The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is launching the fifth edition of Get Animated! from October 22 to November 6, 2011, and offering an expanded array of FREE animation screenings and activities in over 20 cities across Canada.
Press Release from The National Film Board of Canada
Toronto, October 5, 2011 – The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is launching the fifth edition of Get Animated! from October 22 to November 6, 2011, and offering an expanded array of FREE animation screenings and activities in over 20 cities across Canada. Get Animated! is being presented by the NFB in partnership with local organizations, showcasing great animation on the big screen in YOUR community, in celebration of International Animation Day, October 28.
Get Animated! features the finest—and some of the funniest—new releases from the NFB’s Oscar-winning animation studios, a family program for all ages, master classes by renowned NFB animators, workshops on how to make your own animated films and meet-the-director sessions. Get Animated! is coming to a location near you: Abbotsford (November 1); Calgary (November 6); Charlottetown (October 26–30); Edmonton (October 29); Flin Flon (October 30); Halifax (October 27–28); Kitchener (November 5); Moncton (October 29); Montreal (October 27–30); Prince George (October 30 & November 4); Regina (November 2, 5, 6); Richmond (October 22–23); Saskatoon (November 1); Stephenville (October 28); Toronto (October 27–30 & November 2); Vancouver (October 22, 26 & November 5); Whitehorse (October 30); Windsor (October 22, 26 & 29); Winnipeg (October 28–30 & November 5); Yellowknife (November 5), and more!
To view Get Animated! online, or for the complete schedule of screenings, visit <nfb.ca/getanimated>.
New Releases
Ten exciting new animated releases, as well as a kids’ program, are featured in Get Animated! this year, which includes Big Drive by Anita Lebeau, the story of a family road trip across the Canadian prairies set in the 1970s. An exuberant exploration of childhood imagination, Big Drive invites audiences of all ages to see the world as it appears from the back seat.
Other new releases in Get Animated! are Wild Life, by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, the story of a dapper young Englishman sent to the wild west of Alberta to try his hand at ranching; Juliette Loubières’ puppet animation film Pumpkins and Old Lace; Patrick Doyon’s Sunday, recipient of a Special Mention at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival; and Marv Newland’s CMYK, a dizzying celebration of sound, colour and movement.
Highlights also include acclaimed new shorts such as I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors, director Ann Marie Fleming’s adaptation of Bernice Eisenstein’s celebrated illustrated memoir, and Koji Yamamura’s Muybridge’s Strings, a poetic exploration of the irrepressible human desire to freeze our fleeting moments of happiness.
Family Program
This year, Get Animated! offers a fun-filled selection of some of the NFB’s newest animation for kids of all ages. Anita Lebeau’s lively Big Drive; Phyllis Grant’s Waseteg, the story of a young Mi’kmaq girl; Nicola Lemay’s Private Eyes, about a visually impaired boy with great powers of observation; and, one of the most-watched films on <NFB.ca>, Jo Meuris’s The Girl Who Hated Books.
Master ClassesGet Animated! offers a unique opportunity to learn from animation masters and discover the techniques—and challenges—behind a variety of NFB animated films.· Oscar-winning director Co Hoedeman (The Sand Castle) will lead animation master classes on the creative process, working collaboratively and making peace through animation.· Composer Luigi Allemano offers interactive exercises and discussions demonstrating the process of creating music for animated film.· Animator Marv Newland gives a master class revolving around the techniques he used to animate his new film, CMYK.· Producer Marc Bertrand and director Nicola Lemay discuss the challenges of adapting the book Private Eyes into a hand-drawn 3D film.
Meet the Directors!
Acclaimed animators will be available to take questions and to discuss the art of animation in Calgary (Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, Wild Life), Montreal (Patrick Doyon, Sunday), Vancouver (Marv Newland, CMYK, and Ann Marie Fleming, I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors) and Winnipeg (Anita Lebeau, Big Drive).
Hands-on Workshops
Hands-on workshops will accompany the Family Program in Charlottetown, Montreal, Prince George, Richmond, Toronto, Vancouver, Whitehorse, Winnipeg and Yellowknife. These workshops demonstrate the basics of animation and give participants the chance to make their own short animated film.
About International Animation Day
International Animation Day, October 28, is an annual celebration in over 40 countries, initiated by the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA) in 2002. Norman McLaren was the first president of ASIFA, and the NFB is proud to be bringing this global celebration to Canadian communities for the fifth consecutive year.
About the National Film Board of Canada
Canada’s public producer and distributor, the National Film Board of Canada creates interactive works, auteur animation, social-issue documentaries and alternative dramas that provide the world with a unique Canadian perspective. The NFB has led the way in animation for 70 years, since cinema pioneer Norman McLaren founded its first animation unit. Today, the NFB produces groundbreaking animated works at its studios and centres across Canada, as well as via international coproductions with many of the world’s leading auteur animators. The NFB is also leading the way in 3D stereoscopic animation and animated content for new platforms. Since the NFB’s founding in 1939, it has created over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 4 Webbys, 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. The <NFB.ca> Screening Room features over 2,000 productions online, while the NFB’s growing family of apps for smartphones, tablets and connected TV delivers the experience of cinema to Canadians everywhere.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
