HE’S OUT OF TOON
Animator outlines his bipolar struggle
TBy Kevin Duggan his flick illustrates a real
problem.
A Bedford-Stuyvesant
animator has created a short film
about his struggles with bipolar
disorder, screening as part of the
weekend-long Animation Block
Party at the Brooklyn Academy
of Music, running Sept. 20–22.
The 11-minute cartoon “Eli”
follows a teenager during a manic
episode, based on the director’s
own experience.
“Three years ago I had a manic
episode and was diagnosed with
bipolar disorder,” said Nate Milton.
“The manic episode itself was very
science-fiction, it felt spiritual.”
The Brooklyn cartoonist
re-imagined his mental travails
through the fictional teenager Eli,
who believes that a supernatural
raccoon has inserted a meteor rock
in his ear, which emits a noise that
keeps him from sleeping, and he
ends up institutionalized.
Milton spent time in a Rhode
Island psych ward, then wrote
and rewrote his story for the next
two years, finally drawing it in a
five-month creative burst in late
2018. The art project helped him
to deal with his feelings about that
troubled time, he said.
“I wanted to get a lot of that
stuff off of my chest,” he said.
Light show! Ward of the state: The 11-minute animated film “Eli,” screening at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music on Sept. 21, follows a bipolar teenager while he stays in a
psychiatric facility. Nate Milton
finds release by harmonizing
with the space rock’s hum, which
parallels the way that Milton found
peace by pursuing his own craft.
musical savant kid, him landing
on these songs he’s playing is
like me landing on this film. The
animation process has always been
very meditative for me,” he said.
mental illness while growing up,
and said that it would have helped
him to know that, while his troubles
were in his head, they could still
have a real impact on his psyche.
for me to get a third person’s
perspective,” he said. “The mission
statement of the film is that this
COURIER L 40 IFE, SEPT. 13-19, 2019
HBy Jenna Bagcal ead for the bright lights
of Citi Field this winter!
The Flushing
stadium will play host to the
first-ever Hello Panda Festival
from Dec. 6 to Jan. 26, 2020.
The landmark event will stretch
over the space of more than 13
football fields, featuring more
than 120 handcrafted lantern
displays, global food vendors
curated by the World’s Fare,
live performances, modern art
exhibits, and a holiday market.
“Hello Panda’s mission is
to not only give New Yorkers
and visitors something they’ve
never seen before but also
deliver an experience they
can’t find anywhere else,”
said Winston Wang, general
manager of CPAA North
America, the group behind the
event. “Our festival will offer a
variety of immersive and social
media moments that introduce
guests to the artistry of lanternmaking
while bringing different
communities together through
food and culture.”
The festival’s lantern display
is sure to delight with more than
300,000 LED lights and several
interactive elements. Some of the
world’s leading lantern artisans
will handcraft and paint over 120
displays to reflect the tradition,
innovation and creativity of the
Chinese art.
Attendees can explore six
different lantern theme parks,
including Dream World,
Holiday Wonderland, Discovery
Zone, Interactive Music Zone,
Sports World, and Community
Interactive Zone. Display
highlights include the world’s
tallest Christmas tree lantern,
life-sized dinosaurs and safari
animals, a huge fairy-tale castle,
and a 98-foot-long light tunnel.
Food will also be a major
attraction, through a partnership
with the World’s Fare. The
organizers of the largest and
most diverse food and drink
event in New York City will
curate vendors in a heated food
pavilion. Foodies can choose
dishes from 60 diverse vendors
offering a wide selection of
global cuisines.
“The World’s Fare is
honored to partner with Hello
Panda to celebrate culture in the
most diverse city in the world,”
said Joshua Schneps, the Fare’s
CEO. “There was a natural
synergy between the mission of
the festival and our organization
and we couldn’t be more excited
to take this journey together.”
Hello Panda will feature
both traditional and modern
cultural arts through live
performances, galleries and a
holiday market across six giant
heated tent areas. The festival
will showcase nightly music
from local and international acts
from different genres including
dance, Latin, pop and hip-hop.
