The Book of Visions Exhibitions and Awards

2006

Anthology Film Archives New Filmmakers Series, New York, NY
Arizona International Film Festival, Tucson, AZ
Slamdance Film Festival, Premiere, Park City, UT

2007

LDS Film Festival, Honorable Mention, Orem, UT
Best Film of the Year, Association of Mormon Letters

Here is the citation from the Association of Mormon Letters:

2006 AML Award for Film Presented to: Annie Poon
For: The Book of Visions

While the history of LDS animation has very few highlights, it portends an extremely bright future. Foremost among those advancing the art is New York City-based artist Annie Poon, whose stylistically innovative paper cut-out work has already been recognized by organizations such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Nickelodeon.

In The Book of Visions, Poon’s first color film, she juxtaposes the divine calling of Joseph Smith with those of two other youths, Joan of Arc and the twentieth-century Sioux chief Black Elk. Thus, for Latter-day Saints, the film defamiliarizes Joseph Smith’s story in two ways: through the startlingly original visual style and, particularly, through the inclusion of two revelatory experiences from outside the LDS canon. Poon presents them all as having equal veracity and thus challenges LDS viewers to accept a new revelation for perhaps the first time. The film thus frees Joseph Smith from the built up rhetoric of LDS thought, and challenges us to assess our belief in revelation anew. For those who can accept such a possibility, the film promises spiritual experiences to all who seek them, not just the chosen few. The Association for Mormon Letters honors Annie Poon’s vision with the 2006 Award for Film.