One-of-a-Kind Painter Inspires One-of-a-Kind Film: Upcoming biopic Loving Vincent, based on the life of Vincent Van Gogh, is set to be the first hand-painted animated feature film. Directed by Polish painter Dorota Kobiela and British filmmaker Hugh Welchman, the film will follow the life and death of the Dutch artist, drawing from 120 of his paintings and 800 of his personal letters. The 80-minute film will require approximately 57,000 hand-painted frames, which is why the filmmakers are actively recruiting painters to travel to Poland and contribute to the groundbreaking project on the website for the film. In the modern CGI-dominated world of film, this new project will showcase handcrafted beauty and honor the spirit of the artist on whom it focuses. The filmmakers recently released a breathtaking trailer for this unique project, which can be seen here. Certainly a film all art fans will be looking forward to!

Hundreds of Films from the Past for Free on YouTube: In an unprecedented move, Paramount Pictures has launched a YouTube channel allowing users access to hundreds of full-length licensed movies for free. Experts speculate the move is an attempt by Paramount to gather advertising revenue from movies that otherwise bring in little money. The Paramount Vault includes a few classics, like King Solomon’s Mines and Masters of the Universe, but otherwise consists of movies that would otherwise go largely unwatched. The Vault also includes clips from more well-known movies like Airplane, Clueless, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, to entice fans to buy or rent online. An official statement from Paramount explains: “Viewers are invited to explore the vast landscape of cinema’s history, share their favorite films, and discover new ones through this official channel…” Regardless of the revenue-based motives that may lurk behind this move, it is wonderful that younger generations now have access to a wealth of films from the past that may otherwise be forgotten in the shadow of today’s blockbusters.

Dogs Bring Stress Relief to Ballerinas: The American Ballet Theater allows dancers in the company to bring their dogs to work not only at their home location in New York City but also while touring. The hashtag #dogsofabt allows fans to follow the adorable pictures of dancers being supported and uplifted by their canine friends. The policy came out of a need to provide stress relief for the dancers: “Because it’s a very stressful work environment, there’s so much competition…it’s very exhausting, emotionally and physically,” explains artistic administrator Tina Escoda. In recent years, more and more campuses and companies have been experimenting with pet therapy as a way to alleviate anxiety. The ABT pro-dog policy is a heart-warming way to provide emotional support to these talented and dedicated dancers, so they may keep creating beauty for the rest of us!

Showcasing the Remnants of Relationships: The Museum of Broken Relationships, set to open in Los Angeles in May of this year, will showcase the physical relics of broken relationships. The Museum Director, Alexis Hyde, draws from submissions from any person “overcoming any type of broken relationship”–not just of the romantic variety. She explains: “It is lovers and it is romantic, but it’s also your family, your friends, maybe business relationships, or even like with your country.” Hyde further explains the particular intrigue of these objects–most of them have little to no intrinsic physical value, but instead are loaded with “a lot of emotional heaviness.” An existing Museum of Broken Relationships currently exists in Croatia; it opened in 2010 and provided the inspiration for the Los Angeles-based location when the president of the LA location visited it on vacation. The LA location is still accepting submissions, and will likely include a more permanent collection of items with higher value, like wedding rings and dresses. The museum is certainly an intriguing way to appreciate the materiality of loss and pay homage to the emotional gravity seemingly value-less items can carry with them!