Animation World Magazine, Issue 1.10, January 1997


The Changing Face of Festivals

by Tom Knott


Festivals devoted to animation have been around for over 35 years. The first major one was held in Annecy, France in 1960. It was started by a group of French film enthusiasts and attracted such animation pioneers as John Hubley, Karel Zeman and Norman McLaren. Annecy has since grown and grown to the point where it is currently the biggest animation event in the world, attracting thousands of people and hundreds of films. A few years after Annecy started, other festivals joined the circuit--Mamaia, Varna, Zagreb, Ottawa, Hiroshima, Stuttgart, and a number of others. Some of these are still in existence, some aren't.

I attended my first festival in 1982 in Ottawa. At that time I was working for the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre, which handled animation among other types of film. In 1984 the Festival moved to Toronto, which I also attended. That's when I started to get excited about animation and animation festivals. With animation anything that can be imagined can be created and animation festivals are the evidence of this. I also realized that, unlike most live-action events, animation festivals presented a unique opportunity to talk to animation artists, most of whom turned out to be very approachable. For instance, at the '84 festival, I spent two hours talking with Bill Scott of Rocky and Bullwinkle fame about writing for animation. This is a moment I still treasure.

In 1986 the Festival moved again , this time to Hamilton, just south of Toronto. The organizers were looking for volunteers so I enlisted. Shortly after that I was hired on full-time and ended up doing most of the programming. The Hamilton Festival had a really rough time and indeed the Festival in Canada had a rocky ride for the most of the 1980's. The board of directors fired the director a month before the festival and it was up to the staff to run the festival with some help from the board. And unfortunately the money ran out before the festival started, so it basically ran on fumes. However, I did get a taste for programming and again met some great people, such as Czech filmmaker Karel Zeman (and saw every one of his marvelous features).

In 1988, the Canadian Film Institute brought the Festival back to Ottawa. The CFI had ran the Festival from its inception in 1976 to 1984. They were looking for a deputy director, I met with them and they offered me the job. The director at that time was Frank Taylor, who helped revive the festival. He was the director in 1988 and 1990, a post I took over for 1992 and 1994. In between the Ottawa Festivals, which are held ever other year, I worked on the second, third and fourth Los Angeles International Animation Celebrations.

The Shark's Fin
The Shark's Fin by William Lebeda

A Decline in Quality
Over the past few years, I've noticed a decline in the quality of films entered in competition at festivals. The 1980s and early 1990's were a high period, quality-wise. You had the influence of Norman McLaren, the Hubleys, Jules Engles, as well as the National Film Board of Canada, Zagreb and European schools of animation on a whole generation of filmmakers. The NFB itself was at its peak in both the French and English Animation Studios. Across town you had Frédérick Back creating masterpieces at Radio Canada.

In Eastern Europe, in the communist run countries--the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia--you had state run animation studios which created many great films.

In the States you had opportunities to realize some revenue from independent animation films, from the touring shows--the International Tournée of Animation, Spike & Mike's Festival of Animation--and MTV's Liquid Television. MTV was also commissioning station ID's from independent animators, which put cash in animators' pockets.

Much of this has now changed. Many of the now formerly communist countries closed or privatized their studios. In Canada, the NFB has faced sever budget cuts. And In the States, many of the opportunities for realizing income have disappeared. Plus many filmmakers are now devoted parents and have different, more important priorities. This has resulted in many animation filmmakers no longer having the opportunity or time to create.

Tale About the Cat and the Moon by Pedro SerrazinaBright Spots, But . . .

Tale About the Cat and the Moon by Pedro Serrazina

There are a still a number of bright spots. In the UK, Channel Four and the BBC have continued commissioning great films from studios like Aardman. Some veteran filmmakers,like Joanna Priestly and Bill Plympton, are still creating wonderful films. And there is a new generation of filmmakers coming up.

Unfortunately, for the festival circuit, many of the new generation are entering the studio world and not creating their own films. There was an article in a recent issue in Variety stating the animation industry is gobbling up many of the independent animators. Most of the independents I know are not working in the industry, though some are working in small commercials houses. It's the students that are choosing to go the studio route instead of the filmmaker route. There has been an increase in the number of schools offering animation programs, but few of these are concentrating on teaching animation as filmmaking.

The commercial animation studios have also had an impact on some festivals. It used to be that the big studios didn't enter animation festivals. Companies like Kurtz & Friends did, but Disney or Warner Bros. did not. Now they do. This is a good thing, as it shows the breadth of what animation can do. After all festivals are showcases for the best animation.

Many festivals have also come to rely on much needed funding from the major studios. Usually these contributions come with increased involvement from these companies, which can result in a festival having a more commercial feel.

Right now, Annecy is the only festival with a strong market--MIFA, which has been held for the last several years. There are people who attend Annecy just for the market. It's more of a market for selling product, especially to European television. Many of the participants are also looking for ideas and projects. There are also vendors selling technology--ink & paint systems, CG software, etc. With the growth spurred by the European Union and the increased numbers of terrestrial and satellite TV stations, there is a large market for animation in Europe that MIFA caters to.

Annecy does try to keep a balance between animation as art and the commerce of animation, but sometimes business seems to take over.

Festivals can be of value to the major animation studios. As many of the feature studios are looking for talent, festivals are a good place in which new and established talent can be recruited. You never know when or were you are going to come across talent. Also, television companies like Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network come looking for ideas.

Waiting For the MoonriseThe Future

Waiting For the Moonrise (Studio Lotus)

As for the future, Annecy will certainly remain the main animation festival. They have talked about going yearly, at least as far as the market goes. If this happens then there would be some impact on the other festivals. Right now, you have Annecy in the odd numbered years and Ottawa, Hiroshima, Zagreb, Stuttgart and Holland in the even numbered years.

There are several new festivals like Cartoons On The Bay. But these caterto the commercial world and their impact would be more on markets such as MIFA or MIPCOM. The Los Angeles International Animation Celebration is also being revived as the World Animation Celebration in Pasadena this March.

Secure funding of festivals is key to the survival of festivals. In a country like Canada, raising money for the arts is getting harder. The government is cutting back on direct arts funding and, in some cases, making it more difficult, tax-break wise, to raise money from the business community. The Ottawa Festival may have a more difficult time fundraising, but it has survived for 20 years through many ups and downs and will continue to survive. Other festivals which rely on governmental aid may also experience similar problems.

Many of the larger animation studios are providing some funding to festivals. But studios are fickle beasts and in the future it may be a case of having to do more with less.

Fortunately, there is still a community that wants to see and support animation. And most importantly all the festival directors have strong commitment and passion to the art form, and are doing all they can to insure their festival's survival.

Tom Knott worked for the Ottawa International Animation Festival from 1988 to 1995 and on the Second, Third and Four Los Angeles International Animation Celebrations. He has also acted as a consultant to Colossal Pictures, MTV, the Voyager Company and Expanded Entertainment. He currently works for Warner Bros. Feature Animation in Los Angeles.

 

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