Life and Deaths of Max Linder is “Surprising, brilliant, and unique”

Click here to read the review and find May 2024 screening times in Poland.

Max Linder Promotional Interview on TVP World

The journalist here calls our movie, Life and Deaths of Max Linder, visually “captivating”. We launch in eight cities throughout Poland on 13 May 2024. Director Edward Porembny explains the story, its origins, and where to see the movie. (In English.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srd8jeSxcKY

Life and Deaths of Max Linder

Poster for our new movie, Life and Deaths of Max Linder. The movie screens in 8 cities throughout Poland starting 13 May 2024. Poster design by Andrzej Pągowski.

Life and Deaths of Max Linder Screening in Poland

Our movie, Life and Deaths of Max Linder, screens throughout Poland, May 2024! The movie features the talents of Rémi Bichet (Kepler(s)), Adam Levy (The Witcher), and Halina Bednarz (Anatomia zla) with a music score by Academy Award-nominated composer Reinhardt Wagner. Details at IMDb.

Emotional Health and Cartoons

Thank you Melonie McCoy for this link! “Congratulations to my friend Steven Thomas Fischer on recently receiving the Fulbright Specialist Award to Japan, at University of Tokyo. His program, Cartoon Storytelling, guides participants to create stories based on real life (and sometimes traumatic) experiences. What an incredibly beautiful tool for self-expression and reflection.“

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7139299646660558848/

Since 2004, Steven Fischer, the two-time Emmy nominated producer and cartoonist known for the animated documentary, Freedom Dance, starring Golden Globe winner Mariska Hargitay, has led an initiative called Cartoon Storytelling. In this initiative, Fischer guides participants through a series of creative writing and drawing exercises that position them to create a new story based on a real life experience. The experience is always personal, and sometimes even traumatic.

“By using personal questions, experiences, or observations as prompt for a new story,” Fischer explains, “the hope is that participants see how events in their life that at first may not have made sense now combine to form meaning.”

The meaning participants discover, or create, often leads to realizations that, Fischer rationalizes, lead to understanding. “Understanding why we feel the way we feel or why things have happened as they have, leads us away from staying on the surface of an issue, judging our self and others and leaving it at that, and brings us closer to examining the roots. This inner search can lead to enlightenment and compassion.” Fischer clarifies, “That doesn’t mean that we condone the unconscionable behavior of the bully who picked on us, far from it; but by taking time to reflect on being bullied, for example, if that’s the experience you use to prompt your story, we give our self a voice – and that can be healing; and we position our self to address deeper issues that may help us discover the root of why we feel the way we feel.”

Cartoon Storytelling is part academic, part production. It is presented as a classroom course in which students of all ages learn the language of cartoons, the art of page layout, character design, and narrative structure. However, the course is project based, and the comic book-style stories students deliver are assembled into a book participants can use as keepsake or for portfolio.

In 2023, Fischer received his second Fulbright Specialist grant to present the class at the University of Tokyo in Japan. (His first came in 2014 where he presented Cartoon Storytelling at The University of Debrecen in Hungary.) The 2023 grant was supplemented by support from the University of Tokyo, which first offered Cartoon Storytelling in 2021, producing two volumes of original cartoons titled Tokyo Cartoon, and Tokyo Cartoon Volume II. Fischer’s 2023 Fulbright award supports the creation of the third volume, which was completed between October and November.

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 and is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. It is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State.

Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 60 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 88 who have received Pulitzer Prizes, and 39 who have served as a head of state or government.

Fischer is one of over 400 U.S. citizens who share expertise with host institutions abroad through the Fulbright Specialist Program each year. Recipients of Fulbright Specialist awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership in their field, and their potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the U.S. and abroad.

Globally recognized for his expertise in creativity, Fischer has offered Cartoon Storytelling throughout North America, Asia, and Europe and has received invitations to lecture on creativity from Harvard Medical School, Northwestern University, the International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation at the Marconi Institute of Creativity in Italy, Amity University in Dubai, and to faculty at Kyoto Seika University in Japan and at Chapman University in Orange, California.

Tokyo Cartoon, Vol. III — Release!

Two months in Japan completing the book, Tokyo Cartoon, Vol. III. This is the 12th collection from a cartoon initiative I’ve offered since 2003 in which participants use personal experience (often traumatic) as prompt for a new comic book-style story. The experience is fun, enlightening, and always rewarding as participants often emerge with clarity and understanding to things in life that conflict them.

