Overview:

The Free Thinking Film Festival was started in 2010 in Ottawa to provide an outlet for filmmakers and moviegoers alike who are looking for an alternative to the ‘alternative’. In other words, we celebrate the efforts of risk-taking documentarians whose work espouses the values of limited, democratic government, free market economies, equality of opportunity rather than equality of result, and the dignity of the individual, all underscored by a healthy and patriotic respect for Western culture and traditions. Although there are a lot of courageous voices in the non-fiction film industry producing thoughtful pieces of art which reject cultural relativism, central economic planning and American culpability for all that ills the world, you wouldn’t know it by looking at the listings for most art house cinemas. The SecondAnnual Free Thinking Film Festival runs from November 11-13th, 2011 at the Bronson Centre and Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa.

Event Highlights:

• 20+ films
• Panel discussions
• DVD/Book Table
• Food/Drink

Festival Information:

General phone contact: Fred Litwin (613) 261-9060
General information contact: email

Locations:
Bronson Centre, 211 Bronson Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1R 6H4
Library & Archives Canada, 395 Wellington, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N4

On the Web:

Website: www.freethinkingfilms.com
Online tickets: www.ticketweb.ca
Facebook: www.facebook.com/FreeThinkingFilms
Twitter: www.twitter.com/FreeThinkFilms
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/FreeThinkingFilms

For a complete list, go to www.inside-out.ca/ottawa10/english/schedule.html.Tickets to Lister are $16 and $11 for other films, or $33 for a festival pass; they can be purchased through the website or at Venus Envy, 320 Lisgar St. Films will be shown at the National Gallery or SAW Gallery.

Inside Out has grown to become Ottawa-Gatineau’s largest queer event after Pride and the third largest film festival in the city. In only four years, the Ottawa-Gatineau LGBT Film and Video Festival has become a cultural force in the city, bringing to the screen our achievements, our struggles and our determination.

Read the full press release on Ottawa Start: Inside Out Ottawa-Gatineau LGBT Film and Video Festival

Canada’s first film festival to celebrate “limited government, free market economics and the dignity of the individual” kicks off Friday in Ottawa.

The Free Thinking Film Festival, sponsored by Ottawa’s Free Thinking Film Society, will take place Nov. 12 to 14 at Library and Archives Canada, and will feature three galas, and 19 films. There will also be a Free Thinking Alley where attendees can buy books, DVDs and food.

Full story: Free Thinking Film Festival breaks ground

For more than two decades, the World Inter-Action Mondiale has been raising awareness about social issues through its annual One World Film Festival.

The festival returns Friday through Sunday at Library and Archives Canada at 395 Wellington St. with 10 new documentaries over three days. “Documentary films have the power to expand what people know about the world they live in,” said festival co-chair Carolyn Elliott-Magwood.

More on the Metro Ottawa website: Metro Minute at One World film fest

The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) comes to an end with a highly anticipated closing ceremonies which were held this evening at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. OIAF organizers announced the 2010 winners of the official competition during the ceremonies.

This year’s OIAF, which were held from October 20 to 24, was a tremendous success. The festival was packed with special screenings, sold out workshops and high profile networking events such as TAC (Television Animation Conference) and the “Students-for-Hire” Animation School Fair.

The OIAF is a major international film event that attracts more than 27,000 film buffs, art lovers, producers, and cartoon fans from around the world. Although the final numbers are not yet officially in, there are strong indications that this year’s festival reached the highest attendance to date.

The members of the 2010 International Jury for the Short Program, Student and Commissioned Films are: Frances Leeming (Canada), Munro Ferguson (Canada), and Maya Yonesho (Japan). The members of the International Jury for the Feature Film Competition are: Atsushi Wada (Japan), Torill Kove (Canada/Norway), and Michaela Pavlatova (Czech Republic).

The OIAF 2010 also has a special Kids Jury made up of local kids to select the Best Short Animation and the Best Television Animation Made for Children. This year’s Kids Jury members are: Riel Schryer, Rowan Martineau, Traicy Quintero, Erica Vong, Marc Patterson, Liza Roik, Thomas Berry, William von Herff, Namira Keshavjee, Kiera Kealey and Lara Kelly.

The 2010 Nelvana GRAND PRIZE for Best Independent Short Animation ($3,000 CDN) is:
· The External World by David O’Reilly (United Kingdom).
“A unique reconstruction of the universe.”

The 2010 GRAND PRIZE for Best Animated Feature is:
· Goodbye Mister Christie by Phil Mulloy (United Kingdom).

