''John and Michael'' is a 2004 animated short by Shira Avni about two men with

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

who share a loving relationship. The film was animated with clay backlit on

plexiglas Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite ...

, to produce a stained glass effect. Avni made over 14,000 paintings to create the film. It is narrated by Brian Davis, who is himself intellectually disabled. ''John and Michael'' was co-produced by Avni and Michael Fukushima of the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

Awards

''John and Michael'' received a dozen awards and honours at film festivals, including a

Golden Sheaf Award Yorkton Film Festival (YFF) is an annual film festival held in late May in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 1947, the Yorkton Film Council (YFC) was founded and in 1950 the first international documentary film festival officially opened in we ...

for best Animation, the award for best original screenwriting at the

Inside Out Film and Video Festival Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...

, the short documentary award at DOXA Documentary Film Festival, the short film award at the Pink Apple film festival, a Silver Remi Award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival as well as the award for best animated short at the

Cinequest Film Festival The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is ...

. * an Honorable Mention at the Lesbian & Gay Film Festival :October 13 to 22 2006, Seattle - USA * the Jury Prize - Shorts at the OutFlix Film Festival - International GLBT Film Festival :August 4 to 10 2006, Memphis - USA * the Golden Sheaf Award - Animation at the Golden Sheaf Awards /Short Film and Video Festival :May 25 to 28 2006, Yorkton - Canada * the Doxa Short Documentary Award at the Doxa - Documentary Film and Video Festival :May 23 to 28 2006, Vancouver - Canada * the JWR Award for Best Original Screenwriting at the Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival :May 18 to 28 2006, Toronto - Canada * the Short Film Award at the Pink Apple Film Festival :May 4 to 21 2006, Zurich - Switzerland * the Silver Remi Award at the WorldFest - International Film Festival :April 21 to May 1, 2006, Houston - USA * the Award for Best Animated Short at Cinequest :March 1 to 12 2006, San Jose - USA * the Award - Animation 10 – 30 minutes on a theme of disability Picture This Film Festival :February 6 to 10 2006, Calgary - Canada * the Special Distinction Award by Jury Classe L CAV Rencontres Internationales du Cinéma d'Animation :November 14 to 22 2005, Wissembourg - France * an Honorable Mention - Catégorie: Arts at the International Film and Video Festival :November 9 to 13 2005, Columbus - USA * Best Animated Short Award at the Q Cinema: Fort Worth's Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival :May 19 to 22 2005, Fort Worth - USA

References

External links

Watch ''John and Michael'' at NFB.caFilm collection at NFB
* {{DEFAULTSORT:John And Michael Gay-related films 2004 films Canadian LGBT-related short films Documentary films about Down syndrome Documentary films about gay men LGBT-related animated films Quebec films National Film Board of Canada animated short films Fictional LGBT couples Films shot in Montreal Clay animation films 2004 LGBT-related films 2000s animated short films 2004 animated films 2004 documentary films 2000s stop-motion animated films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films Canadian LGBT-related documentary films