Visitors can also view a
collection of galleries featuring
works of emerging global
artists and can join sessions of
papercutting, sugar painting,
embroidery, and cotton candy
art led by artist instructors.
Hello Panda at Citi Field
(123-01 Roosevelt Ave. in
Queens, www.hellopandafest.
com). Open daily, 5–10 p.m.,
Dec. 6 through Jan. 26, 2020.
$22–$28.
The protagonist in the story
“Eli’s supposed to be this
Milton showed some signs of
“It would have been helpful
The life of slice
By Bill Roundy Norm!
Brookynites gave a big
welcome to the new slice
shop Norm’s Pizza when it opened
Downtown last week, according to
its owner.
“We had a line out the door
for about two hours,” said Noam
Grossman, who titled the spot after
a frequent mis-hearing of his first
name. Grossman and his partners,
Brooklyn brothers Eli and Oren
Halali and pizza consultant
Anthony Falco, operate the upscale
Upside Pizza in Manhattan, but
immediately saw the potential
in an empty spot across from
Borough Hall.
“We knew we had to put
something here,” said Grossman.
“It’s a high-traffic area, but you
couldn’t find a decent slice of pizza.”
There are three $1 slice joints
within a block of Norm’s Pizza, but
the new spot has higher ambitions
that just churning out pies. The
pizzas use a sourdough starter,
leading to a dough that requires
special training to stretch properly,
along with speciality sauces that
pack a lot of flavor.
Norm’s triple pizza oven turns
out just five varieties: a simple
cheese slice ($3), pepperoni,
white pizza ($4 each), vodkasauced
pizza ($4.25); and a classic
margherita ($4.50).
Grossman said that his pies
were inspired by classic Brooklyn
spots: the margherita is based
on Juliana’s coal-fired pizza in
Dumbo, while the white pie,
made with garlic, two kinds of
mozzarella, lemon zest; and an
olive oil from Carroll Gardens spot
Frankie’s 457, nods to an off-menu
item at Totonno’s in Coney Island.
The next step for the tiny space
— which can fit a dozen patrons
at most, with seats for nine — will
be expanding the hours to 11 p.m.
every night, followed by delivery
service.
Its bright yellow counters offer
shakers of red pepper flakes and
oregano, but not garlic powder,
said Grossman, because he worked
hard to get the right amount of
garlic into the sauce. When
someone asks for garlic powder, he
urges them to try a bite first.
“People will try the slice, and
say ‘I get it,’ ” he said. “Or not —
it’s not for everyone.”
Norm’s Pizza 345 Adams St.
between Willoughby and Johnson
streets Downtown; (347) 916–1310,
www.normspizza.com. Open daily;
11 a.m.–10 p.m.
Pizza maker opens Downtown shop
stuff did happen, but it’s not
factual — it’s what I perceived to
be happening.”
“Eli” is the longest segment
in the “Narrative Works,
Independents, Local Filmmakers”
block of short films, screening on
Sept. 21.
Other highlights of the
Animated Block Party include
the new Chinese fantasy feature
“White Snake,” a “Female
Animators” block of cartoons
by women, and a 35mm print of
1979’s “The Bugs Bunny/Road-
Runner Movie.”
“Eli” at BAM Rose Cinema 30
Lafayette Ave. at Ashland Place in
Fort Greene, (718) 636-4100, www.
bam.org. Sept. 21 at 4:30 p.m. $16
($11 seniors and children).
Hello Panda Festival
brings lights and food
to Queens this winter
Finally got a piece of the pie: The owner
of Norm’s Pizza; Noam Grossman, holds
up a classic cheese slice in his new shop
Downtown. Photo by Bill Roundy
Hello Panda
/www.bam.org
/www.normspizza.com
/www.bam.org
/www.hellopandafest
/www.hellopandafest
/www.normspizza.com
/bam.org