Each production takes tremendous dedication from many organizations and people. “Tokyo Cartoon, Vol. 3” is made possible from the generous support of The University of Tokyo, Takeshi Okada, vice director of the Art Center at UTokyo; The Fulbright Program; Fulbright Japan; and this year’s wonderful collaborating artists: Riku Suzuki, Tatsuya Sakamoto, and Shijun Wang. Thank you all!

Tokyo Cartoon, Vol. 3 is a production of Steven Fischer’s cartoon initiative Cartoon Storytelling, in which participants use personal experience (often traumatic) as prompt for a new comic-book style story.

Steven’s cartoon initiative first appeared in 2003 in Maryland at Anne Arundel Community College, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, and Roland Park Country School. He has since led productions at Northwestern University (USA), University of Debrecen (Hungary), University of Tokyo (Japan), and at many other venues worldwide.

View of Tokyo and Mt. Fuji from Tokyo SkyTree.

Cartoonists work on “Tokyo Cartoon, Vol. 3.”

Noted animation director Hiroko Kazui, Takeshi Okada vice director of the Art Center at UTokyo, artist Shijun Wang, and cartoonist Steven Fischer. October 2023, Tokyo.

Steven Fischer at the Fulbright Commission in Tokyo with Tomomi Wakabayashi and Jinko Brickman.

Steven Fischer leads cartoonists through the production of “Tokyo Cartoons, Vol. 3.” October 2023.

Baltimore Homecoming, October 2023!

Something in the post smells good. Thank you, Baltimore Homecoming, for the fragrant invitation to Homecoming 2023! (A nice care package with Zeke’s Coffee, a Mount Royal Soap Co. candle, and a crabby tea towel by artist Stephani Stilwell.) Your friendship touches the heart and your dedication to celebrating all things Baltimore brings a smile.

Baltimore Homecoming’s mission is to connect Baltimoreans from across the world with our city’s leaders and innovators to spark new collaborations and drive new investments in Baltimore’s future.  We envision a world where Baltimore is recognized as a leading hub for social & private sector entrepreneurship and where local leaders work hand-in-hand with a global network of Baltimoreans to advance a more prosperous and just city.

Thank you, Oceania!

Thank you, Oceania Insignia, for the invitation to speak on creativity and cartoons, and share our book, The Wonderful, Happy, Cartoony World of Steve & Bluey! Your generosity and hospitality brought much comfort, and the memories of the wonderful people we met and the sights in Japan, Alaska, British Columbia, and the Pacific Northwest will last forever. And many thanks to Compass Speakers for making it all happen!

Steven Fischer Presents: Where Ideas Come From at the Debreceni Egyetemi Színház International Theatre Festival in Hungary

I am honored to be back at the Debreceni Egyetemi Színház International Theatre Festival in Hungary! Thank you, Lakó Zsigmond, for the invitation. Your friendship means so much to me.

Writer/Producer, Cartoonist Steven Fischer speaks at the Debreceni Egyetemi Színház International Theatre Festival in Hungary. April 15 2023. Photos by Nagy David.

Debrecen Tales: An International Experience Launches in Hungary

Our new cartoon book, Debrecen Tales: An International Experience, launched in Hungary! Nine cartoonists from Tunisia, Myanmar, Hungary, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and the United States created original stories based on personal trauma, using cartoon art to find clarity, understanding, and meaning to their experience in war, pandemic, and social unrest. Thank you Tibor Glant, the City of Debrecen, The American Corner Debrecen, University of Debrecen and Debrecen University Press for helping to make many dreams a reality.

Link: https://debrecenliterature.hu/hirek/debreceni-hirek/debrecen-tales-kulonleges-nemzetkozi-kepregeny-latott-napvilagot

Cartoonist Steven Fischer speaking at the launch of Debrecen Tales: An International Experience in Debrecen Hungary April 2023. Photo by Miskolczi János.

Deputy Mayor of Debrecen István Puskás speaks at the launch of Debrecen Tales: An International Experience. Photo by Miskolczi János. April 2023.

Page from Debrecen Tales: An International Experience from the story Metanoia by Sumyat Swezin. Photo by Miskolczi János. April 2023.

Page from Debrecen Tales: An International Experience from the story Unfamiliar by Mark Kovacs. Photo by Miskolczi János. April 2023.

Cartoonist Maryem Ben Salem at the launch of Debrecen Tales: An International Experience. Photo by Miskolczi János. April 2023.