebullient, interactive adventure that begins with an array of turquoise clams and simple shapes. Touch the screen to open an object

and reveal an animated treasure. As more shapes and zoetropes appear, opening each element leads to a surprise ending. Dubstep composer Seth Norman (Triage) created a rich score for Clam Bake. Norman says: “My focus as a sound designer was on creating small, attention-grabbing snippets

of audio that give the user a feeling of surprise and discovery with each click as they dig further into the app."

 

“Priestley’s ebullient take on contemporary animation. Embracing new technology to further push the boundaries of animation’s capabilities, Clam Bake is

an interactive objet d’art.” -Nicholas Katzban, 24700
 

"It's playful, witty, soothing and charming." -Shawn Levy, The Oregonian

 

“Clam Bake is mesmerizing and fun. I love it!” –Mayor Sam Adams, Portland, OR

 

Credits: Directed, produced and animated by Joanna Priestley. Sound designed and produced by Seth Norman.
Programmer and Assistant Animator Jed Bursiek.

"Embracing new technology to further push the boundaries of animation’s capabilities, Clam Bake is not quite a game but an interactive objet d’art." -Nicholas Katzban, 24700
 

Presentations:
Northwest Film Center – Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR) 1-28-12
Cinema Pacific Fringe Festival (Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene, OR) 4-2-15
Houston Cinema Arts Festival (Houston, TX) 11-7-12 to 11-21-12

The Dancing Bulrushes (1985, 5 min., 16mm, sand animation)

The Dancing Bulrushes is based on an Ojibwa Native American story about coyote, the trickster, published by Barry Lopez.  The film was made by

animating beach sand frame by frame, on top of a sheet of glass, directly under the camera. 

 

Credits: Directed, produced and animated by Joanna Priestley and Steven Subotnick. Written by Barry Lopez. Music composed and performed by

Miroslav Tadic. Narrated by Fran Bennett. Made at California Institute of the Arts.

 

Awards:  
USA Film Festival: Special Judges Award for New Animation Talent (Dallas, TX, USA)

Chicago International Film Festival: Gold Hugo Nominee for Best Short Film (IL, USA)
Sinking Creek Film Festival: Cash Award Winner (TN, USA)
FOCUS Film Festival: Third Place (USA)

Festivals: 
Athens International Film Festival (OH, USA) 
San Francisco International Film Festival (CA, USA) 
Chicago International Film Festival (IL, USA) 
Los Angeles International Animation Celebration (CA, USA) 
Northwest Film and Video Festival, Portland Art Museum (OR, USA)

Touring Program

Northwest Film Festival Tour, Portland Art Museum (OR, USA)

Screenings:
Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY, USA)

Cinémathèque française, Centre Pompidou (Paris, France)
Masters of Animation Festival (Trivandrum, India)
Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN, USA)

Dear Pluto (2012, 04:13, DVD- Beta SP-Blu-ray, stereo, 16:9)

“Dear Pluto, you will always be a planet in my Solar System! The International Astronomical Union has demoted you, cast you in with the other icy

bodies of the Kuiper Belt. But what do they know?”  A tribute to Pluto, everyone’s favorite planetoid, from the poem “Pizza” by slam poet Taylor Mali.

Created with Maya, 3D Studio Max and Flash CS3.

 

Credits: Directed and produced by Joanna Priestley. Sound design by Lance Limbocker and Seth Norman. Written and performed by Taylor Mali.

3D animation by James O’Neill and Russell Wilkins. Music composed by Lance Limbocker. Design and 2D animation by Joanna Priestley. Compositing

by Randy Wakerlin. Additional computer animation by Fred Ruff. Edited by Joanna Priestley and Randy Wakerlin. Character voices by Rob Sample. 

Assistant modeler: Luc Cote’. Storyboards by Dan Schaeffer.  Character designs by Don Flores. Supported by the Regional Arts and Culture Council.

