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''Ryan'' is a 2004 animated documentary created and directed by Chris Landreth about Canadian animator Ryan Larkin, who had lived on skid row in Montreal as a result of drug and alcohol abuse. Landreth's chance meeting with Larkin in 2000 inspired him to develop the film, which took 18 months to complete. It was co-produced by Copper Heart Entertainment and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), and its creation and development is the subject of the NFB documentary ''Alter Egos''. The film incorporated material from archive sources, particularly Larkin's works at the NFB. The film is an animated interpretation of an interview of Larkin by Landreth, and includes interviews with Larkin's previous partner and coworkers, as well as Landreth. Development of the characters was partially inspired by the plastinated human bodies of the Body Worlds exhibition. The distorted and disembodied appearance of the film's characters is based on Landreth's use of psychological realism to portray emotion visually, and expression is modelled by use of straight ahead animation. The animation was created at the Animation Arts Centre of Seneca College in Toronto. Some of the animation was based on ''cords'', mathematical equations modelling the physical properties of curves and used to animate filamentous objects in the film. The visual effects of the film has been described by reviewers and film critics as difficult to describe and having a distinctive visceral style. ''Ryan'' won over 60 awards, including the 2004 Academy Award for Animated Short Film and the 25th Genie Award for Best Animated Short. It was presented and won awards at many film festivals, including Cannes Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival, and Worldwide Short Film Festival. It also won Jury awards at SIGGRAPH and the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and honourable mention at the Sundance Film Festival. As a result of the film's popularity, Larkin became famous once again and received requests for his animation services. He began work with Laurie Gordon on an animated film ''Spare Change'' about his panhandling on the streets of Montreal, and created several bumpers for MTV Canada. Larkin died in 2007, and ''Spare Change'' was completed by Gordon and released in 2008. Landreth received offers to produce feature films, but instead chose to continue producing animated short films, releasing ''The Spine'' in 2009. ==Background== Larkin was a Canadian animator who had worked at the National Film Board of Canada in the 1960s and 1970s, producing several celebrated works. Best known for his film ''Walking'' composed of animated vignettes of people walking, Larkin was considered one of the best animators of his generation. In 1969, the ''Montreal Gazette'' referred to him as the "Frank Zappa or George Harrison of animation". In the 1970s, unable to cope with his success and the pressure to develop more works, and facing a creative block, he became addicted to alcohol and cocaine. By 1978, he was broke and no longer working for the NFB. He worked as a commercial animator and painter for the next ten years, but by the late 1980s he was living in the streets of Montreal. He continued to draw and sculpt. Chris Robinson first learned of Larkin in 2000 after his name was mentioned in a discussion by staff member Lesya Fesiak, who had heard about Larkin panhandling in Montreal from a friend. Fesiak and Robinson, who is the director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival, drove to Montreal to meet Larkin in June 2000, where they found him panhandling near Schwartz's on Saint Laurent Boulevard. At the time, he resided at the Old Brewery Mission and spent his days "wandering around town" visiting art galleries, museums, and libraries. He always had a notepad with him for drawing. They offered him dinner at a nearby bar, where he recounted his life story, which Robinson found "comical and heartbreaking, pathetic and inspiring". Before leaving, Robinson invited Larkin to Ottawa to watch a few entries for that year's film festival. Landreth met Larkin at the suggestion of Robinson. Landreth had been taking part in the festival's selection committee when a fourth member of the committee dropped out. Robinson asked Larkin to take the missing committee member's place, and personally drove him to Ottawa in July 2000. Committee members Landreth, Pjotr Sapegin, and Andrei Svislotksi, in addition to Larkin, reviewed the commissioned films competition entries. Nobody on the selection committee knew of Larkin's identity at the time, and Landreth found his presence on the committee to be odd. Committee members were only told about Larkin's identity at the end of the viewings, when they screened each other's films. Larkin was last, showing ''Walking'', ''Street Musique'', and ''Syrinx''. Landreth later described his surprise, and stated "I looked at him and wondered, how did this happen?" Landreth, at the time employed by Alias, was "immediately inspired" to create a film based on Larkin's life, but waited a few months before acting on it. He met Larkin again in September during the Ottawa International Animation Festival, and asked him if he would agree to be the subject of a film. Larkin agreed, and on 13 February 2001, Landreth decided to make the film. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ryan (film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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