HESUS JOY CHRIST /

Matthew's Two Four       

Matthew's One Too !

Matthew's Two

Matthew's Three Fold

Matthew's Foretold

Matthew's Five's Nine

      An eyewitness tour through the Gospel of Matthew, to a concept thoroughly rooted in faith yet paving the way far beyond anything yet imagined – the concept of marriage.  As shows such as Family Guy, after The Simpsons, have established, animation clearly communicates the simple truths of complex dynamic social systems and practices and is uniquely suited to relating these truths. Indeed, since the sinking of the Lusitania, this is animation's destiny !  As shrewd as any two bit advertising executive, HESUS JOY CHRIST puts images to work establishing the divine role of marriage as put forth, as far as I can tell, in Pope John Paul II's 'Theology of the Body'.

      Personal concrete references to the life of the filmmaker flesh out the first five episodes of HESUS JOY CHRIST .  Matthew's Two Four, based on the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, which is about the signs of the end of the age, is the beginning of this series, as the beginning end of this age of HESUS JOY CHRIST. Matthew's One Too ! is from the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew and lists the matrigeneosophy of the matriarchal influences before continuing on to the story of the conception of marriage. Matthew's Two , relating to the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, which is the story of the Wise Men and the escape to Egypt, becomes the story of the marriage relationship preparing to be acknowledged. Matthew's Three Fold, from the third chapter of Matthew, is about an early minister of marriage acknowledging a marriage relationship.  Matthew's Foretold, from the fourth chapter of Matthew, is about the temptation endured by the marriage relationship and the influence that relationship has on the community.

      The animation is fully coloured simple line drawings, carrying the story that although simple, bears considerable consideration. Approximately 20,000 words have been, or will be, written by the filmmaker discussing the text of each animation alone, and can be read at  www.sites.google.com/site/vid932008 .

      Matthew's Five's Nine, is based on the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, which includes the Beatitudes, and is currently in production. Two previews may be viewed at  www.sites.google.com/site/vid932008 . It may take years to complete this full production that began in 2010. This episode does not have any references to the personal life of the filmmaker.

Biography of the Artist

      David Foster achieved an Honors Diploma from Sheridan College's Art Fundamentals Program before being accepted into their Classical Animation Program in 1993. Years later, he completed a six minute 35mm animated film, with the assistance of the Liaison of Independent Film of Toronto – LIFT – and the Ontario Arts Council, entitled HYPOTHERMIA / My Kayak Prayer . Since that film's completion in 2008, he has completed five episodes of the series HESUS JOY CHRIST, taking the Gospel of Matthew, chapter by chapter, and animating how it points to marriage by referring to events in his life. He is currently working on the sixth episode, Matthew's Five's Nine that, although an original retelling of the Beatitudes as well as the rest of chapter five, does not refer to events in his life.  This is a more thorough production with an accordingly much longer production time line.