Professor’s Short Animated Film Honored at an International Competition
December 15, 2023
Image: a still shot from the short film "Gorilla Tactics." The film was recognized
with multiple awards in the Accolade Global Film Competition.
“Gorilla Tactics,” a short, animated film created by Webster University School of Communications Assistant Professor Michael Long, earned an Award of Merit and an Award of Recognition during the Accolade Global Film Competition. As an honoree from the Accolade Global Film Competition, Long is now eligible to be listed on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), considered to be the top source of information on the World Wide Web about the film industry and the people involved.
“It’s a thrill to win awards for animation, experimentation, and humor in a competition
which yearly draws thousands of entries and in the past included Academy Award-winning
filmmakers,” Long said. “I’m also looking forward to seeing the film listed on the
IMDb website.” (Image: Assistant Professor Michael Long)
“Gorilla Tacitics” is based on a true story of a boy trying to manipulate the grown-up world to obtain an impossible gift. Long wrote, animated, narrated, and edited the film over 18 months. The film uses a 2-D perspective and involves nearly 5,000 digital drawings and stop-motion photographs. To enhance the story, Long created the sound design by mixing various musical tracks and audio effects.
The Accolade Global Film Competition has been handing out awards since 2003, and several past winners have gone on to earn Oscars. The competition receives entries every year from film makers around the world.
These are not the first recognitions for “Gorilla Tactics.” In July, the film was named “Best Animated Narrative Film” in the St. Louis Filmmakers showcase. It also was selected to be shown during the 2023 St. Louis International Film Festival, held last month.
Members of the public will have a chance to see the film in January. It will be shown on a loop in Webster’s Kooyumjian Gallery during the 2024 Bill Barrett Faculty and 37th Annual Juried Undergraduate Exhibit, held Jan. 19 through Feb. 21. The gallery is located on the second floor of the Sverdrup Complex on Webster’s Main campus, 8300 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 63119.