Tag: Kevin McTurk

Walking in a Winter Wonderland with Borealis

McMahon’s Borealis beautifully shows us this world rarely touched by humans. About 5% of this presentation has an individual interacting in this world and the footage is breathtaking.

BorealisOn TVO Docs YouTube and streaming on NFB.ca
9pm (PST) on December 15th

Bing Crosby sang about “Walking in a Winter Wonderland,” but it’s Kevin McMahon’s Borealis—a fascinating and cinematographic look into Canada’s iconic boreal forest—which makes the words comes alive. Instead of O Tannenbaum, to which the opening scenes begin with, it’s the evergreens which make the world go ’round. Without them–anywhere around the world–Earth would not be as rich in oxygen.

This documentary’s arrival during the cold season shows there are certain types of foliage that this planet safe year-round. This story details the life cycle of many trees which dot in this northernmost landscape. It’s easy to joke about Canada being cold, but in the wilds–the spring and summer season also brings wildfires! That’s hard to believe, but when controlled burning is required, this unmonitored part country handles it pretty well.

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You Can’t Break The Haunted Swordsman at LAAPFF 2020

McTurk’s masterpiece brings a touch of the European Gothic to tapestry where many a Japanese folktale lie–from a watercolours to washes of grey, they convey a sense of despair going on in the soul of the titular hero.

The Haunted Swordsman (2019) - IMDbBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Available to viewers in Southern California (excluding San Diego County) from October 1, 2020 at 12pm PT to October 31, 2020 at 11:59pm PT. Click here to watch the film on Eventive.

If Studio Laika ever feels they’re stuck on what to make next, they should talk to Kevin McTurk and give him the chance to realize The Haunted Swordsman as a full length film. His work may not be mainstream, but the Japanese folklore about the spirit world he’s borrowing from certainly is! His Kickstarter page reveals how the spooky narrative would develop, and his use of Bunraku Puppet Theater must be seen to be believed. It’s nearly photo-realistic, and the puppeteers are hidden from view to move scale figures in alluring detail. The spook factor is something even The Addams Family would approve of.

Laika made a name for themselves with their equally haunting works, Coraline and Kubo & the Two Strings. Their ability to generate box office hits is very hit or miss. Certain groups will love puppet theatre, but for the masses, CGI has sadly tainted the spectrum. McTurk’s previous short won him accolades. The Mill at Calder’s End earned 14 awards and Guillermo del Toro purchased Grimshaw for his traveling museum exhibition At Home With Monsters.

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