There are some filmmakers only really cool people know about, auteurs like Alejandro Jodorowsky or Cory McAbee. The lords of these are the infamous Brothers Quay, who specialize in startling, macabre, stop-motion animation that has earned them comparisons to Jan Svankmajer and Ray Harryhausen. Phantom Museums: The Short Films of the Quay Brothers is the perfect place for you to get acquainted with two of the most unappreciated geniuses of film. It’s a flawless collection of 20 years worth of their best short films, including Street of Crocodiles, based on the novel by Bruno Shulz. No less than director Terry Gilliam has called Crocodiles the greatest animated film of all time, and it served as a direct inspiration for the music video for “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails. The brothers’ miniatures are amazingly detailed, and yet often feel sadly broken or unfinished in a way that brings terrible humanity to their stories. Featuring huge, gothic settings, techno soundtracks and the use of real meat to represent doll innards, the films of the Brothers Quay will redefine everything you ever thought you knew about puppetry, life and art. 11 a.m. 14 Pews, 800 Aurora.
Sat., July 7, 11 a.m., 2012