Over a decade in the making, Consuming Spirits is the hypnotic and elegiac first feature by award-winning animator Chris Sullivan. Set in a dreary Rustbelt town, the film follows late-night radio host Earl Gray, wilting violet Jenny, who cares for her foul-mouthed, Alzheimer’s-stricken mother and Jenny’s sometime boyfriend Victor Blue, whose days teeter at the edge of sobriety.
One evening while driving home, Jenny hits a nun in full habit on the highway, setting off a string of events that reveal a long and twisty history among Jenny, Earl, and Victor, involving family dysfunction, foster care, and 
old wounds longing to heal. Sullivan’s intricate hand-drawn and cut-out animations telegraph his characters’ conflicting and complicated emotions while depicting the minute tragedies and triumphs that make up a life.
USA, 136’00
At The Horse Hospital book tickets
Director Biography
Chris Sullivan is an animator, filmmaker and performance artist whose experimental film and theatre work spans 30 years. His work has been shown in festivals, theatres and museums worldwide receiving many accolades and awards along the way.
CONSUMING SPIRITS (trailer) by Chris Sullivan from chris sullivan animation on Vimeo.
