Each year the Fete De l’Anim brings students from all over Europe together with a small group of international professionals for three days of master classes, screenings, and hands on projects. It is a marvellous opportunity for students to hear some of the top professionals from the world of independent animation as well as people from such studios as Pixar and Disney talk about the processes they use to create their work. The students also have the opportunity to ask questions and show their portfolios to the masters to get feedback.
Each year the Fete De l’Anim brings students from all over Europe together with a small group of international professionals for three days of master classes, screenings, and hands on projects. It is a marvellous opportunity for students to hear some of the top professionals from the world of independent animation as well as people from such studios as Pixar and Disney talk about the processes they use to create their work. The students also have the opportunity to ask questions and show their portfolios to the masters to get feedback.
The 2015 guest of honour, Michel Ocelot, is not only a brilliant animator, he is also well known for his willingness to share his knowledge with young animators. In his two hour Master Class the renowned French animator took his audience through the process he uses from blank paper to completed film. He also discussed his various techniques from hand drawn films to the silhouettes he used to make Princes and Princesses. Michel writes his own scripts and designs and draws the characters as well as creating their graphic worlds.
He was born on the Cote d’Azur and spent his childhood in Guinea. His upbringing in Western Africa has had a strong influence on many of his films such as his 3 feature films about Kirikou, Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998), Kirikou and the Wold Beasts (2005), and Kirikou and the Men and Women (2012). Over the 3 days of the festival the Kirikou films were screened along with Azure y Asmar, his first 3D film which is a fairy tale influenced by the art of North Africa and the Middle East. There were also 2 programs of his short films.
During his master class Michel also revealed that he is at work on a new film, Dilini in Paris which is set during the Belle Epoque. He told us that the story is finished and he is now frantically drawing.
Another guest was Co Hoedeman who was born in the Netherlands in 1940 during the Nazi occupation. He survived the hunger winter of 1944-45 when many of Amsterdam’s residents died of starvation. The German blockade prevented desperately needed food deliveries from reaching the majority of Holland, coupled with an extremely harsh winter. Co’s early memories have been a strong influence on his films which often deal with children in difficult situations.
In 1965 he immigrated to Canada to work at the National Film Board of Canada where he created his Academy Award winning film Le Chateau Du Sable (The Sand Castle) in 1977. In this delightful film odd creatures grow out of the sand, each one with a specific task. They begin to work together to build a sand castle. The creatures were constructed from foam rubber, wire, and sand mirroring Co’s increasing interest in puppet and stop motion animation.
My personal favorite of Co’s films is 55 Chaussettes (55 Socks). In the film he brings to life his childhood memories and pays tribute to the ingenuity of the Dutch during the winter of hunger. It is based on a poem by Marie Jacobs about a group of women who unravelled a beautiful bed spread to collect the thread to knit very scarce socks . The young daughter takes the 55 knitted socks from door to door to barter for food.
During his master class Co said that “a large part of my career has been dedicated to making films about and for children”. His latest film The Blue Marble concerns children who are abused, preyed upon and forced to serve as child soldiers in war-torn countries. Using silhouette paper cut outs, the film is a damming condemnation of adults who exploit children for their own needs, treating them as throwaway goods. I have respected Co’s work ever since I first saw his films several years ago so it was lovely to get to know him and discover what a nice person he is.
The Belgian animator Raoul Servais, the father of Surrealist animation, worked with Rene Magritte and film maker Henri Stork. He also founded KASK - the second oldest animation school in the world. It is in located in Gent, Belgium. As a self -taught animator he is aware of the importance of sharing his wealth of knowledge with students. During his master class he talked about the different processes he has used to create his extensive body of work as well as giving his listeners a look at his latest film Tank. Made last year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War One, the film focuses on the horrors of the war as seen through the eyes of the soldiers in the trenches.
Additional master classes were conducted by multi-award winning Czech Republic animator Michaela Pavlatova and French director Anthony Roux. Roux presented his latest project Dofus Book 1 Judith. The feature film is due to be released in France in February 2016. The master class interviews were conducted by Olivier Catherin, Julie Charnay, and Marcel Villoing in a knowledgeable and relaxed style.
The since the focus of the festival is on students we also had an opportunity to see their work when schools from 5 European regions showcased the best of the work created at their schools. The screenings were introduced by the professors who accompanied their students to Tourcoing. At the end of each screening the professors talked a bit about their school’s programs and introduced the students who were present. Schools from Germany, the Benelux Region(Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxemburg), the Balkans (Czech Republic , Slovakia, and Hungary), France, and Scandinavia.
Of course there were lots of hands-on workshops for students led by professionals in the various fields. For the opening night event the mapping workshop created a spectacular display on the façade of the beautiful Lille Opera House. Mapping or outdoor digital projections has the ability to transform exteriors of buildings into screens. The technique of mapping can take any real world surface such as the Eiffel Tower or the Sidney Opera House for example and manipulate it with 3D animation, motion graphics, and video so that the building seems to deconstruct, rotate, retexturize and reconstruct.