 

Awards:
ASIFA-San Francisco Film Festival: First Place, Independent Animation (CA, USA)

Northwest Filmmakers Festival: Audience Choice Award (OR, USA)

Ann Arbor Film Festival: Art & Science Award (MI, USA)

ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival: Best of ZEBRA (Germany)

Festivals:
Interfilm International Short Film Festival (Germany)
Visible Verse Festival (Canada) 

Dawson City Short Film Festival (Yukon, Canada) 
Gig Harbor Film Festival (WA, USA)

POW Film Festival (Portland, OR, USA)
Spokane International Film Festival (WA, USA) 

Poezijos Festivalis TARP (Lithuania)
Portland International Film Festival, (OR, USA)

Co-Kisser Poetry Film Festival (USA)
Cinema Pacific Fringe Festival (OR, USA)
Tricky Women Animation Festival (Vienna, Austria) 3-3-16

Screenings:
Portland Art Museum (OR, USA)
A Place Called Home, Hollywood Theater (Portland, OR, USA)
Annecy+ (Annecy, France)
DLR Poetry Now (Dublin, Ireland) 
Artisterium (Tbilisi, Georgia) 
Kosmopolis Festival (Barcelona, Spain) 3-16-13 
Short Waves Festival (Poznan, Poland) 4-25-13 
Internationales Lyrikertreffen Münster (Münster, Germany) 5-02-13 
Copenhagen International Poetry Festival (Denmark) 5-24-13 
Long Night of the Film Festivals (Berlin, Germany) 8-17-3 
International Poetry Festival MERIDIAN CZERNOWITZ (Chernovtsy, Ukraine) 9-8-13 
DotorClip Roma Poetry Film Festival (Rome, Italy) 10-24-13 
Short Film Day (Berlin, Germany) 12-21-13
POW Film Festival (Portland, OR, USA) 3-9-14
Runokuu (Poetry Moon) Festival (Helsinki, Finland) 8-24-14
Cinema Pacific Fringe Festival (Eugene, OR, USA) 4-2-15
Art Education Conference (Kutztown, PA, USA) 11-20-15
Struga Poetry Evenings (Struga, Republic of Macedonia) 8-28-15 
Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany) 5-3-17
British Film Institute (London, UK) 5-13-17

Trailblazing Women of Animation: Joanna Priestley, NW Film Center, Portland Art Museum (OR, USA) 12-6-17

Fantoche International Animation Festival (Baden, Switzerland) 9-3-19

Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Invitational (Baltimore, MD, USA) 10-18-19

​

Decanter (~1989, 03:12, 16mm, silent, 2D computer animation) Not Released

Decanter is an abstract structural experiment created at California Institute of the Arts where co-directors Jules Engel and Joanna Priestley were in the

first computer animation class at Cal Arts (1984-85), taught by Vibeke Sorensen. They used a Cubicomp with a Compaq PC (8 MB RAM, 40 MB hard drive) and Lumena, Easel and PC-10 software. Images were shot onto 16mm film from the the computer monitor, using a tripod mounted Bolex camera. 

 

Note: Jules Engel assembled Decanter from outtakes of Priestley and Engel’s unreleased 2016 film, Times Square. This was done several years after they completed Times Square (1986), but the exact date is unknown because Decanter was not released. Engel used credits that were created in 1985 for

Times Square using the Cubicomp but not used on the film. After Engel’s death in 2003, Decanter was donated to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts

and Sciences Film Archive in Los Angeles. The film was found by Film Preservationist Mark Toscano on August 15, 2018 when he was labeling and

organizing the donated materials. -J. Priestley 11-28-18

 

Credits: Directed, produced and animated by Jules Engel and Joanna Priestley. Edited by Jules Engel.

Dew Line (2005, 04:25, 2D computer animation, 1.33:1)

An abstract tapestry of biomorphic forms that hints at the loss of botanical diversity. The title refers to the array of radar stations (Distant Early Warning Line) built in the Arctic during the Cold War and to the elegant shapes created by condensation. “Priestley’s playful eye takes us on a tour through the cycle of life and death as cells split apart, regenerate and dance a microbiological twist.” -Sam Green, Juror, NW Filmmakers Festival

​

“A rich abstract tapestry of botanical and biomorphic forms. Priestley’s Flash animation is a striking continuation of her fluid playful style and lyrically comic sense of movement.” -Bill Foster, Northwest Film Center

 

Credits: Directed, produced and animated by Joanna Priestley. Sound designed and produced by Jamie Haggerty. Edited by Joanna Priestley and Jamie Haggerty. Supported by a grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council.

