| The Fandom | |
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| Directed by |
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| Produced by | Philip Kreis [1] |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Eric Risher |
| Music by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $32,125 [2] |
The Fandom is a 2020 documentary film focusing on the history and cultural influence of the furry fandom. Directed by filmmakers Ash Kreis and Eric Risher, it was released digitally and on Blu-Ray on July 3, 2020. The film is Kreis' directorial debut.
The Fandom focuses on the furry fandom's early history and evolution as an internet community. The documentary features interviews from figures within the fandom, including Mark Merlino and Rod O'Riley (founders of ConFurence, the first furry convention), Joe Strike (author of Furry Nation, a history of the furry fandom), and Samuel Conway, chairman of the Anthrocon convention. [3] These interviews are interspersed with footage from furry conventions past and present.
The Fandom was funded through Kickstarter with a budget of $32 thousand. [2] Director Ash Kreis described to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that despite recent positivity of furry fandom coverage, she wanted to put several misconceptions to rest and show the community in its true form. [4]
The Fandom marks the directorial debut for Kreis, who previously worked in the production team for films like Being Evel . [5]
The Fandom premiered on Kreis' YouTube channel on July 3, 2020, the Blu-Ray and other digital versions being released the same day. [4]
The Fandom was well-received and praised by critics. Cartoon Brew praised its inclusivity and humor, [3] Colorado Springs Independent applauded the film for its appeal and its thorough detail. [5] The film won an Ursa Major Award in 2020 in the Non-Fiction Work category. [6]
A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest, often as a part of a social network with particular practices, differentiating fandom-affiliated people from those with only a casual interest.
Galaxy Quest is a 1999 American science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. A parody of and homage to science-fiction films and series, especially Star Trek and its fandom, the film depicts the cast of a fictional cult television series, Galaxy Quest, who are drawn into a real interstellar conflict by actual aliens who think the series is an accurate documentary. It stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, and Daryl Mitchell. The film was a modest box office success and positively received by critics: It won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Nebula Award for Best Script. It was also nominated for 10 Saturn Awards, including Best Science Fiction Film and Best Director for Parisot, Best Actress for Weaver, and Best Supporting Actor for Rickman, with Allen winning Best Actor.
The furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. Some examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes. The term "furry fandom" is also used to refer to the community of people who gather on the Internet and at furry conventions.
Anthrocon is an annual furry convention that takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, each June or July. It caters to furries, which are fans of fictional anthropomorphic animal characters in art and literature. The convention was first held in 1997 in Albany, New York, and moved multiple times before settling at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Since moving to Pittsburgh in 2006, the convention has drawn millions in financing to the local economy.
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Samuel Charles Conway is an American researcher in the pharmaceutical, biomedical and agrochemical fields of organic chemistry. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Dartmouth College. Aside from his scientific career, Conway is known for his activities in the furry fandom, having served since 1999 as chairman and chief organizer of Anthrocon, one of the top largest furry conventions in the world. He is a published author, and has acted as a volunteer emergency coordinator, entertainer, and auctioneer.
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Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony is a 2012 documentary film centering on bronies, the adult fans of the 2010 animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The film, funded through crowd-sourcing via Kickstarter, was originally envisioned to follow voice actor and executive producer John de Lancie to the 2012 Summer BronyCon in New Jersey. The project raised much more than anticipated, allowing it to grow in scope to bring on Lauren Faust, Friendship Is Magic's original creator, and Tara Strong, a principal voice actress on the show, as executive producers and to include additional convention footage from European conventions.
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Rock Dog is a 2016 animated comedy film directed by Ash Brannon, from a script by Brannon and Kurt Voelker. Produced by Mandoo Pictures and Huayi Brothers, the film is loosely based on the Chinese graphic novel Tibetan Rock Dog by Zheng Jun. It features the voices of Luke Wilson, J. K. Simmons, Eddie Izzard, Lewis Black, Kenan Thompson, Mae Whitman, Jorge Garcia, Matt Dillon, and Sam Elliott. The film focuses on a young Tibetan Mastiff who leaves his mountain home village to become a rock musician in the big city after a radio falls from the sky.
Fursonas is a documentary film regarding the furry fandom which released In January of 2016 and was directed by Dominic Rodriguez with Producer Olivia Vaughn and Christine Meyer as Editor, among others.
Apollo 11 is a 2019 American documentary film edited, produced and directed by Todd Douglas Miller. It focuses on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, the first spaceflight from which men walked on the Moon. The film consists solely of archival footage, including 70 mm film previously unreleased to the public, and does not feature narration, interviews or modern recreations. The Saturn V rocket, Apollo crew consisting of Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins, and Apollo program Earth-based mission operations engineers are prominently featured in the film.
Tex Avery Screwball Classics is a series of single-disc Blu-ray and DVD sets by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's Warner Archive unit collecting various theatrical cartoons from animation director Tex Avery during his tenure at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio's cartoon division between the years of 1942 and 1955. It is the first comprehensive collection of Avery's MGM shorts to be released on home media in North America since The Compleat Tex Avery series of laserdiscs in the 1990s, with many of the shorts having been previously unreleased on DVD or Blu-ray.
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