In A Family That Steals Dogs, the US artist John C Kelley recalls a disturbing incident in which his brother led the abduction of a dog at a funeral in Arkansas. From this unusual starting point, Kelley time-jumps to his brother’s own untimely funeral at the same cemetery just a few months later, and then to a cabin in the woods in Georgia, where he finds himself in a deteriorating physical and mental state. Built from a series of sparse animations and a delicate, disorienting sound design, Kelley’s patchwork autobiography raises complex questions of artistry, mental illness and the complexities of family and home.
Director: John C Kelley
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How an artist learned to ‘co-live’ with the distressing voice in her head
6 minutes
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videoConsciousness and altered states
‘I want me back’ – after a head injury, Nick struggles with his altered reality
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Why Susan listens to recordings of herself speaking a language she no longer remembers
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videoFamily life
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videoFamily life
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