Case of the Vanishing Gods

A fable out of time told with puppets and film clips, The Case of the Vanishing Gods is a new kind of hybrid: half dream / half document. Our hero is a tortured ventriloquist’s dummy named Hugo who’s lost his memory. Under hypnosis his lost memories are recovered, and relate a cultural history of ventriloquism from the prophetic tradition to the modern horror film. Join Hugo on this strange journey into the hidden lives of puppets, and into the collective unconscious that links them to our own lives. Written, Photographed, Directed and Edited by ROSS LIPMAN

Shown by Locarno Film Festival, American Cinematheque, Music Box Theatre, UnionDocs

Ventriloquism: Karl Herlinger

Puppetry: Audrey Densmore, Eli Presser, Jeff Speetjens, Michael Serwich