 

Awards: 
Big Muddy Film Festival: First Prize (IL, USA)
Fantoche International Animation Festival: Best of the World Program (Baden, Switzerland) 
Hiroshima International Animation Festival: Best of the World Program (Japan) 
Black Maria Film Festival: Director’s Citation (NJ, USA)

Festivals: 
Anima Mundi Animation Festival (Brazil) 
Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival (South Korea) 
Prix Ars Electronica (Germany) 
Ottawa International Animation Festival (Canada) 
Mediawave International Film Festival (Hungary) 
London International Animation Festival (UK) 
Melbourne Animation Festival (Australia) 
Leipzig International Festival for Documentary and Animated Film (Germany) 
I Castelli Animati (Italy) 
Bimini International Animated Film Festival (Latvia) 
Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival (Turkey) 
Black Nights Film Festival (Estonia) 
Newport International Film Festival (RI, USA) 
Seattle International Film Festival (WA, USA) 
Portland International Short Shorts Festival (USA) 
Los Angeles Short Film Festival (CA, USA)  
Dallas Video Festival (TX, USA) 
Portland International Film Festival (OR, USA) 
Northwest Film and Video Festival (OR, USA) 
Hi Mom Film Festival (NC, USA) 
Anchorage Film Festival (AK, USA)

We Are One Global Film Festival (New York, NY, USA) 5-29 to 6-7-20

Touring Programs:
Animated Worlds Tour and DVD (USA)
Independent Exposure Tour (International)
Northwest Film and Video Festival Tour (USA)

Screenings:
Women with Vision, Walker Art Center (MN, USA)

Cinemateca Santa Ana (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico) 3-2-09
Northwest Film Center, Portland Art Museum (OR, USA) 1-28-13
Sisters Movie House Retrospective (OR, USA) 2-21-13
Women In Film (Portland, OR, USA) 7-1-13
POW Festival Retrospective (Portland, OR, USA) 3-9-14
Cinema Pacific Fringe Festival (Eugene, OR, USA) 4-2-15
Tricky Women Animation Festival (Vienna, Austria) 3-3-16
Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany) 5-3-17
British Film Institute (London, UK) 5-13-17

Trailblazing Women of Animation: Joanna Priestley, NW Film Center, Portland Art Museum (OR, USA) 12-6-17

Fantoche International Animation Festival (Baden, Switzerland) 9-3-19

Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Invitational (Baltimore, MD) 10-18-19

Extended Play (2007, 4 min., digital, animated installation, screen ratio 3:1)

Extended Play is an experimental exploration and rediscovery of games and youthful pastimes. Set within the spotlight of an elliptical border, games, diagrams and objects of amusement create an evocative metaphor of childhood play. Extended Play was a two screen (”L” shaped), outdoor installation

with Sam Mowry and Martin Gallagher providing live foley sound. It premiered at the Platform International Animation Festival.

 

Credits: Directed, produced and animated by Joanna Priestley. Digital effects artist: Daniel Phillip Johnson. Sound designed and produced by Marc Rose. Live sound and sound effects by Sam Mowry and Martin Gallagher. Vocal performances by Shannon Day and Janet Day.

 

Festival: “Inside Out”, Platform International Animation Festival (Portland, OR, USA) 6-28-07 

 
Eye Liner (2010, 03:53, DVD/Blu-ray/ Beta SP, stereo, 16:9)

Bold, crisp, playful animation that explores the organic geometry and archetypes of the human face. Eyeliner choreographs the flow and ebb of

abstract and cultural effigies that echo facial features.

 

Credits: Directed, produced and animated by Joanna Priestley. Sound Designed and produced by Jamie Haggerty. Supported by the Regional Arts

and Culture Council.

