Ice Merchants

The Sleeping Beauty

1935

Centuries ago in the past, the witch, who doesn't like Beauty, puts her to sleep, then flies throughout the castle spreading sleep powder, placing all into slumber. Eventually we flash forward to present time: A young hepcat in a convertible tries awakening Sleeping Beauty, and everyone in the castle, with some Big Band music. Will it work? A Puppetoon animated short film.

Terra Incognita

2002

Terra Incognita is a multi-plane cut out animation made from photocopies of 19th century illustrations made during the race to the poles and drawings by Eric Leiser. For the puppet performance it was flat-rod puppets on a proscenium stage with a screen behind them, onto which the animation Terra Incognita is projected. Many of the sea monster puppets and ships performed in sync with the animated ones, along with splashes of water and powdered chalk to mimic snowfall. These techniques came from my time studying puppet theater in Prague, in 2002, and learning from Svankmajer and Svankmajerova. It was a lot of fun to both animate and to perform live with Jeffrey's wonder score. At the same time the film comments on the colonial race to claim the Arctic by various countries—a race that, in a sense, is still going on today, but this time again for oil—and the murders of the Inuit people who had inhabited the land for millennia.

Inner Pickle

2024

While peeling away the layers of pain, an onion struggles to find the line between self-preservation and self-destruction.

My Friend from Faro

2008

Eternal daydreamer Mel can't wait to quit her sucky catering job and fly to her dream destination: Portugal. Things change when the beautiful Jenny literally crashes into her life when Mel nearly runs her over in her classic BMW. It is love at first sight, however there is just one problem: Jenny mistakenly assumes Mel to be a boy. Despite this, the pair become boyfriend and girlfriend. With Mel attempting to disguise her true gender at every turn, her journey from tomboy to out lesbian is fraught with life-defining dilemmas and sweet surprises.

Bloody Night

2010

A group of soldiers are sentenced for the murders of key political figures in the night of October 19th, 1921, in the streets of Lisbon. But the names of the conspirators remain unknown. Berta Maia, a widow of the 1910 revolution hero Carlos da Maia, will fight for the truth…

The Canterville Ghost

2023

An American family moves in to the Canterville Chase, a London mansion that has been haunted by ghost Sir Simon De Canterville for 300 years.

Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights

1994

Scooby-Doo and Shaggy travel to Arabia to become the Caliph's Royal Food Tasters. But they bite off more than they can chew and are forced to run for their lives! It's a wild magic carpet ride as Scooby-Doo, Shaggy and their genie (Yogi Bear) and a jolly sailor named Sinbad (Magilla Gorilla) take you on an adventure of mistaken identities, exotic locations and fun-filled action and surprises!

A Day In LC

2024

A person living in Liberty City goes to work, have some food & gets back home.

Hold On

2023

Years after immigrating to the United States, Matt (Gabriel Berm) grapples with the notion of family. A call from his sister, Callie (Callie Morken), becomes the catalyst for a realization: he learns that family transcends borders and manifests in varied forms. The deepest connections endure physical separation, teaching Matt that what truly matters is the unbreakable bond they share, echoing louder than any distance.

Gerenciador do Universo

2009

Betrayed Women

2007

Two married people fall in love and everything else breaks apart. A infidelities story told in a female voice.

She Dreams At Sunrise

2021

A 70-year-old woman with meningitis lives between her dream world and reality while her great nephew and caretaker helps mend the past in this heartwarming animated film.

Apocalypsis

2018

Set in a parallel universe entering a black hole, a woman reading the book of Revelation has visions of regeneration during Anthropocene.

What Is Christmas?

1973

A child tells the nativity story to his dog on Christmas Eve.

Dirty Fred, the Captain

Invalid Date

After getting injured in a fight, the steward of the luxury steamer Honolulu Star encourages Smiling Jimmy to take over the job of the beaten stoker and waiter, in exchange for both of their wages. On the ship, he meets Mr. Irving, who is incognito, playing the role of the Archduke St. Antonio, as he wants to get to know the "underworld" from the inside. They teach each other how to avoid being exposed during their few-day adventure, and eventually, they switch roles. But the real adventure is only just beginning.