“A wondrous allegory of ecological and emotional woe wrapped in a tale of bullying and betrayal.” —A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Join the LSU School of Art at the LSU Digital Media Center Theatre on Thursday, April 16, 2015, at 4 p.m., for a reception honoring visiting artist and LSU graphic design alumnus Bradley Furnish, BFA 2004, editor at Pixar Animation Studios. The reception will be followed by a presentation and screening of his most recent work, The Dam Keeper, at 5 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

The Dam Keeper

The Dam Keeper, a short, 18-minute film by feature animation artists Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, tells the tale of a young pig encumbered with an important job and the meeting of a new classmate who changes everything.

Set in a desolate future, one small town’s survival is solely due to a large windmill dam that acts as a fan to keep out poisonous clouds. Despite bullying from classmates and an indifferent public, the dam’s operator, Pig, works tirelessly to keep the sails spinning in order to protect the town. When a new student, Fox, joins Pig’s class, everything begins to change.

The Dam Keeper blends traditional hand-drawn animation with lush brushstrokes to bring Kondo and Tsutsumi’s celebrated painting style to life like never before. Danish actor Lars Mikkelson of television’s Forbrydelsen (The Killing) and Sherlock, narrates the film, which is produced by Megan Bartel and Duncan Ramsay.

The Dam Keeper has won Best Animated Short and dozens of Audience Awards at more than two dozen film festivals across the U.S. and abroad, including the Austin Film Festival, New York International Children’s Film Fest, San Francisco International Film Fest, Kinder Film Fest in Kyoto, Anima Mundi, Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, 12th Biennial of Animation in Bratislava, and more! Visit TheDamKeeper.com for more information.

Bradley Furnish, BFA 2004

Bradley Furnish is an editor at Pixar Animation Studios. His film credits include Toy Story 3, Brave, and the television special Toy Story That Time Forgot. In addition to his work at Pixar, Bradley continues to work on independent projects ranging in content and style. He is particularly proud to have edited Pixar’s It Gets Better PSA, the short film Cologne, and, most recently, the hand-painted animated film The Dam Keeper. Bradley graduated from the LSU School of Art with a BFA in graphic design in 2004.