 

Awards:
USA Film Festival: First Prize (TX, USA)
Black Maria Film and Video Festival: Second Prize (NJ, USA)

Festivals:
Ottawa International Animation Festival (Canada)
Melbourne International Animation Festival (Australia)
London International Animation Festival (UK)
Anima Mundi Animation Festival (Brasil)
ANIFEST (Czech Republic) 
Big Muddy Film Festival (IL, USA)
Portland International Film Festival (OR, USA)
Animac (Lleida, Spain)
Salem Film Festival (USA)
Local Sightings Film Festival, Northwest Film Forum (Seattle, WA, USA)
Northwest Filmmaker’s Festival (Portland, OR, USA) 
We Like 'Em Short Film Festival (Baker City, OR, USA)
Fantasia International Film Festival (Canada)
Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Invitational (Baltimore, MD, USA)

Screenings:
National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC) 3-23-11 
Cinemateca Santa Ana (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico) 3-2-09
Vashon Arts and Humanities (Vashon, WA) 11-13-11
Northwest Film Center, Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR) 1-28-12
Dawson City Short Film Festival (Yukon, Canada) 4-9-12
Hollywood Theater (Portland, OR) 4-29-12
30th Barcelona Comic Fair (Spain) 5-7-12
Creative Alliance (Baltimore, MD) 7-12-12
Animac Camina (throughout Spain) 2012-13
Sisters Movie House (Sisters, OR) 2-21-13
Women In Film (Portland, OR) 7-1-13
POW Festival Retrospective (Portland, OR) 3-9-14
Cinema Pacific Fringe Festival (Eugene, OR) 4-2-15
Art Education Conference (Kutztown, PA) 11-20-15
Tricky Women Animation Festival (Vienna, Austria) 3-3-16
Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany) 5-3-17
British Film Institute (London, UK) 5-13-17

Fantoche International Animation Festival (Baden, Switzerland) 9-3-19

Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Invitational (Baltimore, MD) 10-18-19

Women in Animation, Icario Espacio (Mexico City, Mexico) 2-21

​

Grown Up (1994, 06:50, 16mm, ink and watercolor on paper with object animation)

Grown Up takes a humorous and poignant look at what it means to be turning 40 and growing older.

“In a time when everyone seems to be writing about aging, Priestley does a brilliant job of reclaiming 40 and her own process of middle aging with humor, optimism and an award winning animation style that just might make twenty-somethings wish they were older.”  -Bill Foster, Northwest Film Center

​

“Everybody from Germaine Greer to Gloria Steinem to Betty Friedan are writing about aging, but what about middle-aging?  Priestley does a brilliant

job of reclaiming 40, and believe me, I have a vested interest in this subject.  An animation that just might make twenty-somethings wish they were

older.” –B. Ruby Rich

 

Credits: Produced and directed by Joanna Priestley. Sound produced by Lance Limbocker. Written by Barbara Carnegie and Joanna Priestley. Music by

Steve Christopherson and Warren Rand. Props by Paul Harrod. Made possible by a grant from the Independent Television Service with funds provided

by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding provided by a Western States Regional Media Arts Fellowship.

 

Awards:
Northwest Film and Video Festival: First Prize (Portland, OR, USA)
Marin County Film Festival: First Prize (CA, USA)
Worldfest Houston: Gold Award (TX, USA)
Black Maria Film and Video Festival: Director’s Citation Award (NJ, USA)

Charleston International Film Festival: Gold Award (NC, USA)
Columbus International Film Festival: Honorable Mention (OH, USA)
Intercom International Festival: Certificate of Merit (USA)

Festivals:
Telluride Film Festival (CO, USA, Premiere) 
New York Film Festival (NY, USA) 
Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema (PA, USA) 
Athens International Film and Video Festival (OH, USA) 
Ottawa International Animation Festival (Canada) 
U.S.A. Film Festival (Houston, TX, USA)
Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany) 
Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival (CO, USA) 
San Francisco International Film Festival (CA, USA) 
Sinking Creek Film Festival (TN, USA) 
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FL, USA)

Touring Program:

Northwest Film Festival Tour, Portland Art Museum (OR, USA)

Screenings:
Fourth World Women’s Conference: Week long exhibition on the Beijing Train Station's 120 square meter Jumbotron screen, with over a million viewers (Beijing, China) (1995)
Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY, USA)
Masters of Animation Festival (Trivandrum, India)
American Cinematheque (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
REDCAT Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN, USA)
POW Festival Retrospective (Portland, OR) 3-9-14 
Tricky Women Animation Festival (Vienna, Austria) 3-3-16

Fantoche International Animation Festival (Baden, Switzerland) 9-3-19

Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Invitational (Baltimore, MD, USA) 10-18-19

​

Hand Held (1995, 7 minutes, ink and watercolor on paper with pixillated hands)

Hand Held is about organizing to confront oppression. The animation, made with ink, watercolor and pastels on index cards has been shot while being

held in real people's hands. Models of all ages (infant to Joanna’s 93 year old grandmother) and races, prosthetic hands and animal paws create a

symbolic community of hands that surround the artwork. The soundtrack for Hand Held was performed by the acclaimed a cappella quartet: The

Bobs, Joe Finetti, Richard Greene, Janie Scott and Matthew Stull. 

