Legendary Children’s Book Illustrator Tomi Ungerer In-Store Sat Sept 8!
Posted by: admin on: August 24, 2012
“I am a self-taught raving maniac—but not as crazy as Tomi. He was disarming and funny and not respectable at all. And he influenced everybody; there may not have been Where The Wild Things Are without Tomi Ungerer.”
– Maurice Sendak
Special Appearance and Book Signing with Tomi Ungerer
September 8th, 2pm at Little Island Comics (The Beguiling)
742 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Canada, M5S 2R6
416-901-7489
Tomi Ungerer is perhaps the most famous children’s book author you have never heard of. Just over 50 years ago, Ungerer landed in New York City with only $60 in his pocket and a suitcase full of drawings. A brilliant illustrator, he became an overnight sensation. Ungerer went on to publish an astonishing 80 books in ten years, including beloved classics Moon Man, Otto, and The Three Robbers.
The Beguiling and Little Island Comics are honoured to host Tomi Ungerer for a special signing event at Little Island Comics this Saturday, September 8th, at 2pm in Little Island Comics’ event space. Ungerer will be signing copies of all of his work, including his work for adults, and a wide selection of books will be available for sale at the event.
The Three Robbers in particular remains one of our favourite children’s books carried at the store, and its darkly humourous message and brilliant and evocative illustrations have made it a classic for generations of parents and children since its original publication in 1962.
Tomi Ungerer is in Toronto as part of the promotional tour for the new film Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story, a documentary about his life and work screening as part of TIFF. While this film is definitely intended for an adult audience, Ungerer’s work has a broad appeal and this signing is intended for readers of all ages.
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ABOUT TOMI UNGERER
Tomi Ungerer (b.1931) was born in Strasbourg, in the Alsace region of France. He moved to New York City in 1956 and instantly found success as a caricaturist, illustrator, and children’s book author. As graphic artist he created advertising campaigns for Willy Brandt and The New York Times. In 1998 he was awarded the Hans Christian Anderson Award for Illustration, which is the Nobel Prize of the world of children’s literature. He now divides his time between Strasbourg and Ireland.
ABOUT FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY
“Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story” is a brilliant, original and highly engrossing feature-length documentary depicting the life and times of the best-selling children’s author and illustrator Tomi Ungerer. This French artist’s wild, lifelong adventure of testing societal boundaries through his use of subversive art and biting social satire is fully explored in this entertaining, 98-minute film which will have its North American premiere at TIFF 2012. While you may not be familiar with Ungerer or his work, you will quickly be entranced by the force of nature that is Tomi Ungerer.
“We have not been this excited about an artist profile since Crumb (1994). I watched it last night, and it is an compelling and engaging introduction to the man and his diverse body of work. While perhaps most known for his children’s work (The Three Robbers, Moon Man, etc.), his social and erotic images are as powerful as anything you find in our shop.”
– Peter Birkemoe, The Beguiling
Public Screenings
Thursday, September 6, 2012 9:45 p.m.
Cinema 3 (TIFF Bell Lightbox)
Saturday, September 8, 2012 9:30 a.m.
Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas 9 (Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas)
Saturday, September 15, 4:30 p.m.
Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas 10 (Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas)
ABOUT LITTLE ISLAND COMICS AND THE BEGUILING
Celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2012, The Beguiling is North America’s most renown purveyor of comic books and graphic novels. In fall 2011, The Beguiling opened its sister store Little Island Comics, the very first comic book store for kids in North America, stocking a full range of comics for children and a wonderfully curated selection of children’s picture books. Together, both stores present more than 50 literary and art events with comics creators each year, and sponsor the internationally acclaimed Toronto Comic Arts Festival, which draws 20,000 attendees annually.
“FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH” TRAILER:
Complete press list follows under the cut:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
– Maurice Sendak
Premiering Opening Night at the Toronto International Film Festival
Thursday, September 6th, 9:45pm – Cinema 3 TIFF Bell Lightbox
Special Appearance and Book Signing with Tomi Ungerer on
September 8th, 2pm at Little Island Comics (The Beguiling)
742 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Canada, M5S 2R6
416-901-7489
—Brad Bernstein’s feature-length documentary on the prolific and fearless life of Tomi Ungerer, bestselling children’s book author & illustrator, creator of iconic 1960s anti-Vietnam posters, and mastermind of explicit erotica—
Or click here to view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
August 21, 2012 – New York, NY – “Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story” is a brilliant, original and highly engrossing feature-length documentary depicting the life and times of the best-selling children’s author and illustrator Tomi Ungerer. This French artist’s wild, lifelong adventure of testing societal boundaries through his use of subversive art and biting social satire is fully explored in this entertaining, 98-minute film which will have its North American premiere at TIFF 2012. While you may not be familiar with Ungerer or his work, you will quickly be entranced by the force of nature that is Tomi Ungerer.
“Far Out Isn’t Far Enough” is the directorial feature-film debut of Brad Bernstein (also writer & producer), who weaves Ungerer’s epic life story into an illustrated tapestry of the seminal events of the 20th Century—using Ungerer’s own artwork. From his striking visual commentaries protesting American involvement in Vietnam to the many beloved characters of his children’s books, Ungerer is admired worldwide for the influence his work has had on a variety of art forms, and for his contribution to children’s literature. Yet the same factors that vaulted him to meteoric success – fearless creativity, absolute outspokenness, fierce independence – also made him a lightning rod for controversy and the object of intense malice.
