Bio
When M dot Strange touched down in Park City, Utah for the Sundance Film Festival in January 2007 for the world premiere of his first animated feature, We Are the Strange, thousands of Internet-obsessed teens and twentysomethings already knew more about the film than any buyer at the festival. For months M dot had been leaking footage and behind-the-scenes featurettes of the film to YouTube, and once he was accepted to Sundance he put up the trailer. It got 500,000 views in four days. Not bad for a guy who made a movie in his bedroom. With a love for 8-bit video games and stop-motion animation, the San Jose–based M dot has been honing his bizarre brand of stories since the late '90s. "I've never taken a film class or an art class ever," he says. "I learned everything through the Internet and reading books — the Internet was my film school." M dot is currently working on his next animated feature film - a 3d Samurai film entitled Heart String Marionette due for completion in Q4 2010.
Awards and Accolades
Official Selection, 2007 Sundance Film Festival
Animated feature film “We are the Strange” chosen over 3000 other entries to premiere at the festival.
Golden Prize, Most Groundbreaking film, 2007 Fantasia Film festival, Montreal
Silver Prize, Best Animated film, 2007 Fantasia Film festival, Montreal
Animated feature film “We are the Strange” beats out studio films from Japan and Korea to win these prizes. (link)
25 New Faces of Independent Film, Filmmaker Magazine 2007
Chosen in the class on 2007. (link)
Best Director, Best Feature Film, HDFEST, 2007
Press Highlights
New York Times, M dot Strange Finds a Way at Sundance , 1-27-07
EXCERPT- Wearing a black stocking cap and sporting a wisp of hair under his lip, M dot Strange, whose actual name is Michael Belmont, looks more like a snowboarder who wandered over from the nearby chairlift than a big deal filmmaker, but he represents a new paradigm of filmmaking that could have a profound effect on the traditional models of film production, distribution and animation. The money is not there yet — M dot Strange is doing a brisk business in T-shirts associated with the film — but the Web has proved that if you produce something the consumer wants, a business model might follow. (link)
Wired Magazine, Strange + 8-Bit + Anime = Str8nime. Learn DIY Filmmaking from M dot Strange, September 2007 issue
EXCERPT- It's anime on amphetamines — with a throbbing techno beat and a dash of Kabuki. Most of all, M dot Strange's berserk and beautiful We Are the Strange is a triptastic triumph of DIY filmmaking. Strange (former Web designer Michael Belmont) spent three years and roughly $20,000 crafting his feature-length debut — learning animation, creating virtual landscapes, and scouring gutters for props.
New York Times "Carpetbagger" interview, Youtube's growing influence , January 2007
M dot Strange's first feature, "We Are The Strange," came to Sundance with a huge YouTube audience. The Carpetbagger sits down with him. (link)
Liberacion , Mon film est un message encodé pour les humains des années 3010 , March 2007
EXCERPT-Etrange film, étrale d’histoire que celle de We are the Strange, long métrage d’animation 100% fait maison par l’énigmatique geekM Dot Strange, alias Mike Belmont. Pendant trois ans, le jeune homme de 27 ans, basé à San José en Californie, s’est enfermé avec sa Gameboy dans sa chambre bourrée d’ordinateurs, travaillant comme un forçat à la réalisation de cet ovni hypnotique. (link)
Triple-J- National Australian youth radio, Str8nime, 12-2-07
We are the Strange profiled by host Mark Fennel. (link)
ABC World News, Sundance Sucks: Is Youtube Its Successor?, 12-2-07
On camera interview about my experience at Sundance 2007. (link)
Speaking Engagement/Workshop Highlights
Resfest Brazil, Sao Paolo, Brazil, March 2007
Two solo lectures about DIY filmmaking and mixed media animation. (link)
Picnic Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands, October 2007
One solo lecture on next generation filmmaking and one panel about online film distribution. (link)
Berlin Talent Campus, Berlin, Germany, February 2008, 2009
Guest “Expert” Two solo workshops on internet distribution and DIY filmmaking, also hosted one event and was on two panels. (link)
BAVC Innovation Salon, San Francisco, Ca, March 2008
On a panel about independent filmmaking
South by Southwest Film Festival, Austin, Texas, March 2008
On a panel about online film piracy. (link)
Final Cut Pro Supermeet, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 2008
Featured Speaker. Solo workshop getting into the details of high definition mixed media animation production. (link)
DIY DAYS LA/SF, Los Angeles, San Francisco, May 2008
Featured Speaker. Two solo workshops about internet film distribution + 2 panels. (link)
Youtube Filmmakers Event, Los Angeles, Ca, June 2008
Featured Speaker. Panel about my experiences as a filmmaker on Youtube. (link)
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, July 2008
Featured Speaker. Solo workshop about creativity and developing your own style. (link)
Acko Film Festival, Bratislava, Slovakia, October 2008
Featured Speaker. Two solo workshops about internet film distribution and mixed media animation. (link)
Power to the Pixel, London, England, November 2008
World Gone Digital, Rome, Italy, November 2008
Featured Speaker on a panel about self distribution.
Macworld Supermeet, San Francisco, Ca, January 2009
Featured Speaker. Presentation about 3d character animation techniques. (link)
Fresh Film Festival, Limerick, Ireland March 2009
Special guest speaker. Workshop about 3d character animation techniques and did stop motion animation with a classroom of 10 year olds. (link)
Edinburgh Film Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland June 2009
Special guest speaker. Workshop about online film distribution and building audiences. (link)
PIXEL conference, Paris, France December 2009
Special guest speaker. Workshop about online film distribution and building audiences. (link)
Other
Most popular full length animated “movie” on Youtube as of 10-09. Featured three times on the front page of Youtube.com (link)
Original videos have over 3.65 million views on Youtube with 6100+ Subscribers (link)
- Recently featured in the book “Crowdsourcing” by Wired Magazine contributing editor Jeff Howe and the book “Friends Fans and followers” by Variety writer Scott Kirsner.
Education
San Jose State University, 2002, Bachelor of Science : Kinesiology Major, Nutrition Minor