 

Credits: Produced, directed and animated by Joanna Priestley. Sound produced and composed by Richard Greene and Joe Finetti. Soundtrack

performed by The Bobs: Joe Finetti, Richard Greene, Janie Scott and Matthew Stull. Sound effects by Jaime Haggerty. Funding provided by the

National Endowment for the Arts. Special thanks to the MacDowell Colony and Teknifilm Labs.

 

Awards: 
Marin County Film Festival: First Prize (CA, USA)
Northwest Film and Video Festival: First  Prize (Portland, OR, USA)
Black Maria Film Festival: Director’s Citation (NJ, USA)
Humbolt Film Festival: Honorable Mention (CA, USA)
Medicine Wheel Animation Festival: Honorable Mention (USA)

Festivals:
Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany) 
Leipzig International Film Festival (Germany)
Schorndorf International Cartoon Festival (Germany)

Screenings:
Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY, USA)
Masters of Animation Festival (Trivandrum, India)
Women with Vision, Walker Art Center (Minnesota, MN, USA)
Northwest Film Center, Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR, USA) 1-28-13
Sisters Movie House Retrospective (Sisters, OR, USA) 2-21-13

Jade Leaf (1985, 5 min., 16mm, 2-D computer animation)

Jade Leaf  is an abstract computer painting that was inspired by botanical forms. The images were made with a keyboard, IBM-AT and Cubicomp Picturemaker system using Lumena, Easel and PC-10 software. Individual images were shot onto 16mm film using a Bolex camera, mounted on a

tripod, pointed at the monitor. Jade Leaf is the first computer animated film made at California Institute of the Arts, where Priestley was in the school’s

first computer animation class (1984-85), taught by Vibeke Sorensen. 

​

“Priestley’s abstract painting has a wonderful graphic flow, not completely geometric, yet not completely organic.” -Phil Borsos, NW Film and Video 

Festival Juror.

 

Credits: Directed, produced, animated and edited by Joanna Priestley. Music by Howard Richman.

 

Award: Northwest Film and Video Festival: First Place (Portland, OR, USA)
Festival: Computer Animation Conference: Oregon School of Arts and Crafts (Portland, OR, USA)

Jung & Restless (2021, 06'06", 2D computer animation, DCP, HD digital file, 16:9, Dolby Digital) 

Jung and Restless explores the mythopoetic realm through lush mandalas and dream images that hint at hidden trauma. “Life is a short pause between

two mysteries.” -C.G. Jung

​

Credits: Directed, produced and animated by Joanna Priestley. Music composed and produced by Seth Norman. Sound design and sound effects by

Chris Barber. Compositing and effects by Brian Kinkley. Thanks: Martha Blake and Paul Harrod. Supported by the Playa Foundation, Ford Family

Foundation and Clatter and Din.

 
Kali Yuga (2000, 5 min., 16mm and digital, pixilation and object animation)

Kali Yuga was a pro bono commission for the contemporary music ensemble, Fear No Music.  It includes two animation experiments: pixilation of yoga instructor Diane Wilson (age 50) that was shot in the forest over a six month period and object animation of construction tools, bolts, screws and nails.

The music, by modern classical composer Joseph Waters, was synchronized to the edited film.

 

Credits: Directed, produced and animated by Joanna Priestley. Music composed by and sound produced by Joseph Waters. Yoga performance by

Diane Wilson. Music performed by the Fear No Music Ensemble and guests: Andrew Ehrlich (violin), Philip Hansen (cello), Joel Bluestone (percussion),

Jeffrey Payne (piano), Mika Sunago (piano) and Joseph Waters (electronics). Edited by Steve Greiner, Creative Media Development.  Special thanks to:

Bill Foster, Larry Johnson, Winks Hardware and Paul Johnson.

