Sprockets

Annecy 2009, June 8 through 13^th, was its usual mixed bag.  On the plus side there were lots of old and new friends to see and some fantastic special screenings.  On the other hand the majority of the short films in competition were mediocre.  Since networking and doing business has become one of the major purposes of the festival, it was definitely a success in that department.

It is hard to believe that the Monstra Animated Film Festival in Lisbon, Portugal is only 8 years old because each year the festival leaves me with a lifetime of memories.  The 2009 edition (March 9 – 15, 2009) moved downtown from its prevision location so that it could reach more of the community. The experiment worked well, with good-sized audiences for the screenings. The majority of the screenings took place in the lavish Art Deco style Cinema Sao Jorge.  The cinema, built between 1947 and 1950 by the British Rank Organization to showcase their films, was once the largest movie palace on the Iberian Peninsula.
There are records of Chinese residents in Lisbon from as early as 1540 and to honor this segment of the population the Museu do Oriente (Museum of Oriental Art) was opened in the heart of the Asian Community last year.   This year it was the ideal site for respected Japanese abstract animator Maya Yonnesho’s 3-day workshop.  She and a group of students “toured” Lisbon via two wall sized pictographs in the museum, which they used as a starting point to create their film Lisbon Mix which was filmed all over the city.  The finished film, capturing the sights and sounds of the city through Maya and her student’s eyes, was screened on closing night.  Along with a retrospective of Maya’s films there were showings of Chinese animator Li-jun Sun’s Zhang Ga! and Through The Moebus Strip by Clenn Chaika from China and the United States.
The Museu da Marioneta (Puppet Museum) in conjunction with Monstra mounted an extensive exhibit of puppets and sets from Jose Miguel Ribeiro’s new film Passeio De Domingo (Sunday Drive).  There were also drawings and photographs used in the making of the 20-minute film, which was conceived in Lisbon, built in Montemor, filmed in Belgium and France and with post production taking place in the Netherlands.  I especially enjoyed the visual representations at the museum of the route that Jose Miguel traveled as he went to these countries working with different teams of professionals in their three different languages.  It was amazing to see the attention to detail that was taken with each character and set.
I have been anxiously awaiting this film because I am a large fan of his earlier film, The Suspect, which won more International awards than any other Portuguese film up to the present time.  When Nik and I screened The Suspect as part of our Ideas In Animation series our audience was delighted with the puppet animation that tells the story of four people on a train that may have a serial killer on board.  Several years ago Nik and I visited Jose Miguel at his workshop in Montemor and saw the first puppets being created, so I was eager to see the film, which was screened at the closing night ceremony.  Passeio De Domingo lived up to my expectations and I am sure we will all have ample opportunity to see this touching humorous story of a family’s Sunday drive that turns into a road trip.
The Museu da Marioneta also showcased Papirossy, a “lung-drawn” animation and audiovisual installation created by Otto Alder, acclaimed animation historian, documentarian, and co-chairman of HGKL (Hochschule fur Gestaltung und Kunst Luzern) in Luzern, Switzerland.  “Lung-drawn” is a confusing phrase that refers to Otto blowing cigarette smoke onto cardboard which was combined with animation to create an effect which he describes as “an installation that visualizes time through imprinted smoke on cardboard to create an effect where time is frozen, the past stays fixed, and emotions are visualized by integrating animation into a mixed media installation.”  Papirossy is the first lung-drawn animation ever filmed and the installation has traveled worldwide.

When Simon Taylor, a young British animator, first told me about the Online Animation Mentor Program I was anxious to learn how it worked first hand. For the last few months I have followed Simon's progress.  As he told me more and more about the program I realized that many of you might not be aware of this on-line opportunity and so I have asked Simon to write about his adventure.  Whenever Simon feels that he has something to say and has the time, more installments of his adventure will appear here.

Good morning, afternoon and evening fellow wanderers of the Internet.  My name is Simon Taylor, I'm an animation student and I've been invited by Nancy to share with you my experiences at the online animation school Animation Mentor. Just to give as brief an intro as possible about myself, I've been animating in one shape or form since a very early age. From 2001 to 2006, I was entering films into the Co?Op Young Film?Makers Festivals, which really gave me the enthusiasm to keep pushing myself to get better and is how I came into contact with Nancy.

Nik and I just received word that German Director Andy Kaiser's animated film, FRIENDLY FIRE has been accepted for the TRICKFILM FESTIVAL, May 5 through 10 in Stuttgart, Germany. This is a major festival and we are very excited. Nik created the music and we send congratulations to Andy, Cadi Catlow, and all of the other people involved in this wonderful film about the horrors of war. If you are planning on attending the Festival be sure not to miss FRIENDLY FIRE.

MONSTRA ANIMATION FESTIVAL in Lisbon, Portugal is an event that Nik and I always look forward to.  This year the festival has moved dates from mid-May to the 9th through 15th of March.

The 2009 competition is open to feature films completed after January 1,2007 and student works made after January 1, 2008.

The festival treats work with the utmost respect and screening at the lovely, modern theatre are of the highest quality.  Nik and I have been invited to be guests at the festival again this year and I can whole heartedly encourage all feature film makers and those with student works fitting the qualifications to enter their film.

You can contact the festival for complete regulations and an application at:   festival@monstrafestival.com.
The deadline for submission is January 15, 2009. They accept DVD, VHS or mini-DV for selection purposes.

In 2008 Nik and I were guests at the 15th International Trickfilm Festival in Stuttgart.  We were invited to give a presentation of music for animation and Nik played on the big outdoor stage before SITA SINGS THE BLUES was screened as well as in the festival cafe.
I would encourage everyone to enter their film in this festival.  Your work will be treated with respect and if you are lucky enough to be able to attend you will be treated to lovely hospitality by a friendly, hard working staff.  You can also refer back to my article posted earlier this year for more details of our visit and some festival photos.

Just as an aside, the Stuttgart Festival staff throw one of the best parties at the Annecy Animation Festival which you can read about in my article about that festival.