Ron Diamond attended Italy's I Castelli Animati and took in two of Oscar Grillo's art exhibitions one featuring Betty Boop and the other featuring our favorite faces and personalities in animation at crucial moments. Includes both exhibits!
There is no question that the major international animation festivals offer enthusiasts an unparalleled opportunity to see great films. The pleasure of watching brilliant animators' work is substantially increased by the chance that one will enjoy the films in the creators' company and be able to speak with them following the screening. Many animators are humble and easy going and rarely reflect the often-wild side of their id that comes out in their films. And sometimes the animators are just as bold as their films. And this brings us to the subject of Oscar Grillo...
It has been my pleasure to attend the marvelously hospitable and well programmed I Castelli Animati Animation Festival in Genzano, Italy. This year, as it was last year, I enjoyed the honor of sharing the experience of attending I Castelli Animati with the venerated and legendary master of animation, Oscar Grillo. Oscar served this year as the president of the jury and with his fellow jury members honored a marvelous selection of international short films.
At the invitation of the gracious and visionary festival director Luca Raffaelli, Oscar Grillo created and presented a humorous exhibition of original drawings and paintings. The title of each piece began with "The day when..." and draws from his own experiences, encyclopedic knowledge of animation and unbridled imagination. In this collection of 29, Oscar pokes fun at many of the greatest animation artists. From John Lasseter to Lotte Reiniger, no one was safe from his hysterical caricatures and outrageous scenarios. Remarkably done in less than 2 weeks, this exhibition was presented as an I Castelli Animati exclusive and brought a warm and personal touch to an already wonderful festival.
If you have the opportunity to see these pictures in all their glory, I encourage you to do so. Incidentally, in Genzano Oscar also presented the stunning Betty Boop send up "The Boop Sisters," an exhibition that he created for this year's Annecy International Animation Festival. Both exhibitions are shown here on AWN through the courtesy of Mr. Oscar Grillo. Should you be fortunate enough to attend a festival that Oscar is also attending, do what you can to hear all he has to say. And don't forget to put I Castelli Animati on your festival list for submissions and attendance.
Enter the gallery for "The day when..."
See "The Boop Sisters."
Ron Diamond is the co-founder and co-publisher of Animation World Network. He also serves as executive producer and founder of Los Angeles-based Acme Filmworks, an animation commercial production company.