 

Performances:
Reed College (Portland OR, USA)
University of California (San Diego, CA, USA)
Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR, USA)

 

Missed Aches (2009, 4 min., 2-D computer animation, DVD/Blu-ray/ Beta SP, stereo, 16:9)

"Have you ever worked very horde on a paper for English clash, just to get a very glow raid? Proofreading your peppers is a matter of the the utmost impotence!" -Taylor Mali

Missed Aches demonstrates how the shortcomings of spellcheck can result in unexpected double entendres.  It combines animated characters with

moving text and was written and narrated by poet Taylor Mali, who led teams to four championships in the National Poetry Slam (USA).

 

Credits: Directed, produced and animated by Joanna Priestley. Written and narrated by Taylor Mali based on the poem “The The Impotence of Proofreading”. Sound Design by Normand Roger and Pierre Yves Drapeau. Music by Pierre Yves Drapeau with Denis Chartrand and Normand Roger.

Text Animation by Brian Kinkley. Character design and animation by Don Flores.  Storyboards by Dan Schaeffer. Supported by The Regional Arts and

Culture Council and the Caldera Institute.

 

Awards:
Black Maria Film Festival: First Prize, Jury Award (NJ, USA)
USA Film Festival: Finalist (Houston, TX, USA)

Festivals:
CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival (Toronto, ON, Canada) 
Melbourne International Animation Festival (Australia)
AniMadrid Animation Festival (Spain)
Ottawa International Animation Festival (Ottawa, ON, Canada)
Barcelona Festival of Independent Cinema (Spain)
Ann Arbor Film Festival and Tour (USA)
Annecy International Animation Festival (France)
Interfilm Berlin (Germany) 
Tricky Women Festival (Austria)
Missed Aches Festivals Page 2
SICAF Animated Film Festival (Korea)
Vienna Independent Short Film Festival (Austria)
Animator International Festival (Poland)
VideoFest (USA)
Wiesbaden International Weekend of Animation (Germany)
Local Sightings, NorthWest Film Forum (Seattle, WA, USA)
ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival (Germany)
New Orleans Film Festival (LA, USA)
Portland International Film Festival (OR, USA)
Northwest Film and Video Festival (OR, USA)
BEFILM Underground Film Festival (USA)
Visible Verse (Canada)
Portland Women’s Film Festival (OR, USA)
Film Columbia (USA)
ASIFA NW Showcase (USA)
Crossroads Film Festival (USA)
Cinefest Sudbury (Canada)
Salem Film Festival (USA)
Cuisle Limerick City International Poetry Festival (Ireland)
Festival Silêncio (Lisbon, Portugal)
Dawson City Short Film Festival (Yukon, Canada)
Blue Met Literature Festival (Montreal, Canada) 4-23-15

Touring Programs:
International Goethe-Institutes (World Tour, 2014)
CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival Tour (Canada, 2010)
Black Maria Film Festival Tour (USA, 2010)
Northwest Film and Video Festival Tour (USA, 2010)
Ann Arbor Film Festival Tour (USA, 2010).

