Nolan’s Short Documentary On Quay Bros’ Works
Christopher Nolan has made a short documentary film about the Quay brothers’ works. Quay is an 8-minute documentary that reveals the backstage of animations done by the Quay brothers. The film has been shot on 35mm film by Nolan himself. Zeitgeist Films and Syncopy (Nolan’s own company) recently published a blu-ray collection called “The Quay Brothers in 35mm” that included three stop-motion animations from brothers Stephen and Timothy Quay, along with Nolan’s own short film about their production process.
Quay has been screened on a tour in 11 cities across North America and interestingly all on film projections. The film was premiered at New York’s Film Forum where Nolan and Quays also held a Q&A meeting. The general responses to Nolan’s work have been great. Indiwire’s Zack Sharf calls it “ Christopher Nolan’s Greatest Accomplishment “ and he points out:
Nolan has done a major miracle for cinephiles with this miraculous 35mm production. Most of Nolan’s numerous fans have probably never heard of the Quay Brothers or seen their shorts, nor may they be familiar with the avant-garde film experiments of the 1940’s and 50’s from artists like Maya Deren, Kenneth Anger and Stan Brakhage. Even for those viewers who are obsessed with the Quays, the chance to see such experimental cinema in a theater, and projected on 35mm no less, remains almost impossible.
Apparently, for watching this film, there’s no other way than purchasing the blu-ray right now but you can enjoy this collection’s teaser trailer here.
