Hello FanboyNation readers! For those of you who do not know me, I’m Whitney Grace and one of R.C.’s first hires. I’m also the host of the Toon-In Talk Podcast, your rendezvous for animation interviews straight from the animation industry. For the past nine months, I’ve literally been around the world, across the United States, met famous people, seen amazing artifacts that haven’t seen the light of day in decades, and I’m writing more books. I’ve also had to deal with some negative life aspects, but I won’t elaborate now.
During my time away, I was interviewed for a documentary titled Beyond Ink and Paint: The Women of Animation. I also finished my book on early animator Lotte Reiniger and it will be out in August 2017, Lotte Reiniger: Pioneer of Film Animation The rankings have been decent, considering it comes from an academic press and the limited knowledge people have about Reiniger. Reiniger died in 1981, so being the only expert about her in the US and having conducted groundbreaking research (I was surprised about that fact too), Christine Guest decided I would be the best person to interview. (The best people to interview are in Germany, but I was the cheaper option).
As an animation historian (I can say that now and it is so cool to do so), I am disappointed about the lack of historical information about women in the industry. Women have been an integral part of the animation industry since the early days, but their stories have yet to be fully explored. Christine Guest and the Women in Animation organization decided it was time to give past and current animated women their voice, so Beyond Ink and Paint: The Women of Animation was born.
I’m also sharing this with you, because Beyond Ink and Paint is holding a Kickstarter campaign. Christine needs to raise $75,000 for production and finishing costs. She’s already conducted the bulk of the interviews and needs help delivering the final product. If you have a spare dollar and want to support a documentary that is literally making animation history, donate today!