Selected Screenings:
REDCAT (Los Angeles, CA, USA) Premiere 4-20-09
Words Worth a Thousand Pictures, Hollywood Theater (Portland, OR, USA)
Cinemateca Santa Ana (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico) 3-2-09
Cinema Du Parc (Montreal, Canada) 11-10
Plaza Cinema (Calgary, Canada) 11-10
Scotiabank Theatre (Vancouver, Canada) 12-10
Kunsttempel Gallery (Kassel, Germany) 12-10
Goethe-Institut (Chennai, India) 12-15-10
New York International Children’s Film Festival Benefit (New York, NY, USA) 1-3-10
Lyrikertreffen (Münster, Germany) 3-24-11
BAM Cinématheque (Brooklyn, NY, USA) 8-3-10
Pittsburgh Filmmakers (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) 10-2+4-10
Audiovizualines Poezijos Festivalis TARP (Kaunas, Germany) 10-22-10 
Nationalgalerie / Goethe Institut (Vilnius, Germany) 10/24/10
Audiovizualines Poezijos Festivalis TARP (Klaipeda, Germany) 10-27-10 
233°Celsius – Bibliothek (Kassel, Germany) 10-28-10
Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts (Grand Rapids, MI, USA) 11-7-10
Southwest Film Center (Albuquerque, NM, USA) 1-11 to 14-10
LA Film Forum (Los Angeles, USA) 12-12-10
SPACE Gallery/ICA (Portland, ME, USA) 1-19-11
Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, MA, USA) 1-29-11
CinemaSpace (Montréal, QB, Canada) 2-23-11
Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR, USA) 1-29-12
Hollywood Theater: A Place Called Home (Portland, OR, USA) 4-29-12 Page 3
Limerick City International Poetry Festival (Ireland) 10.14.11
poesiefestival berlin (Berlin, Germany) 5-5-12
Poezijos Festivalis TARP (Kaunas, Lithuania) 10-26 to 28-12
Interfilm Short Film Festival (Berlin, Germany) 11-15+18-12
Sisters Movie House (Sisters, OR, USA) 2-21-13
Women In Film (Portland, OR, USA) 7-1-13
ZKM Center for Art and Media- “Moving Words: Text in Moving Pictures” (Karlsruhe, Germany) 10-18-13 to 1-12-14
FACT- “Moving Words: Text in Moving Pictures” (Liverpool, UK) 1-12-14
POW Festival Retrospective (Portland, OR, USA) 3-9-14 
Vienna Independent Short Film Festival: "Très chic" (Austria) 5-25-14
Cineastic Gondolas (Lech am Arlberg, Austria) 12-13-14 
Cinema Pacific Fringe Festival (Eugene, OR, USA) 4-2-15
Annecy Animation Festival: Best of Spike & Mike Sick & Twisted (France) 6-14 

Pacific Northwest Animation Showcase: Animation to Write Home About, NW Film Forum (Seattle, USA) 9-30-15
Art Education Conference (Kutztown, PA, USA) 11-20-15
Freud Museum (Vienna, Austria) 12-5-15
Tricky Women Animation Festival (Vienna, Austria) 3-5-16
Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany) 5-3-17
British Film Institute (London, UK) 5-13-17

Trailblazing Women of Animation: Joanna Priestley, NW Film Center, Portland Art Museum (OR, USA) 12-6-17

Fantoche International Animation Festival (Baden, Switzerland) 9-3-19

Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Invitational (Baltimore, MD, USA) 10-18-19

Experiments, Clinton Street Theater Fundraiser (Portland, OR, USA) October 2020

​

North of Blue (2018, 60:07, DCP and HD digital file, 2D computer animation, 16:9, Dolby Digital)

North of Blue is an abstract animated feature film that began in the mysterious winter landscape of the far north, where director Joanna Priestley was

a fellow at the Klondike Institute of Art and Culture in Dawson City, Yukon. The film grew into an exploration of the non-objective idiom that that plays

with shifting focal points, suspension and tension of two dimensional patterning and trance. Priestley’s creative priorities included creating a

foundation grounded in the landscape of the far north, infusing intersecting lines and shapes with vitality, allowing elements of whimsy and finding

shapes that sparked a sense of shared history and connectedness. Design inspirations included the blue hues of Delft ceramics, 19th century

Northwest Coastal masks, the paintings of Piet Mondrian and Antoni Gaudi’s La Pedrera.

​

"North of Blue" is pure creativity. It shows that the ingenuity of the imagination has no limits.” -Rodolfo Montserrat, Xcèntric Barcelona

“A quiet, delicate and sophisticated experience.” -Marcel Jean, Artistic Director, Annecy International Animation Festival
“An utterly absorbing abstract feature inspired by the mysterious far north Canadian winter landscapes.” -Melbourne International Animation Festival

 

Credits: Directed, produced, animated and designed by Joanna Priestley. Sound designed and music composed by Jamie Haggerty. Compositing and

paint effects by Brian Kinkley. Additional sound effects by Chris Barber. Edited by Greg Snider and Joanna Priestley. Assistant Animators: Neisje Morrell

and Don Flores. Animation Assistants: Rachel Bradley, Jesse Bray, Gabe Mangold and Dui Oray. Supported by the Klondike Institute for Art and Culture, Caldera Foundation and Willapa Bay A.I.R. Special thanks to Paul Harrod, Sticky Film.​

 

Awards:

Indie Film Awards: Best Experimental Film (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) 3-1-20

