Happy Fuji News is a live-animated movie made out of 200 woodblock prints, written, carved and printed by Eric Kinny over the course of 2016-2022. Prints are shown and thrown at the rhythm of an audio soundtrack with MIDI guitar music by Raphaël Desmarets and characters voices by McCloud Zicmuse, Siet Phorae, Molly Rex, Ma Clément, Alice Perez & Joey Wright. The story follows a touristic guide at the foothill of Japan’s Mt. Fuji, escaping commercial hardship through the chance meeting of a Soundcloud ASMR artist.
With an equally comedic and dramatic approach, Happy Fuji News is a surrealistic dive into the world of tourism, apps, geology (and more..) done in a joyously performed proto-cinematic way. After a few secret “screenings” in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, Happy Fuji News has played in Brussels, toured Switzerland and the Netherlands, and is on the lookout for new audiences across Europe and beyond.
ERIC KINNY
Eric Kinny is a musician and visual artist based in Brussels, he runs the label Santé Loisirs since 2014 and now distributes rare LPs of Country & Western music from the 1930s-50s, released in the 1980s by -now defunct- labels Cowgirlboy Records, Cattle Records (and more). When he is not performing his animated film Happy Fuji News, he plays pedal steel with various bands, most notably the US-Belgian outfit Fievel is Glauque and the folk singer-songwriter Alice Perez.
TO CLOSE
Éme shares some tracks at the end.