The 2010 Walt Disney Animation Studios GRAND PRIZE for Best Student Animation is:
· Prayers for Peace by Dustin Grella (U.S.A.).
“Moving and honest.”

The 2010 GRAND PRIZE for Best Commissioned Animation is:
· Going West by Martin Andersen and Line Andersen (New Zealand).
“Conceptual sophistication and exquisite rendering.”

The 2010 Best Animation School Showreel is:
· Tokyo Arts University (Japan).
Honourable Mention: Rhode Island School of Design (U.S.A.)

The 2010 Best Narrative Short is:
· This is love by Lei Lei (China).
“Because we loved it.”

The 2010 Best Experimental/Abstract Animation is:
· Little Deaths by Ruth Lingford.
“Describing the indescribable.”

The 2010 Adobe Prize for Best High School Animation is:
· Where is the love by Dae Woen Yoon and Joe Woo Shin (South Korea).
“Careful drawing and good story.”

The 2010 Best Undergraduate Animation is:
· LGFUAD by Kelsey Stark (U.S.A.).
“Shows a lot of spirit.”

The 2010 Best Graduate Animation is:
· Prayers for Peace by Dustin Grella (U.S.A.).
“Moving and honest.”

The 2010 Best Promotional Animation is:
· WWF ‘Heroes of the UAE’ by Josiah Newbolt and Ben Falk (United Kingdom).
“For its memorable twist.”

The 2010 Best Music Video is:
· Blockhead ‘The Music Scene’ by Anthony Schepperd (U.S.A.).
“Powerful, non-stop fluidity.”

The 2010 Best Television Animation for Adults is:
· Midtown Twist by Gary Leib (U.S.A.).
“Jazzy, upbeat fun.”

Special Mention: Tord och Tord (Tord and Tord) by Niki Lindroth von Bahr (Sweden)
Reason: “Warm and fuzzy, yet dry and dark.”

Special Mention: Fumiko no Kokuhaku (Fumiko’s Confession) by Ishida Hiroyasu (Japan)
Reason: “Amazing technique and energy.”

The 2010 Best Short Animation Made for Children is:
· Cul de bouteille (Specky Four Eyes) by Jean-Claude Rozec (France).
Honourable Mention: Diversity by Anthony Dusko (U.S.A.)

The 2010 Best Television Animation Made for Children is:
· The Gruffalo by Jakob Schuh and Max Lang (United Kingdom).
Honourable Mention: Spliced ‘Helen’ by Matt Ferguson (Canada)

The 2010 National Film Board of Canada PUBLIC PRIZE is:
· Sinna Mann (Angry Man) by Anita Killi (Norway).

The Canadian Film Institute (CFI) Award for Best Canadian Animation is:
· Lipsett Diaries by Theodore Ushev (Canada).
Honourable Mention: Playtime by Steven Woloshen (Canada)

About the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF)

OIAF 2010 was held from October 20 to 24 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Events at OIAF included special screenings, panels, workshops, parties and TAC. The OIAF is North America’s animation film festival featuring cutting-edge programming catering to industry executives, trend-setting artists, students and animation fans. As an annual five-day, the OIAF brings art and industry together in a vibrant hub, attracting more than 27,000 film buffs, art lovers, producers and cartoon fans around the world. For more information about the OIAF, please visit: www.animationfestival.ca.

With the Ottawa International Animation festival opening today, organizers worked overtime to get ready for an expected 27,000 cartoon enthusiasts.

“The staff has been up late trying to get everything ready in time,” said festival managing director Kelly Neall. “It’s always a mad rush at the end to prepare everything, but we’re almost there. Everybody’s pretty excited.”

Full Story: Mad rush for animation festival

Anyone who thinks that animation is an art form strictly for children should have a look at Roof Sex, a short, sharp, cheekily amusing American film in which two livingroom chairs have a wild time together on an apartment building rooftop, without using upholstery covers for protection.

It’s just one of dozens of edgy pieces among the more than 140 films from around the world that will be on Ottawa screens as part of the Ottawa International Animation Festival. The annual festival opens today and runs to Oct. 24, at venues that include the ByTowne Cinema and the National Gallery of Canada.

The festival includes family and children-oriented screenings, including short films from Disney, Pixar and Ottawa’s Amberwood Entertainment, but festivalgoers will also see a wide range of films that are decidedly not recommended for children — films with serious themes that include mental illness and abusive fathers.

Full story: Cartoons and beyond

KENK is groundbreaking graphic novel that has wide appeal. It’s a new hybrid that simultaneously takes the form of documentary film, journalistic profile and comic book. Now the team behind the book is working on turning it into an animated film.

