Broadening his career outside of documentary, one that’s marked by titles such as Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart and the more personal In a Dream, director Jeremiah Zagar stepped into the world of fiction, or more precisely into poetic social realism, with We the Animals, based on Justin Torres’ novel by the same name. This rousingly lyrical and formally fresh adaption is a passage into the life of a young boy deciphering his queer identity while surrounded by more traditional versions of masculinity. Zagar’s offbeat stylistic exploits include the use of hand-drawn illustrations animated to express the character’s inner unrest and entrancing magical realist set pieces that transform the film into an atypical feat. Guiding his diversely aged cast, comprised of both young first-timers and more seasoned talent, into producing vivid naturalistic renditions, the filmmaker applied the best of his knowledge regarding non-fiction storytelling and embellished it with magnetic otherworldliness. –Carlos Aguilar
Actors Raul Castillo and Sheila Vand with author Justin Torres and director Jeremiah Zagar. Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap at the Acura Studios.
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Sundance Film Festival should keep the basic ideas of Robert Redford and "early on" Chairman Jack Crosby. These people wanted a Festival that allowed upcoming and young established Film Makers to show and introduce their work, new ideas towards the Creative Imagination of telling story in the "STORYWORLD" of Cinema, where many times audio and visual come together with genius people that have a different angle towards different cultures...played out by humans. "my thoughts'