NORTH OF BLUE

“North of Blue is a stunning symphony which speaks to the explorer in us all.” -Chris Robinson, Ottawa International Animation Festival
“North of Blue” is pure creativity. It shows that the ingenuity of the imagination has no limits.” –Xcèntric Center of Art and Culture, Barcelona
“An utterly absorbing abstract feature inspired by the mysterious far north Canadian winter landscapes. Bloody great cinema!” –Malcolm Turner, Director, Melbourne International Animation Festival
“North of Blue is beautiful work and a delicate and sophisticated experience.” –Marcel Jean, Artistic Director, Annecy Intermational Animation Festival

Click to see North of Blue Trailer   Click to see North of Blue clip (1.5 min.)

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“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

North of Blue won Best Experimental Film at the Indie Film Awards (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Best Feature Film at the Los Angeles Animation Festival (USA), Best Animated Film at the Yosemite International Film Festival (USA) and Best Sound Design Award and Best Composer Award at the Local Sightings Film Festival in Seattle (USA). North of Blue was also a Finalist at the European International Film Festival (Saint Petersburg, Russia) and a Semi-Finalist at the Los Angeles CineFest (USA).

Jamie Haggerty composed the music and created the sound design with additional sound effects by Chris Barber. Paint effects, compositing and title design and animation by Brian Kinkley. Assistant animators: Neisje Morrell and Don Flores. Animation assistants: Rachel Bradley, Jesse Bray, Dui Oray and Gabe Mangold. Directed, produced, designed and animated by Joanna Priestley. Supported by the Klondike Institute for Art and Culture, Caldera Foundation and Willapa Bay A.I.R.

North of Blue – Awards

  • Indie Film Awards: Best Experimental Film (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
  • Los Angeles Animation Festival: Best Feature Film (USA)
  • Yosemite Intl. Film Festival: Best Animated Film (USA)
  • Local Sightings Film Festival: Best Sound Design Award and Best Composer Award, Northwest Film Forum (Seattle, USA)
  • European International Film Festival: Finalist (Saint Petersburg, Russia)
  • Cuzco Underground Cinema Festival: Finalist (Lima, Peru)
  • Los Angeles CineFest (USA) Semi-Finalist

Festivals

  • Annecy Intl. Animation Festival (World Premiere, France)
  • Melbourne International Animation Festival (Australia)
  • Intl. Animated Film Festival ANIMATOR (Poznan, Poland)
  • Palm Springs International Animation Festival (USA)
  • Insomnia Animation Festival (Ukhnov, Russia)
  • Australian International Animation Festival (Brisbane)
  • Pixelatl Festival (Cuernavaca, Mexico)
  • Ottawa International Animation Festival (Canada)
  • Anim’Est Intl. Animation Festival (Bucharest, Romania)
  • Australian Intl. Animation Festival (Cairns, Queensland)
  • AnimaSyros Intl. Animation Festival (Athens, Greece)
  • ANIMAGE Intl. Animation Festival (Pernambuco, Brasil)
  • SPARK Animation 2018 (Vancouver, Canada)
  • ReAnimania Intl. Animation Festival (Yerevan, Armenia)
  • Moscow Animation Marathon Solyanka State Gallery (Moscow, Russia)
  • Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival (Portland, OR, USA)
  • Online Monthly: Semi-finalist (USA)
  • Animae Caribe (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
  • Mostra Internacional Films des Donas de Barcelona (Spain)
  • VOID Intl. Animation Film Festival (Copenhagen, Denmark)
  • Athens International Film and Video Festival (Ohio, USA)
  • Xcèntric Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (Spain)
  • Buenos Aires International Indie Film Festival (Argentina)
  • Square One Conference, Universidad Iberoamericana (Puebla, Mexico)
  • Stockholm Experimental Animation Film Festival (Sweden)
  • CHILEMONOS Intl. Animation Festival (Santiago, Chile)
  • FILMNORTH Film Festival (Houston, BC, Canada)
  • We Like ‘Em Short Film Festival (Baker City, OR)
  • Fantoche International Animation Festival (Baden, Switzerland)
  • IndieCork Film Festival (Cork, Ireland)
  • Taichung International Animation Festival (Taichung, Taiwan)
  • Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival (Baltimore, MD, USA)
  • Barcelona Indie Filmmakers Festival (Spain)
  • Santa Cruz International Film Festival (Argentina)
  • Jaipur Film World (India)
  • Comotion Festival, Stadtgalerie und Heimatmuseum Brunsbüttel (Germany)

North of Blue Screenings

  • Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany)
  • Hollywood Theatre (Portland, OR)
  • Frame by Frame Conference, DePaul Univ. (Chicago, IL)
  • Cinémathèque québécoise (Montréal, Canada)
  • Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico City, Mexico)
  • Cineteca nacional (Mexico City, Mexico)
  • Santo Tomas University (Santiago, Chile)
  • Online Monthly, Semi-Finalist
  • Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore, MD)