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Fischer, Hilbert Sell Art during Fox Interview!
Added: (Fri Jan 06 2006)
Baltimore, Maryland USA (Monday, January 2, 2006) -- Award-winning writer/producer/director Steven Fischer, who was nominated for an Emmy® Award in 2001 for "Silence of Falling Leaves", his art film-looking homage to Polish POWs murdered in the Katyn Forest Massacre during World War Two, and well-known artist Edward Hilbert are scheduled to appear on Baltimore's Fox 45 morning program January 20, 2006 to promote a new documentary produced by Fischer and animator Craig Herron.
During the Fox interview, Fischer and Hilbert will be promoting the "Freedom Dance Art Exhibition" at the Norman & Sarah Brown Art Gallery located inside the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore in Pikesville, Maryland. The original artwork from the movie, penned by Hilbert (which are based on the drawings from his 1956 sketchbook) will be exhibited from January 9 to Febraury 10. There will be a special reception on Sunday, January 22 from 3-5 p.m. at the gallery (5700 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore, Mayland USA 21215). In support of the movie, the Ambassador and Cultural Attache from the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, DC are scheduled to speak at the event as well as a representative from the American Hungarian Federation. The filmmakers will be selling the movie's exhibited artwork to raise finishing funds.
"Freedom Dance" re-tells the dramatic escape of artist Edward Hilbert and his wife, Judy, from Hungary to the United States during the riotous 1956 Hungarian Revolution. During their 4 months as refugees, Edward, a professional cartoonist and animator, kept a journal in cartoon form detailing their escape, an adventure that includes being illegally smuggled out of Budapest; having their apartment fired on by a Russian tank; losing their home; a robbery; Christmas in Vienna; and a punishing boat ride across the raging January Atlantic.
What makes "Freedom Dance" unique is that the documentary is told using character-driven animation intercut with recorded interviews of the subjects, photos, and historical footage of the Uprising. The animators are bringing the pages of Hilbert's cartoon journal to life on the big screen without sacrifice to the integrity of their subjects or history.
Using cartoon art to re-tell a serious drama is not completely new. Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus and Marjane Satrapi's two volume graphic novel Persepolis each successfully recount dramas using pen & ink.
To date "Freedom Dance" has been endorsed by the Embassy of Hungary, the Mayor's Office of Baltimore, From the Heart Foundation, and the Center for Strategic & International Studies. Support has also come from the American Hungarian Federation and Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma. Fiscal Sponsorship for the movie is provided by the International Documentary Association in Los Angeles, California.
Steven Fischer is best known for his Steve & Bluey cartoons which were cablecast in Baltimore from 1996-1999 through TCI Communciations and on radio through the Holiday Broadcasting Company based in Salt Lake City. In 2004, he documented on video the Ireland tour of the critically acclaimed off-Broadway play, Coole Lady. He has produced a variety of live action and animation projects for organizations that include: Affect Films/Dupont, Los Angeles; Mort Kasman Prods., NYC; AmeriCorps. Additionally, Fischer has taught Cartoon Storytelling at the college level.
Craig Herron has over 25 years professional animation and commercial art experience for clients including: Madison Media; Fair Oaks Mall, Virginia; Patio Enclosures; The Brass Elephant, Baltimore; countless murals, faux finishes, caricatures, and computer graphics. Herron's 2003 animated short, A Fall From the Clouds received a Telly Award, Gold Aurora Award, and Best Animation at Red Bull Independent Film Fest before being picked up for distribution by New York-based Film Movement.
For details about Freedom Dance, or to contact the filmmakers, visit the movie's official web site: http://www.freedomdancethemovie.com