The September 1997 SAFO was a new festival on the world circuit with the emphasis particularly on students, their work and their future. It was designed to bring them together with educators and practitioners in the industry so that there might be a cross-fertilization of ideas and exchange of needs, wants and practices.

We Lived in Grass by Andreas Hykade took home the Grand Prize.

Good Solid, Down-to-Earth Advice
The students seemed to relish the five days. Here they were being taken seriously by awe-inspiring names like Pixar, MTV, PDI and Cartoon Network. Their work was being seen outside their college, projected even, to an audience beyond immediate friends and family. Instant comments from viewers who had not struggled through the production agonies were priceless. Students from other colleges, prospective employers, heroes and film crews were asking questions and, perhaps most importantly, offering advice and fresh-eye comments, often from a slightly different cultural background. The festival was invaluable to those lucky enough to attend.

The Arts Center, home to both SAFO and the biannual Ottawa International Animation Festival. Photo © Animation World Network.

It doesn't matter how many times a student's college tutor gives them advice on presentation and pitching, but when J. J. Sedelmaier tells them to keep their reel to three minutes, their portfolio tight and their resume clear, they know he's right and they know that they should save their twenty minute unedited rushes for another viewing - even if they are a visual poem! For students to be able to walk around and see the faces behind those powerful animation stalwarts, to realize that the companies aren't ogres or impregnable, that they have needs too, that there will always be room for genuine talent... Well, these are experiences that no classroom or school can really give. From an educator's point of view, it was just a little reassuring that some of the advice handed out about living in the real, professional world was being backed up and taken in. Hopefully, the first-hand experiences will be passed around the studios and bars back at college to spread the benefits beyond the (relatively) few who could attend.

David How of Sheridan College presenting a seminar. Photo © Animation World Network.

Mainstream Mania
At times, though, it seemed as if the mainstream was perhaps a little too dominant. Maybe it was because of the inevitable prevalence of the North American feature industry, but to this (European) animator it was a shame that more experimental or innovative work was not more evident; that work from the Canadian film schools did not exist alongside the many commercial, happy cartoons. Students are often told that their graduation film is their calling card, and they have accepted that. However, they also shouldn't forget that the film they make at college is one of the very few times that they will be able to express their art so freely and shout so individually. Prospective employers are often artists too, and they can see job-worthy quality in more artistically challenging work. There is no need to dumb-down to get a job in a mass-market industry. I was surprised and disappointed by the screening room reactions to some of the more thoughtful works: shouting and slow clapping a non-narrative film highlights the lack of acceptance, even in these circles, of animation as a more expressive and experimental art form.