Documentary

August 30th, 2011

Making Faces

Director: Richard Kegler, USA, 2011, 45 min

5 p.m. at Kinodvor

The documentary film Making faces reveals the personality and working procedures of Jim Rimmer, the recently deceased Canadian font and graphic designer (1931–2010) who created over 200 fonts. The film focuses on his dedication to the trade and reveals the secrets of creating lead fonts. Nowadays, designers no longer need to be acquainted with the procedure of creating metal letters and Rimmer’s humour and his intelligent descriptions make the film viewing a pleasant and interesting experience.

In 2008 the type foundry P22 from Buffalo (USA) commissioned Jim Rimmer to create a new font known as RTF Stern, which became the first font that was simultaneously developed digitally and in lead. Rimmer was one of the few who still had the knowledge necessary to produce metal letters.

The film documents every step in the production process: in the beginning it follows Rimmer as he thinks about the anatomy of letters and plans the new font, and then it follows him as he cuts out cardboard matrixes. He uses very old machinery to engrave the matrixes, and it is a truly pleasurable experience to watch the machine for forging lead letters, which is a combination of complex mechanics and lead heated to its melting point.

This film will be an inspiration for anyone working in the field of graphic design, book printing or any other graphic industry; one might even go as far as to say it should not be missed.

For more on the circumstances in which the film was made go here, or you can watch the trailer.

About the director: Richard Kegler is the founder and main designer at type foundry P 22. He is also the general manager of the WNY Book Arts Centre in Buffalo. He holds a Master’s degree from the Department of Media Studies at the University of Buffalo.

Participation fee: €4, €3.5 (students)

Further information:

+ 386 40 931 049, + 386 599 47 044, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it