North of Blue

“Inspired by the chilling and mysterious winter landscapes of the Yukon, North of Blue is a mesmerizing non-narrative exploration giving form to the formless and offering shifting focal points and patterns that explore tensions between the recognizable and the strange. Bursting with lively colours and dynamic shapes, North of Blue is abstract art come to life. Conventional silhouettes are deconstructed, stripping away meanings and associations to free the mind for a wildly subjective visit to the north. A dreamlike façade, North of Blue is a stunning symphony which speaks to the explorer in us all.” -Chris Robinson, Ottawa 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.

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

“An utterly absorbing abstract feature inspired by the mysterious far north Canadian winter landscapes.” -Melbourne International Animation Festival

Awards
Indie Film Awards: Best Experimental Film (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 3-1-20
Los Angeles Animation Festival: Best Feature Film (CA, USA) 12-1-18
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 (USA) 8-25-18
Insomnia Animation Festival (Russia) 7-19-8
Australian International Animation Festival (Brisbane) 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
Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival (Portland, OR, USA) 10-31 to 11-5-18
Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival (Argentina) 4-3 to 14-19
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
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
Comotion Festival, Stadtgalerie und Heimatmuseum Brunsbüttel (Germany) 11-21
Mallu Film Market (India) 3-22

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