Los Angeles Animation Festival: Best Feature Film (CA, USA) 12-1-1 

Yosemite International Film Festival: Best Animated Film (CA, USA) 11-2-18
Local Sightings Film Festival: Best Sound Design Award and Best Feature Original Score Award, NW Film Forum (Seattle, WA, USA) 9-23-18

European International Film Festival: Finalist (Saint Petersburg, Russia) 5-15-19
Los Angeles CineFest: Semi-finalist (CA, USA) 1-19

Festivals:

Annecy International Animation Festival (World Premiere, France) 6-11+12 +14-18
Melbourne International Animation Festival (Australia) 6-17-18
International Animated Film Festival ANIMATOR (Poznan, Poland) 7-6 to 20-18 
Palm Springs International Animation Festival (CA, USA) 8-25-18
Insomnia Animation Festival (Russia) 7-19-8
Australian International Animation Festival (Brisbane, Australia) 8-4-18
Pixelatl Festival (Cuernavaca, Mexico) 9-4 to 9-18
Ottawa International Animation Festival (Canada) 9-27+29-18
Anim’Est International Animation Festival (Bucharest, Romania) 9-28 to 10-7-18 
Australian International Animation Festival (Cairns, Queensland) 8-16-18
AnimaSyros International Animation Festival + Agora (Athens, Greece) 9-28-18
ANIMAGE International Animation Festival (Pernambuco, Brasil) 10-12 to 21-18
SPARK Animation 2018 (Vancouver, Canada) 10-18-18

ReAnimania Int. Animation Film & Comics Art Festival (Yerevan, Armenia) 10-31-18

Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival (Portland, OR, USA) 11-4-1

Online Monthly, Semi-Finalist (USA) 11-18

Animae Caribe (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) 11-23-18

Moscow Animation Marathon Solyanka State Gallery (Moscow, Russia) 11-1 to 5-18

Mostra Internacional Films des Donas de Barcelona (Spain) 12-10-18

VOID International Animation Film Festival (Copenhagen, Denmark) 1-30-19

Xcèntric Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (Spain) 4-4-19

Athens International Film and Video Festival (OH, USA) 4-3-19
Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival (Argentina) 4-3 to 14-19

Stockholm Experimental Animation Film Festival (Sweden) 4-29-19

Square One Conference, Universidad Iberoamericana (Puebla, Mexico) 4-11-19

Chilemonos International Animation Festival (Santiago, Chile) 5-10-19

FILMNORTH Northern BC Film Festival (Houston, BC, Canada) 7-27-19

We Like 'Em Short Film Festival (Baker City, OR, USA) 8-18-19

Fantoche International Animation Festival (Baden, Switzerland) 9-19-19

Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival (Baltimore, MD) 10-4-19

IndieCork Film Festival (Cork, Ireland) 10-13-19

Taichung International Animation Festival (Taichung City, Taiwan) 10-15-19

Barcelona Indie Filmmakers Festival (Spain) 12-13-19

Santa Cruz International Film Festival (Argentina) 4-18-20
Jaipur Film World (India) 4-25-20

ART Animated, Berkshire Intl. Film Festival + Palm Springs Intl. Animation Festival (drive-in screenings, Lenox, MA, USA) 8-20

Screenings
Stuttgart International Animation Festival (work-in-progress, Germany) 5-3-17
Hollywood Theatre (Portland, OR, USA) 9-21-17
Frame by Frame Conference, DePaul University (Chicago, IL, USA) 5-25-18
Cinémathèque québécoise (Montréal, Canada) 10-2-18

Cineteca nacional (Mexico City, Mexico) 4-16-19

Universidad Santo Tomás (Santiago, Chile) 5-9-19

Brown Center, Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore, MD, USA) 10-3-19 

​

Out of Shape (2011, 1 min., 2D computer animation)

Playful choreography of abstract shapes to delight the eye. Three boxes open to reveal a giant blue bubble and two sculptural shapes in Mondrian 

inspired colors. Abstractions sprinkle like raindrops and fly through the pearl white space like striped helicopter plants. Calligraphic and cellular shapes

land in splats on a grid of black and red boxes. The choreography of this abstract world concludes with all shapes returning to the open box. 

Credits: Produced, directed and animated by Joanna Priestley. Sound design and mix by Marc Rose.

Festival: One Minute Film & Video Festival (Aarau, Switzerland).

Screening: Northwest Film Center – Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR, USA) 1-28-12