Dr. Jane Goodall-Narrated E.E. Cummings Adaptation, ‘anyone lived in a pretty how town,’ To Debut At SCAD Festival

Director Daniel Kreizberg will unveil his second animated short, anyone lived in a pretty how town, at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival on October 31. The eight-minute film, based on one of E.E. Cummings’ most beloved poems, was narrated and executive produced by Dr. Jane Goodall, the legendary ethologist and conservationist who passed away this week. The film’s world premiere will be presented in her honor.

The film will screen in the Professional Animated Shorts competition at Savannah’s landmark Lucas Theatre. Its painterly 2D animation draws directly from Cummings’ own impressionistic oils and watercolors, while its score features the late Yakov Kreizberg’s widely praised recording of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, the final work captured by the celebrated conductor and the director’s father.

For Kreizberg, the project has always been deeply personal, bridging art, family legacy, and ecological reflection. “Using my late father’s final recording as the film’s musical and emotional foundation felt like a true collaboration together,” he said. “The process has built a bridge to him across the seeming boundary between life and death … it is the realization of an impossible dream.”

In Honor of Jane Goodall

Goodall’s involvement gave the film an emotional resonance that now feels all the more poignant in light of her death. Reflecting on her contribution, Kreizberg tells us:

Early in the production, we had a discussion about who we might like to narrate the film. We had in mind a voice with warmth, wisdom, tenderness, and musicality. After some time, I had the idea for Jane, a guardian of the planet and champion of life, to give voice to Cummings’s story of love, mortality, and the enduring human spirit. Having seen my previous film, Tahlequah the Whale, she generously agreed to narrate this one. I think I can say we all felt her narration elevates the film’s emotional impact enormously, and we worked extensively to weave a fitting visual landscape around the gift of her voice. Just ten days before she passed away, I had the opportunity to meet with her and express our appreciation for her participation in our film. In those moments together, I felt a profound connection with her that I will never forget. It is a testament to the shining light she embodied, a light she illuminated in people around the world. I am honored that our film will be one of many ways that her beautiful voice will continue to resound. With deepest gratitude, we dedicate the World Premiere screening of anyone lived in a pretty how town to Jane.

The film marks one of Goodall’s final creative collaborations. Known globally for revolutionizing our understanding of primates and championing environmental stewardship, she also lent her voice to select artistic projects that underscored humanity’s bond with nature, a theme that resonates deeply in Kreizberg’s adaptation.

A Global Collaboration

The project brought together an international team: visual development was handled by New York’s The Studio, led by chief creative officer Mary Nittolo, and frame-by-frame character animation was provided by Lithuania’s Meinart Animation Studio, headed by producers Akvilė Bliujūtė-Janušė and Meinardas Valkevičius. Distribution is handled by Mailuki Films.

Support was provided by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Princess Grace Foundation, the Société de Gestion des Auteurs Monaco, the Jane Goodall Institute, and the Alex Nair Bhak Foundation.

Meditation on Love and Legacy

Blending poetry, romantic orchestral music, and hand-crafted digital animation, anyone who lives in a pretty how town explores the love story of “anyone” and “noone” against the backdrop of a small town becoming alienated and industrialized. Kreizberg describes the film as “a social and ecological fable for our times,” one that “invites viewers back to something deeply human.”

Already a premiere that was sure to turn heads, the SCAD screening will carry an added layer of significance this year with the recent passing of Dr. Goodall, whose voice carries the film through every frame.