Jay Buim, regular collaborator with Future Islands, and director of the moving, even-handed mini-doc about modern cowboy life for their huge hit Seasons (Waiting On You), has now returned to the documentary form for Motez's The Vibe. What he documents is a sight for sore eyes. In fact, you may not believe your eyes. 

Buim gained permission to film the delegates of a 'furry' convention, and records how the massive Marriot Marquis in downtown Atlanta is taken over by delegates wearing an astonishing array of imaginative cartoon-animal outfits.

Following their progress from dance rehearsals to final party bash – and never seeing the people inside the costumes – is a fascinating, if bizarre spectacle. It does not explain as much as provoke questions – like who makes these extraordinary outfits? And how do I get one?

JAY BUIM:

"One of my favourite things about making documentary style work is the access and freedom it provides you to interact with new people in the new places and situations. I have known about the Furry fandom for some time and was always curious about what it was actually like within their community.

"When Motez approached me about making something that had a party based focus, I immediately thought of doing something within the furry community. We reached out to Tiger Paw the CEO of FWA (Furry Weekend Atlanta) and all the other fine folks involved with FWA and asked them if we could hang around there for a few days, trying to capture the beauty and joy that exists during furry conventions. After talking with countless people within the community, it was clear that they felt no one from the outside really understood what they were about as is the case with most subcultures.

"In fact almost everyone referenced a CSI episode that painted the community in an unfavourable light as being the thing that set off the outsider perspective on the fandom. What I found over the course of four days was a warm and welcoming group of people, with a contagious attitude of pure joy that filled up the entire Marriot Marquis in downtown Atlanta.

"I hope that this video functions as something that people in the fandom can look at and get stoked about while at the same time giving outsiders a different perspective on what furries are about, a surreal and supremely fun way to move through this world."