Ten different three person teams made up of students and professionals created the Exquisite Corps style presentation in just 72 hours. The organizers of the workshop were Tamas Zador, founder of the Hungarian Creative Collective Glowing Bulbs and Ludovic Burczykowski who lives in Lille. The square in front of the opera house was packed with hundreds of local residents and festival guests to see the spectacle which was set to music. Many of us stayed to watch the 10 minute presentation over and over because there were too many details to see it all the first time. You can watch the entire Lille Opera House mapping project at:
Glowingbulbs.com/project/fete-de-lanim-2015/
As well as master classes the fete also presented talks by professionals in design and new technology at the 30 Minute Focus: Visual Design sessions. After watching the student’s opening night mapping project, the presentation by Bordos. Artwork was very relevant. Started by Kaszlo Zsolt Bordos in Budapest, the group is a pioneer in the field of 3D mapping. Besides creating outside displays in many parts of the world, they have designed backdrops for live theatrical events and performances. Their talk gave us a behind the scenes look at how they conceive and execute their impressive projects.
Bart Yates, Executive Producer at BLINKINK, introduced his audience to his production house. Based in Soho, London they create innovative commercials, short films, and music videos for such well-known names as Adobe and Jose Cuervo. They also created the highly successful The Bear and the Hare Christmas advertising campaign for John Lewis Department Store which has run on BBC TV for several years and has become a holiday tradition.
Bart took his audience step by step through the John Lewis campaign from the initial pitch to the client down to the finished presentation. He went into details to tell us how BLINKINK makes a client understand the concept and the construction of an animated commercial.
The production house represents some of the freshest and most creative young animators like Mikey Please, who work alongside veteran directors from such studios as Disney. I was quite impressed to hear Bart say that BLINKINK not only encourages their young talent to continue to work on their own projects, but also gives them production and distribution assistance. A case in point is Marilyn Myller, Mikey Please’s 6 minute animation which has won awards at international animation festival. Bart’s talk was a perfect example for students and professionals alike of how an excellent presentation should be given. He was short, clear, concise, and stuck to his topic.
The Grafix Battle, spread over to days, gave students and young animators the opportunity to compete one on one to design a character on a graphic tablet in a set time limit. Each pair is given a new topic or character drawn at random by members of the audience from a hat. One day was devoted to 3D battles and the other day to 2D with separate juries for the two challenges. At the end of each day the 2 top winners from the respective categories received prizes donated by Toon Boom.
The yearly Marathon De L’Anim challenges teams of students from animation schools throughout Europe to create 10 seconds of animation each in 48 hours. Each team was given an image created especially for the Marathon by Michel Ocelot. Their 10 seconds of animation had to begin and end with this image then all of the pieces were edited together by the festival staff. The finished project was screened at the closing night ceremony.
Many people who live around Tourcoing, France enjoy the popular features the event shows. This year they showed Shaun the Sheep Movie, Song of the Sea, and How to Train Your Dragon 2 all of which were premieres in the city. They also screen the same films at the theatre in the nearby town of Roubaix during the festival. The Imaginareum is designed to give young people in the area of all ages hands on animation experiences under the guidance of professionals. From building simple zoetropes to working with computer software to learn how to create simple characters there was something for everyone. There was something for everyone so even the youngest child could dress up from a selection of costumes and become the “star” of a short live action film. Every time I visited the Imaginareum, the 2 floors of the building were buzzing with activity and the best part is that even though the festival only lasts for 3 days the Imaginareum remains open all year long.
Even though the 3 days of the Fete were packed with films, master classes, and workshops there was still time for fun. Each evening there was dancing to silent DJ’s . The silent DJ is a great concept because people can hold conversations while watching the dancers instead of having to shout over loud music. Each person is given a set of headphones which are randomly connected to 1 of 2 DJ’s who each play different music. It’s fun to watch couples dance “together” to different beats at the same time. There were also laser projects on the walls of L’hybride where the parties were held.
L’hybride is the home of les Recontres Audiovisuelles which organizes Fete de l’Anim as well as a short film and animation festival at L’hybride in the fall. The group also organizes workshops and brings live action films, animation, and audio visual screenings to other cities in the region throughout the year as well as taking film and animation into schools. At each school screening they provide teachers with in depth information about the films to help them lead discussions in their classrooms after the screenings.
A big thank you goes out to Julie Charnay, coordinator of Rencontres Audiovisuelles and director of the Fete and her hard working staff and numerous volunteers. I also want to thank Cyril Mouthier, co-ordinator of guest services, who made sure that all of the guests were beautifully taken care of.
I look forward to enjoying Fete de L’Anim again next year .You can find out more about this year’s festival and see additional photos at:
