‘The Eyeslicer,’ a New Variety Series, Launches Kickstarter Campaign

Here’s a new concept: Invite-only TV. That’s the idea behind “The Eyeslicer,” an hourlong variety show for which the producing duo of Dan Schoenbrun and Vanessa McDonnell just launched a new Kickstarter. The project, which seeks to “bring the next generation of alternative American filmmakers together under one strange roof,” will launch its 10-episode first season in January. Among the filmmakers slated to contribute are David Lowery (“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” “Pete’s Dragon”) and the Zellner Brothers (“Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter”).

“When you’re watching ‘The Eyeslicer,’” write co-creators Shoenbrun and McDonell, “you’ll be introduced to work that’s incredibly diverse in genre, style and aesthetic. Shorts from the depths of YouTube next to shorts from the best festivals in the world. Shorts that are hilarious, terrifying, and completely WTF next to shorts that are subtle, quiet, and beautiful. Heartbreaking next to life affirming. 16mm next to amateur computer animation. Remix art next to vérité documentary. But everything you’ll see will be united by a stalwart counterculture ethos and a desire to push at the boundaries of what filmmaking can be.”

As for the way it’ll feel on an episode-to-episode level, the two describe “The Eyeslicer” as “a hand-crafted mixtape, blending short films, animation, video art, and more into a weird, wild, uninterrupted whole.” They’re seeking $28,000 from the crowdfunding campaign,

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