Manual Cinema, a Chicago-based Emmy Award–winning collective, design studio, and film/video production company, aims to redefine storytelling through a fusion of art forms. They combine the ancient art of shadow puppetry with modern cinematic techniques, multichannel sound design, and original music, culminating in a unique theatrical experience. 

Manual Cinema was established in 2010 by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller, and Kyle Vegter. Their shadow puppets were featured in the 2021 film remake of Candyman, directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions. Other works include live theatrical performances, such as “Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster” (2022), inspired by children’s book author Mo Willems, and “A Christmas Carol” (2020) adapted from Charles Dickens’s 1843 classic. 

In 2022, the collective earned recognition as part of “Players 50 [of] 2022: The Rising Stars and Storefront Stalwarts” of Chicago theater by Newcity Stage, following their title as “Chicagoans of the Year” in 2018 by the Chicago Tribune. In 2017, Manual Cinema was honored with an Emmy Award for “The Forger,” a video commissioned by made in conjunction with The New York Times. Manual Cinema has participated in international puppet festivals, including the Tehran Mobarak Puppet Festival in 2014, where they presented “Ada/Ava.”