Short Film 'Cadaver' Reawakens as Graphic Novel

A work of art doesn’t typically make its public debut as a short film and later become a graphic novel.

But nothing is quite ordinary about Jonah Ansell’s Cadaver, which started as a poem he wrote for his sister the day she dissected her first human corpse in medical school.

Ansell will be speaking about the work’s evolution and screening the film April 23 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, alongside fellow Oak Park native Tavi Gevinson, who narrated the animated film. 

Central to the talk will be Ansell’s journey to find the right medium for the story. After directing the film, which was long listed for a 2013 Academy Award, he felt there was more to explore in the story of a cadaver who awakens from the dead to discover a heartbreaking secret. The film also features the voices of Christopher Lloyd and Kathy Bates. 

A graphic novel seemed like the right fit, Ansell said, because it would slow down the story.

“I loved letting my eye linger on the page and reflect on the words,” he said. 

Ansell cast Gevinson, a family friend, after having worked with her on his 2007 short, First Bass, well before she became famous for her blog, Style Rookie, and later the online magazine Rookie.

“She had a very wonderful intelligence to her,” he said. “Even at a young age she carried herself so well.” Gevinson also contributed to the soundtrack by singing songs from Neil Young and the Pet Shop Boys.

For a story about destiny, it’s also fitting that Cadaver’s transformation from poem to film to graphic novel followed Ansell’s sister’s studies through med school.

Just a few weeks ago, she matched at Columbia University for her residency in dermatology and will graduate from Northwestern University one month to the day after Ansell speaks at the MCA—starting the next phase of her life just as Cadaver begins its.

The Cadaver screening and talk with Jonah Ansell and Tavi Gevinson is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 23 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Tickets are $8 for members, $10 for nonmembers and $6 for students. A booksigning will follow. For more information, visit www2.mcachicago.org. 

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