Join Treasures from the Yale Film Archive online for a conversation with animators Caroline and Frank Mouris ART '69, in conjunction with the online debut of their recently-preserved short film Impasse (1978), which was created using millions of Avery labels. In the film, a red arrow and a white dot travel through tessellating layers of shapes and colors, set to a soundtrack by percussionist Roland Miles. The film was preserved in 2020 thanks to a collaborative effort between the Academy Film Archive and the Yale Film Archive, who each provided original film and audio elements to enable the preservation of the film.
In a conversation recorded in November, 2020, the Mourises speak with Yale's film archivist Brian Meacham about the origin of the film, their connection with Avery through designer Saul Bass, and how the painstaking work was performed by their small animation studio.
Watch Impasse (10 mins)
Watch the Filmmaker Conversation (25 mins)
What is Treasures from the Yale Film Archive?
Treasures from the Yale Film Archive is an ongoing series of classic and contemporary films in 35mm curated by the Yale Film Study Center and screened at the Whitney Humanities Center.