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Toronto Animation Festival Announces 2013 Lineup

TAAFI announces the festival lineup which features VIP guest speakers, feature film premieres, student film competitions, master classes and more.

Toronto, ON -- The Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI), celebrating the best of animation arts from around the world, is back for its second year from July 26-28 at TIFF Bell Lightbox and Corus Quay.

With the addition of expanded industry and family programming new this year, TAAFI is quickly becoming Canada’s premiere animation festival. The industry-focused festival programme will continue to broaden and enlighten audiences from all strata of the animation industry with insights from industry leaders and speakers, exclusive events, a range of skills and business development opportunities for the amateur and professional artist alike, and a platform for the burgeoning animation industry within Toronto. In addition, families will find a host of exciting and engaging animation programming designed to introduce kids to the world of animation with screenings, chats and hands on workshops with professional animation artists.

Overall, the packed three-day extravaganza has something for everyone leveraged by a diverse line-up of some of the best Canadian and international feature and short films that simply cannot be seen anywhere else. Festival programming announced to-date includes:

Opening Night Film is Day of the Crows,a classically animated film based on a novel by Canadian writer Jean-François Beauchemin.

Family Fun is a cereal breakfast paired with morning cartoons on Saturday at TIFF Bell Lightbox followed by live script reads, a puppet show featuring master-puppeteer Jamie Shannon (Nanalan’, Big & Small, Mr. Meaty) and workshops just for kids

With Freshwater TAAFI  the festival heads outdoors with live music, caricatures and food trucks at Sugar Beach followed by the world premiere of Fish N’ Chips, the locally produced 3D-animated action comedy featuring the voice of John Leguizamo. Best of all, the outdoor fun and beachside screening is entirely FREE!

Persistence of Vision is a tale of creative genius gone horribly awry, the untold story of the greatest animated film never made. Visionary animator Richard Williams (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) toiled for more than a quarter century on his masterpiece - only to have it torn from his hands. Filmmaker Kevin Schreck has woven together mind-blowing animation, rare archival footage, and exclusive interviews with key animators and artists who worked with Williams on his ill-fated magnum opus to bring this legendary story to the screen.

A screening of the brand-new animated series Axe Cop (voiced by Parks and Recreation’s Nick Offerman) based on the web comic written by eight-year old Malachai Nicolle, illustrated by his 32-year-old brother Ethan Nicolle. Premiering on FOX as part of their late night animation block on July 27, TAAFI will replay the first episode on July 28 followed by a Q&A with both brothers via Skype

In Memorium, a tribute to visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen featuring a retrospective of his work

TAAFI's sell out Master Classes returns, welcoming a number of successful animation arts professionals and organizations from the industry to provide specialized workshops. Confirmed professionals include world-renowned trainer Sam Youssef who has worked in both feature films and video games for Walt Disney Animation, Filmax, and Ubisoft as well as Scott Caple, concept designer for the smash-hit The Incredibles with additional credits to his name including Mulan, Tarzan,  and Inspector Gadget

A Retrospective of the NFB’s Hothouse is a sampling of some of the wide range of films the NFB Hothouse, an apprenticeship program for emerging Canadian filmmakers, has produced since its first edition in 2004. NFB’s Michael Fukushima will sit with the directors, and discuss the Hothouse process, and the effects it had on their development as filmmakers.

Parties! Parties! Parties! The return of Nelvana Bouncing Ball and more networking opportunities than you can shake a pencil at!

Source: Toronto Animation Arts Festival International

Jennifer Wolfe's picture

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.