James Belfer

Producer

Biography

James Belfer is the Founder and CEO of Cartuna - a Brooklyn-based production company focused on animation, puppetry, DIY art and alt-comedy. Film credits include BY DESIGN, AJ GOES TO THE DOG PARK (Fantastic Fest 2024), STRAWBERRY MANSION (Sundance 2021), Sundance Special Jury Prize winner NUTS! (Sundance 2016), Berlinale Silver Bear winner PRINCE AVALANCHE (Sundance 2013), COMPLIANCE (Sundance 2012), Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner LIKE CRAZY, and SYLVIO

Filmography

6.4

Compliance

On a particularly busy day at a suburban Ohio fast food restaurant, manager Sandra receives a phone call from a police officer saying that an employee has stolen money from a customer.

6.4

Like Crazy

A British college student falls for an American student, only to be separated from him when she's banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa.

5.8

By Design

A woman swaps bodies with a chair, and everyone likes her better as a chair.

4.9

The Romantics

Alliances are tested when seven college pals reunite to watch two of their own say “I do” at a seaside wedding. But the maid of honor and the groom share a passionate history, and the bride isn’t the only one who’s wondering if it’s all in the past.

5.3

Salvation Boulevard

Set in the world of mega-churches in which a former Deadhead-turned-born-again-Christian finds himself on the run from fundamentalist members of his mega-church who will do anything to protect their larger-than-life pastor.

N/A

Living With A Visionary

After 50 years of marriage, John must care for his wife while learning to live alongside her vivid hallucinations.

6.8

Strawberry Mansion

In the not-too-distant future, an all-seeing surveillance state conducts “dream audits” to collect taxes on the unconscious lives of the populace. Mild-mannered government agent James Preble travels to a remote farmhouse to audit the dreams of Arabella “Bella” Isadora, an eccentric, aging artist. Entering Bella’s vast VHS archive, which contains a lifetime of dreams, Preble stumbles upon a secret that offers him a chance at love—and hope for escape.

6.1

Prince Avalanche

Two highway road workers spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind.

N/A

Tammy’s Tiny Tea Time

A maladjusted 42-year-old woman with the emotional capacity of a child shrinks herself to the size of her toys and forces them to entertain her before introducing several unrelated animated shorts. In each episode, the gang enjoys a lively chat, game, or orgy, and then it’s time for Tammy’s Toonz, which consists of several animated short films by various artists. They’re dark, bizarre, and unforgivably crude, and they have absolutely nothing to do with the main storyline.

N/A

SpongeBob Reimagined

In this reimagined version of SpongeBob SquarePants, the beloved cartoon is transformed into a gothic 3D claymation masterpiece. Set in the eerie town of Rock Bottom, this interpretation explores darker themes while retaining the humour and charm of the original series. The Burtonesque art style and atmospheric storytelling make this a standout work in the SpongeBob Reimagined series.

5.8

OBEX

Conor Marsh lives a secluded life with his dog, Sandy, until one day he begins playing OBEX, a new, state-of-the-art computer game. When Sandy goes missing, the line between reality and game blurs and Conor must venture into the strange world of OBEX to bring her home.

5.8

Like Me

After posting a video of herself robbing a convenience store, Kiya amasses a huge social media following. A reckless loner, she seeks some form of genuine human connection. Through her travels, she encounters a drifter, an Internet troll and a paint huffing outsider who are all pulled into her circle of chaos, junk food, and drugs.

6.7

Nuts!

The true story of John Romulus Brinkley, a small-town Kansas doctor who discovers in 1917 that he can cure impotence by transplanting goat testicles into men. And that’s just the tipping point in this stranger-than-fiction tale. With the balls of a P.T. Barnum, the gonads of goats, and the wishful dreams of flaccid men, Brinkley amassed a fortune, was almost elected Governor of Kansas, invented junk mail and the infomercial, and built the world’s most powerful radio station. By the time all of the twists and turns of Brinkley’s story are revealed, Nuts! certainly earns its title.

6.5

Sylvio

A small town gorilla joins a local TV program and a series of on-air mishaps threaten to shatter his identity, sending him on an adventure of self-discovery where reality and fantasy start to blend.

9.0

AJ Goes to the Dog Park

When AJ loses his favorite dog park, he must fight, fish, scrap, scrape, and sap to get it back.

10.0

Jingle Bell Rock: Mean Girls Gets Animated

The iconic “Jingle Bell Rock” scene from Mean Girls was transformed into an animated music video. Cady and the plastics bust out the moves in this holiday special with grooves by Safari Riot. Don't miss this short film filled with holiday cheer and Mean Girls easter eggs. So FETCH!

6.0

Under Covers

On the night of a lunar eclipse, we uncover the sweet, salacious, and spooky secrets of a small town. From a pigtailed psychopath to naughty nuns, this stop-motion animated film conjures a comforting thought: that weird is relative.

N/A

Moonfish

On a distant asteroid, a grieving astronaut discovers unforeseen mysteries while exploring beneath its surface.

8.3

Tux and Fanny

Tux and Fanny are two friends living together in the forest and these are their adventures!

9.0

I Am Duck

Dumped out into a desert, an oblivious duck plunges headlong into a quest for bread.