Declan Zimmermann, who teaches the technical portion of the Animation Area's Intro to Animation classes, recently completed work on Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, an artful and intimate meditation on the life and works of the legendary storyteller and Nobel prize-winner.
Mr. Zimmermann and his company Perpetual Motion Graphics supervised the film's visual effects, and created all of the animated and still graphic elements, collaborating closely with director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and Producer/Editor Johanna Giebelhaus.
The film has received glowing reviews. Gary Goldstein of the LA Times writes “The remarkable documentary Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am does so many things so well that it’s often like watching several fine films at once. Look for this one to be front and center in its category come Oscar time.”
The film is being distributed by Magnolia Pictures and comes to US screens nationwide on June 21st. The website tonimorrisonfilm.com has complete information on screenings and where to get tickets.
From her childhood in the steel town of Lorain, Ohio to ‘70s-era book tours with Mohammed Ali, from the front lines with Angela Davis to her own riverfront writing room, Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics and colleagues on an exploration of race, America, history and the human condition as seen through the prism of her own literature. Inspired to write because no one took a “little black girl” seriously, Morrison reflects on her lifelong deconstruction of the master narrative. Woven together with a rich collection of art, history, literature and personality, the film includes discussions about her many critically acclaimed works, including novels “The Bluest Eye,” “Sula” and “Song of Solomon,” her role as an editor of iconic African-American literature and her time teaching at Princeton University.
In addition to Ms. Morrison, the film features interviews with Hilton Als, Angela Davis, Fran Lebowitz, Walter Mosley, Sonia Sanchez and Oprah Winfrey, who turned Morrison’s novel “Beloved” into a feature film. Using Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ elegant portrait-style interviews, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am includes original music by Kathryn Bostic, a specially created opening sequence by artist Mickalene Thomas, and evocative works by other contemporary African-American artists including Kara Walker, Rashid Johnson and Kerry James Marshall.