Very Semi-Serious

A charming look at the world of The New Yorker cartoons

2015 | Running Time: 81 minutes | Rating: NR

The New Yorker is renowned for its charming, offbeat and sometimes baffling single-panel comics. With VERY SEMI-SERIOUS viewers get an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at Cartoon Editor Bob Mankoff’s process and motivations. Each week, Mankoff sifts through hundreds of submissions to bring readers a carefully curated selection of insightful and humorous work, striving to nurture new talent and represent the magazine’s old guard, while also considering how his industry must evolve to stay relevant. Legendary cartoonists like Roz Chast and Mort Gerberg are profiled and the film also meditates on what it means to laugh at ourselves. VERY SEMI-SERIOUS premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. Director/Producer: Leah Wolchek; Producer: Davina Pardo; Executive Producer: Deborah Shaffer, Regina K. Scully, Bruce Sinofsky

Emmy Award 2016: Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming, Outstanding Documentary Editing (nomination)
Chicago International Film Festival 2015: Best Documentary (nomination)
Tribeca Film Festival 2015: Best Documentary (nomination)
San Francisco International Film Festival 2015: Bay Area Documentary Feature, Documentary Feature (nomination)

“Wolchok’s film is quite charming, as is the world it explores.”

VOGUE

Tags: Documentary, Feature, Culture, Biography