The 304-page journalistic comic book details the life and times of Igor Kenk, “the world’s most prolific bicycle thief” (The New York Times and The Guardian). In summer 2008, Kenk was arrested and nearly 3,000 bicycles were seized in one of the biggest news stories of the year. Built from more than 30 hours of never-before-seen intimate footage taken over the year leading up to his arrest, KENK is a thought-provoking and surprisingly funny portrait of a neighborhood figure and a city in flux, both wracked by the forces of gentrification, a burgeoning global environmental and economic crisis that promise to define our generation.

KENK is produced and conceived by Alex Jansen, based on documentary footage shot by Jansen and Ottawa born filmmaker/designer Jason Gilmore. It is written by acclaimed journalist and avid cyclist Richard Poplak, whose books include The Sheikh’s Batmobile: In Pursuit of American Pop Culture in the Muslim World and Ja, No, Man: Growing Up White in Apartheid-Era South Africa with Penguin, and it is illustrated by Toronto-based artist Nick Marinkovich, who adapted Sony Picture’s Underworld and has done various comics with Marvel, IDW and Image. KENK is produced and published under Pop Sandbox.

“The video source footage for KENK was shot entirely with the graphic novel in mind. The focus during filming was on capturing a wide variety of good still images, and not worrying as much about getting the perfect “take,” said Kenk and Ottawa-native filmmaker and designer Gilmore. “We knew that if we ever wanted to create a film-based project out of the raw footage, it would need to be treated very creatively. That’s where the idea of an animated short film came from.”

The KENK: Animating a Graphic Novel presentation happens at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 23 at the Library and Archives Canada auditorium. The creative team behind KENK will talk about its many facets and discuss the unique process behind creating a new, hybrid, multi-platform documentary, as well as offer a first look at the ongoing animation.

Following the KENK presentation, the whole team will be on hand to sign copies of the book.

Passholders for both festivals have free entry to this event. Individual tickets are $15 at the door.

The KENK: Animating a Graphic Novel presentation will be followed by a screening of the classic 1948 Italian neorealist film, The Bicycle Thief, directed by Vittorio De Sica.

For a complete list of films, schedules, special screenings and events at this year’s OIAF, visit: www.animationfestiva.ca. 

About the Ottawa International Writers Festival

The 2010 Fall Edition of the Ottawa International Writers Festival runs from October 20 to 26 and features the world’s most acclaimed talent from all genres. Guests include Scott Turow, William Gibson, Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cunningham, Giller Prize winner David Bergen, Booker nominee Emma Donoghue and Governor General’s Award winners Kate Pullinger, Richard B. Wright and MT Kelly. Non-Fiction highlights include Dan Gardner, Eric Siblin, Marina Nemat, Ezra Levant, Ian Morris, Charlotte Gray and New York Times bestseller David Rakoff.

About Ottawa International Animation Festival

The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is one of the world’s leading animation events providing screenings, exhibits, workshops and entertainment since 1976. OIAF is an annual five-day event bringing art and industry together in a vibrant hub. More than 27,000 film buffs, art lovers, producers, and cartoon fans are expected to attend the OIAF, the largest animation event in North America. OIAF 2010 is taking place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada from October 20 to 24. For more information, please visit: www.animationfestival.ca.

“While crazy behaviour has long been a basic ingredient in comedy,” said Guest Curator and Animation Historian, Karl Cohen, “Historically, dramatic film rarely depicted mental illness, except for token mad scientists, criminally insane masterminds or rage-filled monsters. In recent years, a handful of animators have pioneered new styles of animated storytelling able to portray the serious side of life and the complexities of mental health.”

“Let’s Go Crazy” brings together a selection of animation portraying mental health, from Looney Toons to new independent shorts, each depicting how minds work in unique ways.

Some of the films included in the “Let’s Go Crazy” program are: The Case of the Stuttering Pig by Frank Tashlin; Tex Avery’s, Happy Go Nutty; The Tell Tale Heart from Ted Parmelle; Mike Judge’s, Beavis and Butthead; The Spine by Chris Landreth; and the Oscar-winning film, Harvie Krumpet.

 For a complete list of films, schedules, special screenings and events at this year’s OIAF, visit: www.animationfestiva.ca.

About Ottawa International Animation Festival

The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is one of the world’s leading animation events providing screenings, exhibits, workshops and entertainment since 1976. OIAF is an annual five-day event bringing art and industry together in a vibrant hub that attracts more than 27,000 artists, producers, students and animation fans from around the world. OIAF 2010 is being held from October 20 to 24 in Ottawa, Ontario. For more information, visit the OIAF website at: www.animationfestival.ca.