files/pictures/picture-35.jpgPress Release from Ottawa Animation Festival
From October 14-18, 2009, hundreds of international animators will descend on Canada’s capital with one goal in mind: capturing one of the prizes up for grabs at this year’s Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF).
From the record-breaking 2,185 entries received, 98 films representing 20 countries have been chosen for Official Competition. An additional 58 films will be shown in out-of-competition Showcase screenings. This year’s film selection is comprised of film, video, and digital animations from Germany, France, Russia, Australia, South Korea, the U.K., Israel, Sweden, the U.S.A, Italy, Brazil, Japan, and Canada.
Among the many highlights of this year’s OIAF competition: Henry Selick, the director of the stop-motion classic THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS is back with CORALINE, a dark gem about a little girl who discovers a too-good-to-be-true world behind a secret door; twice Oscar-nominated Cordell Barker, who brought us THE CAT CAME BACK, is once again at his best with RUNAWAY; four-time Academy Award winning director, Nick Park shows his latest WALLACE AND GROMIT: A
MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH; and U2’s latest music video for I’LL GO CRAZY IF I DON’T GO CRAZY TONIGHT, directed by David O’Reilly. Pixar Animation Studios is also on hand with a special screening of their new short film, PARTLY CLOUDY, directed by Peter Sohn.
The OIAF competition includes categories for feature, narrative, experimental and student films; TV shows, commercials, music video. There is also a separate competition for films and TV shows made for children. Prizes willbe awarded to category
winners and a Grand Prize will be awarded to the winner of each competition (Short Film, Feature Film, Student, and Commissioned).
“One of the categories I’m really excited about is the Animated Feature category”, says Artistic Director Chris Robinson. “This is, by far, the strongest feature competition we’ve had to date. Normally we take a maximum of five films to compete in this category but this year it was too difficult to narrow it down, so we increased the competition to seven films.”
Included in the Animated Feature line up along with Henry Selick’s CORALINE are: Adam Elliot’s MARY AND MAX, the story of a 20 year long pen-friendship between an unlikely pair; LIFE WITHOUT GABRIELLA FERRI, a dramatic love story of a couple living in a world full of challenges; MY DOG TULIP by Paul Fierlinger and Sandra Fierlinger is a bittersweet account of the relationship between a man and his beloved dog; Neil Burns’ bizarre animated feature EDISON &; LEO; Australia’s Tatia
Rosenthal’s $9.99, featuring the voices of Geoffrey Rush and Anthony LaPaglia; and the family-friendly magical adventure MAI MAI MIRACLE directed by Sunao Katabuchi.
A complete listing of all the film selections can be found at
www.animationfestival.ca
The Ottawa International Animation Festival is one of the world’s leading animation events, providing first-class screenings, exhibits, workshops and entertainment since 1976. The annual five-day event brings art, industry and inspiration together in a vibrant hub that attracts artists, production executives, students and animation fans from across Canada and around the world. 2008 total attendance was over 25,000. OIAF 09 will be held October 14-18, 2009 in Ottawa. For more information and to experience OIAF online, please visit
www.animationfestival.ca .
