John and Michael
John and Michael is a 2004 animated short by Shira Avni about two men with Down syndrome who share a loving relationship.
The film was animated with clay backlit on plexiglas, to produce a stained glass effect. Avni made over 14,000 paintings to create the film. It is narrated by Brian Davis, who is himself intellectually disabled. John and Michael was co-produced by Avni and Michael Fukushima of the National Film Board of Canada.
Awards
John and Michael received a dozen awards and honours at film festivals, including a Golden Sheaf Award for best Yorkton [Film Festival Golden Sheaf Award - Animation|Animation], the award for best original screenwriting at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival, the short documentary award at DOXA [Documentary Film Festival], the short film award at the Pink Apple film festival, a Silver Remi Award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival as well as the award for best animated short at the Cinequest Film Festival.- an Honorable Mention at the Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
- the Jury Prize - Category: Shorts at the OutFlix Film Festival - International GLBT Film Festival
- the Golden Sheaf Award - Category: Animation at the Golden Sheaf Awards /Short Film and Video Festival
- the Doxa Short Documentary Award at the Doxa - Documentary Film and Video Festival
- the JWR Award for Best Original Screenwriting at the Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival
- the Short Film Award at the Pink Apple Film Festival
- the Silver Remi Award at the WorldFest - International Film Festival
- the Award for Best Animated Short at Cinequest
- the Award - Category: Animation 10 – 30 minutes on a theme of disability Picture This Film Festival
- the Special Distinction Award by Jury Classe L CAV Rencontres Internationales du Cinéma d'Animation
- an Honorable Mention - Catégorie: Arts at the International Film and Video Festival
- Best Animated Short Award at the Q Cinema: Fort Worth's Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival