Here’s what you’ll see at the animation festival
Peter Simpson, The Ottawa Citizen
More than 150 animated films — from as short as 10 seconds in length to this year’s record crop of feature-length entries — will be screened between today and Sunday evening. Ninety-nine of those films will be in official competition, and 58 others will be showcased outside the competition.
It’s all turning into the biggest year to date in the 33-year history of the Ottawa International Animation Festival, which can say without hyperbole that it attracts the best of the world’s animation, and some of its biggest hitters as guest speakers.
This year’s speakers include Henry Selick, director of Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, who will talk about his 2009 hit Coraline. Story supervisor Ronnie del Carmen will talk about the making of another big animated hit this year, Pixar’s Up!, and David Silverman will talk about directing The Simpsons Movie and 22 episodes of The Simpsons on TV.
Full preview available on Peter’s The Big Beat blog: Here’s what you’ll see at the animation festival
Animation Festival expects large crowds
Veronica Quach, Centretown News
The festival features the competition of animated films, including short films, PSAs, commercials and feature films. Approximately 100 films are selected from 1,000 entries from all over the world each year, says Kelly Neall, managing director of the festival. It also allows animation professionals and fans to get together and network.
More students groups are expected to boost attendance, says Neall. Groups from all over North America have time to organize and are expected to come out, she says. When the festival was held in September, schools did not have time to prepare, she says.
More than 1,500 people have signed up for passes this year and the festival expects to break the attendance record from last year, says Neall. People attend because the festival is one of the largest animation festivals in the world, she says.
Full story at centretownnewsonline.ca: Animation Festival expects large crowds
Animation buffet: Fest draws big industry names, enthusiasts
TRACEY TONG | METRO OTTAWA
From the new Wallace and Gromit movie to a new film by The Cat Came Back creator Cordell Barker and appearances by The Simpsons Movie director David Silverman, Up’s Ronnie del Carmen and Coraline director Henry Selick, the Ottawa International Animation Festival has “some pretty heavy stars in animation” here this year, said artistic director Chris Robinson.
The 33rd annual festival, which kicked off Wednesday and runs through Sunday, has “taken over downtown” with screenings at the Bytown, the Arts Court, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the National Gallery of Canada and the Empire Theatre, said Robinson.
With so many film choices – 99 in competition and 40 in the international showcase – and lectures, workshops and networking opportunities for those in the industry, Ottawans have a lot to choose from.
Read the full preview on Metro Ottawa online: Animation buffet
Chinese films selected for competition at Canadian animation festival
chinaview.cn
Three short films from the Chinese mainland were selected for competition at the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) which opened here on Wednesday.
“We are very exited to have Lei Lei, a Chinese animator here with three films in competition,” the OIAF’s managing director Kelly Neall told Xinhua in an interview at the opening ceremony in downtown Ottawa.
The three Chinese entries — “Magic Cube and Ping-Pong,” “Pears or Aliens” and “The Universe Cotton” — are all from Lei Lei, a 23-year-old up-and-coming multimedia animator, who graduated from Tsinghua University in 2007.
Full story: Chinese films selected for competition at Canadian animation festival
The 2009 Ottawa International Animation Festival
Migneault | Apt.613 blog
This week the Ottawa International Animation Festival will celebrate its 33rd year. No that wasn’t a typo. The Animation Festival has been around for more than three decades. In that time it has cemented itself as one of the premier animation festivals on the planet [We here at Apt. 613 cannot comment on what goes on in other solar systems]. Animators from around the world can point out Ottawa on a map because they know that the festival has always been on the cutting edge for their field. In short, the Ottawa International Animation Festival is the place to be if you want to know what exciting directions all forms of animation are headed in the next few years. We should be proud that animators look up to this event to check the collective pulse of their industry. There is no better way to show that pride than to check out some of the best films the festival has to offer.
This year the Animation Festival will run from Wednesday Oct. 14 to Sunday Oct. 18. Over the course of those five days 93 short films and seven feature films will be screened for competition. These films were hand picked from 2,185 different entries over the course of the past year. There will be an additional 58 films (out of competition) that are meant to showcase Canadian talent. The festival also hosts many different workshops and keynote speeches by industry leaders. Spaces for these events are limited for the general public, however, because they are really meant for animation insiders.
Read the full post on Apt. 613: The 2009 Ottawa International Animation Festival
9 films at the Ottawa International Animation Festival
Julie Matlin | NFB.ca Blog
The Ottawa International Animation Festival is right around the corner (Oct. 14 – 18), and this year we’ve got 9 films screening, 3 of which are in official competition.
» View trailers for the 9 NFB screenings: 9 films at the Ottawa International Animation Festival
Animation festival draws success from balance: Director
TIM WIECLAWSKI | METRO OTTAWA
The OIAF, the largest of its kind in North America, kicks off on Oct. 14.
The success of the festival, said artistic director Chris Robinson, has been finding the right balance between independent and commercial films.
Read more on the Metro Ottawa website: Animation festival draws success from balance: Director
Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) and Television Animation Conference (TAC) festival schedules now online
The full 2009 schedule for the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) and Television Animation Conference (TAC) are now online, so head on over and have a look! All featured programs are now listed as well, so go ahead and choose from Films and Screenings, Special Events, Workshops, and more!
The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is the largest of its kind in North America, attracting film buffs, art lovers, filmmakers, and cartoon fans from around the world to the nation’s capital.
This year’s festival will take place from October 14 to 18, 2009.
LEGENDS OF ANIMATION COME TO OTTAWA FESTIVAL
The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is proud to announce an incredible line-up of guest speakers and programming this year.
The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is proud to announce an incredible line-up of guest speakers and programming this year.
The OIAF, which runs from October 14-18, welcomes several animation legends including Pixar’s Ronnie del Carmen (UP), Henry Selick (Coraline), David Silverman (The Simpsons), along with retrospective screenings of award-winning animators Don Hertzfeldt, Stan VanDerBeek, Suzan Pitt, Jim Blashfield, and Studio Film Bilder.
The Festival was able to secure amazing high-profile guests, thanks in part, to some funding provided by the Government of Ontario. “We hope to see record numbers coming out with these exciting speakers and the range of programming for our 2009 event”, says Managing Director, Kelly Neall.
Full release on Ottawa Start: LEGENDS OF ANIMATION COME TO OTTAWA FESTIVAL
Television Animation Conference Lines Up Talent
Kristin Brzoznowski, Worldscreen.com
David Silverman, best known for directing numerous episodes of The Simpsons as well as The Simpsons Movie, and Josh Selig, the founder and president of Little Airplane Productions, will headline this year’s Television Animation Conference, taking place October 14 and 15 at the Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa.
Full article: Television Animation Conference Lines Up Talent
