The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) announced the films that have been invited to compete in this years 30th anniversary event, running Sept. 20 24, 2006. From the 1,947 entries received, 106 films representing 20 countries have been chosen for Official Competitions. An additional 31 films will be shown in out-of-competition Showcase screenings.
"A number of new films were completed just in time for the OIAF deadline and suddenly we had one of our strongest competitions in recent years, said OIAF artistic director, Chris Robinson. Alongside some stunning new work from young animators out of France, England and Germany, we received some strong films by veteran voices like Andreas Hykade, Michaela Pavlatova, JJ Sedelmaier, Georges Schwizgebel, Run Wrake and Joanna Quinn. The result is a rather dazzling blend of funny, poignant, angry and, as always, provocative films that are sure to appeal to a wide range of tastes."
This years short film competition features:
Joanna Quinns ode to filmmaking, DREAMS AND DESIRES, which won the Grand Prize at both the Annecy and Zagreb festivals earlier this year;
THE CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS, a musical erotic fantasy by Michaela Pavlatova;
Three-time OIAF Grand Prize winner Andreas Hykade (RING OF FIRE) returns with THE RUNT;
Legendary New York animator George Griffins disturbing deadpan comedy, IT PAINS ME TO SAY THIS;
The Canadian premiere of RABBIT, Run Wrakes magical adult fairytale;
Four people recount their first and very different sexual experiences in NEVER LIKE THE FIRST TIME by Swedish animator extraordinaire Jonas Odell.
Prizes will be awarded to each category winner and a grand prize will be awarded in the Short Film, Student and Commissioned Animation competitions. The festival will have two international juries: Bruno Bozzetto (Italy), Arnaldo Galvão (Brazil) and Jonathan Hodgson (U.K.) will oversee the feature animation, school and new media competitions. Konstantin Bronzit (Russia), Rob Coleman (Canada) and Jeff Scher (U.S.) will judge the Independent, student and commissioned competitions. A jury of local children will judge the films in the Kids Competition categories.
The Ottawa International Animation Festival is the largest festival of its kind in North America and one of the most respected animation festivals in the world. Bringing art and industry together, the festival attracts production executives, artists, students and animation fans from across Canada and around the world. For further information, visit www.animationfestival.ca or call 613-232-8769.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
