Summary:

Night Creatures is an augmented reality experience celebrating the energy, connection, and intimacy of the film festival queue via animated cinema-goers who take the form of fruit bats. Eight well-dressed stop-motion puppets talk to you about their favourite films, connection to subcultures, cinema experiences that shaped them, best film snacks, and many other interesting and moving stories.

Featuring eight short stories – derived from interviews conducted with a diverse selection of film festival patrons, volunteers, and employees – and a ninth experience inviting an audience response, Night Creatures taps into the special atmosphere created by cinema, showing you just how much movies mean to us all.

Director Bio:

Isobel Knowles and Van Sowerwine, collaborators since 2001, share a background in stop-motion animation from their time at art school. They transitioned from single-channel films to interactive installations, focusing on narrative-based stop-motion experiences. Notable works include “Night Creatures,” an AR stop-motion piece showcased at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2022 and internationally premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2023, earning Best Interactive/Immersive Documentary at the Australian International Documentary Conference Awards.

Their pandemic-response project, “Can’t do without you” (2021), was commissioned by the Monash Gallery of Art. “Passenger” (2019), a VR stop-motion experience exploring migration, debuted at the Venice International Film Festival, securing awards at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and VRDays. Their creations span various mediums, from the site-specific installation “Out In The Open” (2016) to collaborations like “Dwelling” (2015). Their extensive exhibition history includes accolades such as Prix Ars Electronica and Premier of Queensland’s National New Media Art Award. Among their achievements is “Clara” (2004), a Cannes-premiered stop-motion animation that garnered recognition at international film festivals.