With Ungerer in the drivers seat, Bernstein takes us on a striking emotional and visual journey through Nazi-occupied France during World War II, Ungerer’s subsequent move to America and his Madison Avenue successes (The Village Voice, New York Times) in the late 50’s during the Golden Age of Magazine Illustration, his immediate influence on children’s literature in the 1960’s (Crictor, Moon Man, The Three Robbers), and the anti-Vietnam war and sociological poster art that made him iconic (Eat, Kiss For Peace, Black Power/White Power). Yet despite all of his monumental visual achievements and the successes of his children’s books in the 60’s – which would, later in life, earn him the coveted Hans Christian Andersen Award – Tomi Ungerer is virtually forgotten in North America, even his most recognized books now out of print.
What led to this man’s freedom of expression being suppressed? What led to his demise? What forced him into obscurity on this side of the pond?
Through interviews with the late Maurice Sendak (Where The Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen), Pulitzer Prize-winning illustrator and author Jules Feiffer (Feiffer, Carnal Knowledge), New York Times Book Review columnist Steven Heller, children’s literature scholar Michael Patrick Hearn and others, “Far Out” explores Ungerer’s self-destruction and subsequent departure from America. To this end, Bernstein and his creative partners & collaborators at Corner of the Cave Media – Rick Cikowski and Brandon Dumlao – have attempted to present the story in the most visually compelling way possible, laboriously combing through thousands of pieces of Ungerer’s artwork from his museum in Strasbourg, France. With the use of a variety of motion graphics techniques, they have taken almost 80-years worth of Ungerer’s art and brought it to life, animating his childhood sketches, ad campaigns, anti-Vietnam War p osters, cartoons, children’s books and erotica.
It’s worth noting Mr. Ungerer will be departing his home in Ireland for TIFF and will attend “Far Out’s” first public screening on September 6. He will be in Toronto for press interviews from the 5th through the 10th and will be at The Beguiling in Toronto for a book signing on Saturday, September 8th. We strongly recommend experiencing Tomi in person—he’s a true character of the 20th century!
Director Bio
Brad Bernstein is a writer, producer and director who has spent the last thirteen years in long-form documentary production for television. He is currently a writer for VH1’s Emmy Award winning doc series “Behind The Music” and has also produced and written four episodes of the series, a fifth of which is currently in production through his company, Corner of the Cave Media.
He recently served as Supervising Producer on an original, six-part documentary series called “Saved” for Animal Planet that aired in Fall 2011. He was also Supervising Producer on “Recording: The History of Recorded Music,” an 8-part documentary series shot in high-definition that traces America’s history since Thomas Edison invented the first sound recording device in 1877 to the Internet. The Executive Producers include Impresario Quincy Jones and legendary record producer Phil Ramone, and contains interviews with Phil Spector, Billy Joel, Norah Jones, Chuck D, Clint Eastwood, BB King, Flea, Paul Simon, Smokey Robinson and many other musicians and artists.
Brad was Coordinating Producer on ESPN’s highly acclaimed documentary series “Rites of Autumn: The Story of College Football,” a 10-hour production narrated by Burt Reynolds; he was a producer on “In
Focus,” a 36-part Fox Sports documentary series hosted by esteemed broadcaster Dick Enberg, and was a
producer on “Between the Lines,” a four-hour original series for A&E hosted by Robert Downey, Jr. that featured President Jimmy Carter, Priscilla Presley, Martin Sheen and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. His shop, Corner of the Cave Media, is a full service production and post-production facility based in Miami’s Art and Design district that specializes in documentaries, but also offers the entire spectrum of video, digital and interactive services, including iPhone and iPad Apps.
Public Screenings
Thursday, September 6, 2012 9:45 p.m.
Cinema 3 (TIFF Bell Lightbox)
Saturday, September 8, 2012 9:30 a.m.
Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas 9 (Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas)
Saturday, September 15, 4:30 p.m.
Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas 10 (Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas)
Press & Industry Screening
Friday, September 7, 12:30 p.m.
Cinema 5 – NBC Universal Cinema (TIFF Bell Lightbox)
* Note: we have a limited number of tickets available for the public screenings so please try and attend the Press & Industry screening. We do have a downloadable link to the film and DVD’s available.
Film Runtime: 98 Minutes
www.faroutthemovie.com
http://tiff.net/
www.tomiungerer.com
www.cornerofthecave.com
*Special Book Signing & Appearance with Tomi Ungerer on
Saturday, September 8th, 2PM at Little Island Comics (The Beguiling)
742 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Canada, M5S 2R6
416-901-7489
Celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2012, The Beguiling is North America’s most renown purveyor of comic books and graphic novels. In fall 2011, The Beguiling opened its sister store Little Island Comics, the very first comic book store for kids in North America, stocking a full range of comics for children and a wonderfully curated selection of children’s picture books. Together, both stores present more than 50 literary and art events with comics creators each year, and sponsor the internationally acclaimed Toronto Comic Arts Festival, which draws 20,000 attendees annually. For more information, visit them online at beguiling.com and littleislandcomics.co m
Media Contact
Dawn Kamerling
The Press House
dawn@thepresshouse.com
646.322.4903
North American Sales
Jeff Dowd & Associates
Jeff Dowd
jeffdowd@aol.com
Office 310.581.7900
Cell 310.729.9686
www.jeffdowd.com
International Sales (Non-English)
Le Pacte
Camille Neel
c.neel@le-pacte.com
Tel:+33 1 44 69 59 54
Cell:+33 6 84 37 37 03
Production Contact
Corner of the Cave Media
info@cornerofthecave.com
305.851.7884
www.cornerofthecave.com
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