RIF
Steegstra creëert een bijzondere, nooit eerder vertoonde, onderwaterwereld. Adembenemend monnikenwerk…
( de volkskrant)
Zeer fraaie uitzondering op de vaak plotgedreven films.
De jury is geraakt door het sterke beeld en de emotie die de maker heeft weten op te roepen in een prachtig landschap.
( jury Nederlands Filmfestival )
METRO
Een verademing in dit high tech tijdperk.
( de volkskrant)
briljante marionettenfilm, maakte in veertien minuten zes dagen landerigheid goed.
( trouw)
Een hartveroverend filmisch marionettentheater die, dankzij de technische beheersing van geluid, licht en compositie levensgroot en indrukwekkend werd.
( nrc handelsblad)
USIKU
A charming animated film made with stringpuppets, colourful backdrops and an irresistible soudtrack.
( filmmakers library New York )
A very special treat for me was getting to know my fellow juror and renowned puppet animator Eric Steegstra and his charming wife Pauline. Eric told me that he has been enchanted by marionettes since he was a small boy when he would give puppet shows for the neighbourhood children in his backyard. This award winning puppeteer has taken his art form to a new level with his delicately intricate puppet films Metro and Rif (Reef).
Rif is a magical underwater experience exploring the world of translucent deep sea creatures with two deep sea divers. One particularly beautiful sequence involves the divers in an intricate water ballet with 2 large man-of-wars. Along with Eric, three other puppeteers were required to complete the incredible labor-intensive and delicate manipulation of the numerous strings. In another sequence, hundreds of tiny silver fish school in a shimmering spiral that was so life-like that I became totally absorbed in the visual effect, and forgot to notice the strings attached to the tiny figures.
Metro takes place after a football match as rioting hooligans pour out of a stadium and into the city streets ready to do battle with the each other and the police. Eric told me that when he decided to make the film to enter in a competition about football that he had never been to a game before. To achieve the rich, realistic soundtrack, he attended several games sitting in a different area each time and recording the sounds. The realistic roar of the crowd, the sewn puppets and the clever sets give the film a very distinctive feel, capturing the football atmosphere completely.
As a part of the special Presentations Program, Eric screened his two films and talked about his process. He and his wife are hard at work on their next project, Notre Dame, a new look at a classic story. I hope that his films will appear at more animation festivals so that a wide audience can enjoy his wonderful works.
Nancy Denney-Phelps