Anytime Christopher Nolan finishes a movie, we take notice. Both for the movie itself and for the infinite possibilities of what he’ll do next. It turns out, after Interstellar, the director made a short documentary, it’s already done and screening in New York City this August.
The film is called Quay and it’s about Stephen and Timothy Quay, a pair of identical twin stop-motion animators who have been making highly influential and revered short films for decades. Nolan’s documentary will play August 19 as part of a Brothers Quay retrospective at the Film Forum in New York City, which Nolan himself is curating. It’ll feature their movies In Absentia (2000), The Comb (1991) and Crocodiles (1986), all screening on 35mm film. You an be damn sure Nolan’s will screen like that too.
Nolan’s Quay answers one question and opens the door to a few others. It answers the question, “Why haven’t we heard much from Christopher Nolan since he released Interstellar last year?” Well, he was working on this movie. As for the questions it raises, one is do you think Nolan could collaborate with the Quays for his next film? And even if he doesn’t, could he do a documentary next? An animated film? Then, most generally, when will we find out what his next project is? Nolan has never been one to rush into anything so there’s a good chance we won’t hear what he’s doing next for sometime, but with Quay completed, a window is now open.
Finally, here’s a short film by the Quay Brothers to give you an idea of what Nolan is getting into.