A grizzly bear escapes from the city zoo. A man works late on his wedding anniversary.

Director’s Vision for ‘Grizzly Business’

I’ve always been a fan of cramming the bizarre into the regular, and backlighting a man’s desperate commute home from work with the escape of a 600-pound grizzly bear is a prime example of said cramming. On one hand, Grizzly Business is an unconventional way to use the classic idea of man vs. nature to address how a slanted work-life balance can affect what matters most. On the other hand, Grizzly Business is a stupid joke that makes me chuckle. On the third, secret hand I keep tucked in my jacket, Grizzly Business is a personal experiment in bringing a project like this to life as a one-man animation crew. The past two years of working on this project have been the most in tune I’ve ever been with my creative practice, and the sheer growth I’ve felt as both an artist and filmmaker has made the whole process so worthwhile. It’s even made my own daily commute home from work creatively inspiring rather than soul-sucking. Almost.