Marking the first time an animated feature has been selected for the official competition program, Signe Baumane's ‘Rocks in My Pockets’ will have its world premiere at the 49th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Brooklyn, NY -- Signe Baumane's animated feature film Rocks in My Pockets will have its world premiere at the 49th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. It is the first animated film in the history of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival to be chosen for the Official Selection - Competition program. The premiere will take place on Monday July 7th, 2014, at 8:00 p.m. in the 1,146-seat Grand Hall.
Rocks in My Pockets, a fantastical tale based on true events, is about five women of Signe Baumane's family, including herself, and their battles with depression and madness. The film combines a historical sweep with deeply personal stories of family secrets, art, romance, marriage, nature and Eastern European upheaval, all in the quest for sanity.
Baumane employs a unique, beautifully textured combination of papier-mâché, stop-motion and classic hand-drawn animation producing a poignant and often hilarious tale of mystery, mental health, redemption and survival.
Signe Baumane is a Latvian-born, New York-based independent animator. Her fifteen animated shorts have been screened in over 200 film festivals around the world including Sundance and Berlinale. Rocks In My Pockets is her first feature film.
"In some ways, Rocks In My Pockets is an old-fashioned detective story,” Baumane says. “Me digging into family history, searching for clues, figuring things out -- why some of us have obsessive suicidal thoughts, why we break down, what makes us who we are, and in the end what saves us. Hopefully people find the film entertaining. And perhaps some important conversations will come out of it, as well.”
Rocks in My Pockets has been produced by Signe Baumane along with co-producer Sturgis Warner. Women Make Movies was the project's fiscal facilitator. 800 backers supported the film in a successful Kickstarter campaign.
Rocks in My Pockets will be distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Zeitgeist Films. Locomotive Productions is co-producing a Latvian version. New Europe Film Sales is the sales agent for the rest of the world. Online streaming and downloads will be available through Yekra, Ltd.
Source: Signe Baumane
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
