The Ottawa International Animation Festival announces the official selection of films that will compete and be screened at this year’s festival running September 18th-22nd.
OTTAWA –
The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) has announced the official selection of films that will compete and be screened at this year’s festival running September 18th-22nd.
With a record breaking 15 films in competition, filmmakers from Japan are strongly represented at the festival this year. There were 9 Japanese films featured in the competition last year and 10 in 2011.
“I was extremely pleased with the wide range of films this year.” says Chris Robinson, Artistic Director of the OIAF. “Their quality was outstanding, which made the selection process extremely difficult. The Japanese and feature films were particularly refreshing due to their boldness and originality.”
The OIAF is delighted to have more feature films than ever before this year, with 9 films in the main competition. Last year’s festival showcased 4 feature-length films.
Highlights of the 2013 competition include:
Kojiki Hyuga hen (Japan) by Academy Award-nominated Koji Yamamura, whose independent animated films have granted him critical praise and several awards including an Annecy Crystal in 2002 for Mt. Head (Atama Yama) and OIAF’s Grand Prize for Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor (Kafuka: Inaka Isha) in 2007.
It's Such a Beautiful Day (USA) is the highly acclaimed Don Hertzfeldt’s first feature film in which he has seamlessly edited together his trilogy of films Everything Will Be OK, I Am So Proud of You, and It’s Such a Beautiful Day. The Oscar-nominated independent animator’s films have been in competition at many other festivals including the Sundance Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.
Kick-Heart (Japan) is the highly anticipated short film by Masaaki Yuasa, the director of the critically acclaimed cult film Mind Game. This unique crowdfunded film was selected to compete in the short narrative category.
The Pain and The Pity (UK) by controversial filmmaker Phil Mulloy. Mulloy’s award-winning films always generate a lot of interest and have won the Grand Prize of Best Animated Feature in Ottawa 3 times.
Cycle (Hungary), a unique sci-fi by Zoltan Sostai & Gyorgy Toth, was selected to compete in the full-length feature film category. It was also selected for screening at the London Film Festival and the Moscow International Film Festival.
A Liar's Autobiography (UK) is the fictional animated feature based on the life of Graham Chapman of Monty Python created by Bill Jones, Ben Timlett and Jeff Simpson. The creators used clips of Chapman’s voice as well as 17 different animation styles to create the feature film, which has also been screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The OIAF is one of the world’s most competitive film festivals. This year, the Festival received 1,924 entries, selecting 108 finalists for competition. An additional 44 films will be shown out-of-competition in Showcase screenings.
OIAF competition includes categories for best feature, narrative, experimental and student films, TV shows, commercials, video games, and music videos. There is also a separate competition for films and TV shows made for children. Prizes will be awarded to category winners and a grand prize will be awarded to the winner of each competition: best Short Film, Feature Film, Student, and Commissioned Film.
Source: The 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.
