''Genre'' is a 1996 animated meta-comedy short film by animator

Don Hertzfeldt Don Hertzfeldt (born August 1, 1976) is an American animator, writer, and independent filmmaker. He is a two-time Academy Award nominee who is best known for the animated films ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'', the '' World of Tomorrow'' series, an ...

, his second 16mm student film, produced at the age of 19. The 16mm short combines traditional animation, pixilation, and

stop-motion animation Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

to present a cartoon rabbit careening through a variety of rapidly changing film genres as his animator struggles to come up with a good idea.

Release

The cartoon received 17 awards from film festivals. In 1996 it screened nationwide in theaters as part of the

Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation is a presentation of Award-winning animated short films, annually touring throughout theaters, film festivals or college campuses in the United States. Background The festival is presented annually in th ...

tour. In 1997, it was shown on an episode of MTV's

Cartoon Sushi ''Cartoon Sushi'' is an adult-animation showcase program that aired on MTV from 1997 to 1998. It was developed by Eric Calderon and produced by Nick Litwinko, and was the successor to Liquid Television. The title screen opening was illustrated by ...

. In 2005, the original 16mm negative was digitally restored and remastered for the first time, for release on the extensive "Bitter Films Volume 1" DVD compilation of Hertzfeldt's 1995-2005 films. Special features included for ''Genre'' were Hertzfeldt's original production sketches, notes, and deleted ideas from the film, as well as a very rare 1993 video short called "Escape is Still Impossible", a precursor to ''Genre'' that Don created while still in high school.

Production credits

* Written, Produced, Animated, and Directed by Don Hertzfeldt * Camera by Cary Walker * Editing and Sound by Kevyn Eiselt * Music by Dave LaDelfa * Stop Motion Assistance by Brian Hamblin * Sound Production by Kevin Kelly

Reception

The film was very well received. It was praised by critics such as Felix Hude of the

Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fest ...

and won 17 awards.

Awards

*Best Short Film - UCSB Corwin-Metropolitan Theaters Award *First Place, Animation - UFVA Student Film Festival *The Lumiere Award - New Orleans Film Festival *First Place, Animated Short Subject New York Empire State Exhibitions *Most Promising Filmmaker - Sinking Creek Film Festival *Silver Plaque, Animation -

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

*Second Place, Animation -

Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 Unit ...

*Best Santa Barbara Filmmaker -

Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986. The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...

*Gold Medal, Best Animation - Carolina Film Festival *Audience Choice Award, Best Animated Short - Filmfest New Haven *Jury Award for Humor -

Ann Arbor Film Festival The Ann Arbor Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Ann Arbor in the U.S. state of Michigan. Established in 1963, it is the fourth-oldest film festival in North America (after the Yorkton Film Festival, 1947; Columbus International Film ...

*Jury Award - Surprise International Film Festival, Taiwan *Second Place, Student Animation - World Animation Celebration *Bronze Plaque -

Columbus International Film Festival The Columbus International Film + Animation Festival is a Columbus, Ohio, United States annual film festival which is designed to encourage and promote the use of film and video in all forms of education and communication. It is the first and ol ...

*Finalist Award -

Worldfest Houston The WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, founded in 1968, is an annual film festival held annually in April in Houston, Texas. Notable festival alumni include John Lee Hancock, who wrote and directed the Oscar-winning film '' The Blind ...

*Honorable Mention - Humboldt State Film Festival *Honorable Mention - Atlanta Film Festival

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Genre (Animated Film) Short films directed by Don Hertzfeldt 1996 films American student films Animated films without speech 1996 short films American films with live action and animation American short films