Ottawa International Animation Festival unveils new poster by Montreal artist Elise Simard; releases first E-Book, ‘‘40 years of Ottawa: Collected Essays on Award-Winning Animation.’
Organizers of the Ottawa International Animation Festival have issued a call for entries for its 2017 edition. The festival also unveiled a new poster by Montreal artist Elise Simard, and announced the availability of a new E-book, “40 years of Ottawa: Collected Essays on Award-Winning Animation,” featuring essays from 40 animation curators, artists and historians on each of the festival’s Grand Prize winners.
Call for Submissions + New Categories
Entries for the Official Competition are due May 26. As per OIAF tradition, submissions are free. Animators from around the globe are invited to submit their recent work in the following competition categories:
- Animated Feature
- Narrative Animated Short
- Non-Narrative Animated Short
- Student Animation
- Commissioned Animation
- Short Preschool Animation Made for Children 0-5
- Short Animation Made for Children 6-12
- Preschool Animation Series Made for Children 0-5
- Animation Series Made for Children 6-12
New for this year, the children’s categories are now divided by age group, and, in addition to category prizes, submissions will also be considered for a variety of craft and other awards including the Film Critic’s Prize.
“With our first 40 years behind us, we’re getting started on year 41,” says OIAF artistic director Chris Robinson. “We’ve made a few tweaks. The ‘Experimental/Abstract’ category is now simply ‘Non-Narrative,’ student films have been rolled into a single category, and we have some additions: new category divisions for kids, and a brand spanking new Film Critic’s prize that will be awarded by accredited members of the Canadian and International media. Beyond that, we expect another year of groundbreaking and eclectic animation that you simply cannot see on television.”
Find out how to enter by clicking here.
OIAF 2017 Poster by Elise Simard
The stunning new poster for OIAF 2017 was created by Montreal-based animator Elise Simard, a film director who has contributed visual signatures and handmade special effects for documentary features and animated shorts. For the past 10 years she has been expanding her body of work through experimental and exploratory filmmaking -- her favorite subjects being the ordinary, the sublime, and the imperceptible affairs of our human states.
“I wanted to create an image about the ecstasy of watching a film you are falling for -- the feeling you get the moment you realize you are in for a treat, as you sit back and let your guard down,” Simard explains. “I wanted to create an image to honor the inspiring weird and beautiful films I see every year at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.”
‘40 years of Ottawa: Collected Essays on Award-Winning Animation’
The Ottawa Festival’s first E-Book, “40 years of Ottawa: Collected Essays on Award-Winning Animation,” was created to celebrate the Festival’s 40th anniversary. Editors Chris Robinson and Brittany Mumford asked some of the best animation curators, artists and historians to talk about each of the Grand Prize winning short films.
Essays include:
- Madi Piller on The Street (Caroline Leaf)
- Olivier Cotte on La Traversée de l’Atlantique à la rame (Jean-François Laguionie)
- Keltie Duncan on Ubu (Geoff Dunbar) and Home Road Movies (Robert Bradbrook)
- Patrick Mullen on Crac (Frédéric Back)
- Franziska Bruckner on Odpryski (Jerzy Kucia)
- Chris Robinson on The Frog, The Dog and The Devil (Bob Stenhouse), Bird in the Window (Igor Kovalyov) and Night of the Carrots (Priit Pärn)
- Maureen Furniss on The Man Who Planted Trees (Frédéric Back)
- Linda Simensky on Hen, His Wife (Igor Kovalyov)
- Kelly Gallagher on Two Sisters (Caroline Leaf)
Mark Langer on The Wrong Trousers (Nick Park)- Ruth Lingford on Ring of Fire (Andreas Hykade)
- Marc Glassman on Ryan (Chris Landreth)
- Alexis Hunot on Milch (Igor Kovalyov)
- Julie Roy on Dreams & Desires (Joanna Quinn)
- Paul Wells on A Country Doctor (Koji Yamamura)
- Marco de Blois on Chainsaw (Dennis Tupicoff)
- Marcel Jean on Inherent Obligations (Rao Heidmets)
- Nobuaki Doi on The External World (David O’Reilly)
- Richard O’Connor on Moxie (Stephen Irwin)
- Amid Amidi on Junkyard (Hisko Hulsing)
- Ben Mitchell on Lonely Bones (Rosto)
- Nicholas Thys on Hipopotamy (Piotr Dumala)
- Paul Ward on Small People with Hats (Sarina Nihei)
Plus: An Oral History of the Ottawa International Animation Festival and lots of links to clips and commentaries.
“40 years of Ottawa: Collected Essays on Award-Winning Animation” is available for $5 in a variety of formats: PDF, B&N, iBooks, Sony, KoboBooks and Google, and Mobi (for use with Kindle).
Source: Ottawa International Animation Festival
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
