Shrigley (above) didn’t just send his story to Shepherd, but the two collaborated on every aspect of the production including script and the original drawings of Pete’s world. © David Shrigley/Chris Shepherd 2005.

While Silence is Golden is predominantly live action, the animation plays a pivotal role in the film as a stand-in for young Billy’s lively imagination. “I like people and the real world. I also like imagining stuff in the context of everyday settings. So it’s natural for me to mix live action with animation. In Silence, it’s all Billy’s about fantasies. The world inside Billy’s head was like a ‘70s episode of Doctor Who, although maybe it’s a bit darker than what you might see on the telly.

“In contrast to Dad’s Dead, I wanted all of the fantasies to be realistic, that’s the way I imagine things. We went to great lengths to achieve this. For example, the scene where the Moonies get fried, I got hold of a flame thrower that could fire flame 30 feet and filmed all of the flames the way you see them in the film. A lot of things were blown up in that shoot.”

Animation festivals are notoriously anal about hybrid films (even Ottawa), but that doesn’t worry Shepherd. “It’s a bit early to tell what will happen with Silence yet. Films tend to find their own audiences. When I made Dad’s Dead I figured everyone would hate it, but to my surprise both live-action and animation festivals went for it. Who I Am appeals to a different bunch again. Silence is Golden will no doubt attract a different bunch again.

All three of Shepherd’s films have been dark portraits of a fucked up side of humanity. These are subjects that few animators are willing to tackle. It is changing to a degree, but for the most part, animators wanted to make “precious” films about the beauty of life. That’s not a bad thing, but ya can’t see the light without the dark. We live in a world that is increasingly fragmented, isolated and discontent. Is animation adequately reflecting this state or living in a rose-colored hippy world filled with good talk?

Silence is Golden is a hybrid film. Mostly live action, the animation conveys young Billy’s lively imagination. © Slinky Pictures 2006.

“Sometimes bad things can be beautiful or poetic,” says Shepherd, finally able to get a word in. “It’s one thing to try ignoring bad stuff, but don’t we all want to know why it happens? What makes people tick? I figure that’s what writers like Hubert Selby Jr. do. They make us understand the reason for the bad things. Those stories are quite often the ones that interest me. The main thing for me is that I try not to judge the characters in my films; I like to show the story and let the audience decide if they are good or bad. It’s not my place to judge people.”

Yeah… well… okay, it’s my place then. Who I Am, in particular, is a savage excavation of a seemingly decent normal guy that certainly resembles some of the characters of the very fine writings of Hubert Selby (notably The Room, probably his most disturbing book). Shepherd’s films fall in the ranks of other animated poets of the darkness like Andreas Hykade, JJ Villard, Phil Mulloy and Michele Cournoyer. They take us to worlds that we don’t want to see, but need to see.

Unlike me, Chris Shepherd isn’t a miserable guy. “I don’t want the readers to get a wrong impression. I like a laugh and who knows one day I might tell a hippy dippy love story — you can never tell.”

So be it. Hippies or Hipsters, Jesus or Satan, Dylan or Timberlake, the road from darkness to light and light to darkness is one and the fucking same, mate.

Chris Robinson has been with the Ottawa International Animation Festival since 1991. A noted animation critic, curator and historian, he has become a leading expert on Canadian and international independent animation. His acclaimed OIAF programming has been regarded as both thoughtful and provocative. In May 2004, Robinson was the recipient of the President’s Award given by the New York chapter of animators for contributions to the promotion of independent animation.

His books include Between Genius and Utter Illiteracy: A Story of Estonian Animation, Ottawa Senators: Great Stories from the NHL’s First Dynasty, Unsung Heroes of Animation, Great Left Wingers and Stole This From a Hockey Card: A Philosophy of Hockey, Doug Harvey, Identity & Booze.

An anthology of Robinson’s Animation Pimp columns will be published in 2006. He is working on Fathers of Night, a novel about angels, devils and everything in-between. Robinson lives in Ottawa with his wife, Kelly and sons Jarvis and Harrison.