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History, Mystery & Odyssey

  • Running Time
    77 minutes 13 seconds
  • Genre
    Documentary
  • Language
    English
  • Completed
    May 20, 2023, UK and USA

Martin Cooper’s documentary feature explores the lives and work of six internationally renowned, independent animators: Jim Blashfield, Rose Bond, Joan C. Gratz, Zak Margolis, Joanna Priestley and Chel White. Their animated films span 40 years and a wide range of techniques.

                      

About the film

History, Mystery & Odyssey is a documentary feature that invites viewers into the creative universes of six trailblazing, internationally celebrated independent animators whose work has profoundly influenced the evolution of contemporary animation. Over the course of forty years, these artists have crafted groundbreaking films using an astonishing range of techniques — including direct animation on film, hand-drawn and stop-motion processes, 3D model work, clay-painting, computer-generated imagery, and emerging AI-driven tools. Their artistic journeys represent the full spectrum of animation as an expressive medium, where imagination, experimentation, and personal vision redefine the boundaries of visual storytelling.

Shot entirely in Portland, Oregon — a city that has quietly become a powerhouse for independent animation — the film brings us into the daily environments where these creators live and work. Through intimate interviews, archival materials, and glimpses into their studios, we gain insight into the unique philosophies and methods of Jim Blashfield, Zak Margolis, Rose Bond, Joanna Priestley, Joan C. Gratz, and Chel White. Their stories intertwine to reveal not only the technical craft behind their celebrated films but also the emotional, cultural, and aesthetic forces that shaped their careers.

 

History, Mystery & Odyssey chronicles a community of artists united by curiosity and resilience, charting their evolution across decades of technological change, artistic challenges, and personal milestones. It highlights how each animator forged their own path, finding new ways to communicate memory, identity, humor, movement, and the human experience through the language of animation. In celebrating these six remarkable creators, the documentary becomes a tribute to the power of independent art — an odyssey through history, a journey into mystery, and an inspiring exploration of what animation can become.

Awards

  • Best Documentary – Theatre and Cinema
    Master of Art Film Festival, 2024

  • Best Feature Documentary
    Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology, 2024

  • Best Documentary
    New York Film and Cinematography Awards, 2024

  • Best Documentary
    Blue Bird Film Festival, 2023

  • Best Director
    2 11 17 International Film Festival, 2023

Other Festival Selections & Screenings

  • Cannes International Film Week, 2024

  • Annecy International Animation Festival, 2024

  • Ottawa International Animation Film Festival, 2023

  • Palm Springs Documentary and Animation Film Festival, 2024

  • Toronto Arthouse Film Festival, 2024

  • ReAnima International Animation Festival, 2024

  • Alexandre Trauner Art/Film Festival, 2024

  • Hiroshima Animation Season Festival, 2025

  • Film Arte International Film Festival, 2023

  • Stockholm City Film Festival, 2023

History, Mystery & Odyssey unfolds through conversations with six influential Portland-based animators: Jim Blashfield, Joanna Priestley, Rose Bond, Zak Margolis, Joan C. Gratz, and Chel White. Although their names may not be instantly recognizable, their work has shaped major corners of the animation world — from Blashfield’s iconic MTV music videos for Talking Heads, Tears for Fears, and Michael Jackson, to Gratz’s Oscar-winning Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase, and Margolis’s memorable contributions to A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff. Each artist arrives with a different background and artistic philosophy, yet all share the same impulse: to build entire worlds from imagination, craft, and experimentation. Together, they reveal just how vast and diverse the universe of independent animation truly is.

While blockbuster studios rely on massive budgets and cutting-edge technology, the creators in HM&O harness ingenuity and hands-on techniques to push the medium forward. Their D.I.Y. spirit leads to groundbreaking experiments — like Chel White’s Choreography for Copy Machine, made entirely with photocopier images, or Rose Bond’s large-scale projection, which gave voice to the disappearing stories of Portland’s Old Town community. The film also highlights deeply personal works such as Joanna Priestley’s Streetcar Named Perspire, an honest and humorous portrayal of menopause. Through these varied approaches, History, Mystery & Odyssey shows that animation can be political, intimate, playful, or profoundly experimental — and that its future, even in the age of A.I., remains rooted in human curiosity and the desire to create.

 

Produced, Directed & Edited
Martin Cooper

Director Of Photography & Graphic Effects Editor
Adrian “Uchujin” Storey

Executive Producer
Joan C. Gratz

Composer
Rob Lewis

Post Production
STORM POST PRODUCTION, LONDON

Starring

Joan Grantz
Chel White
Rose Bond
Joanna Priestly
Jim Blashfield
Zak Maragolis