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After returning to in-person activities last year, the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) has settled back into its annual routine. Last year’s OIAF was an emotional ride for staff and attendees alike. People were happy to be with people. Can you imagine!? There is hope for humanity after all.
Let’s start off with this year’s special retrospectives and special screenings. We got a biggy this year: Masaaki Yuasa (Mind Game; Night Is Short, Walk on Girl) is coming to town as a five-part retrospective of his features and TV work. I’ve long loved his mind-bending work fueled by explosive visuals and intricate explorations of identity and time. Attendees will also get a chance to learn directly from Yuasa during a one-on-one session at the OIAF’s Animation Exposé.
Guest curator and Animated Shorts jury member Alla Gadassik has put together a unique screening that focuses on the history of ink in animation. Featured animators include Winsor McCay, The Fleischer Brothers, Norman McLaren, Ryan Larkin, Michèle Cournoyer and more.
We’re also putting the spotlight on the beautiful work of Chinese animator Xi Chen, along with the splendidly bizarro, under-the-radar work of Canadian Justin Tomchuk. Tomchuk’s screening will be presented a bit differently. His films will play throughout the Festival in one of our more intimate screening venues.
Similarly, we’re celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the National Film Board of Canada’s Hothouse program. The program has hatched several notable animators including Alex Boya, Alexandra Lemay and Oscar nominee Patrick Doyon. Two Hothouse works will be shown before each of the seven feature films in competition.
Speaking of the competitions…
There are seven features including an animated documentary called Knit’s Island, set inside a video game environment. It’s a thought-provoking work that looks at how gamers come together and maybe aren’t all that isolated. You can also catch the double Annecy winner Chicken for Linda! and the surprising Unicorn Boy, a truly indie feature from the U.S. about identity.
Moving over to the five short competitions, the first thing you’ll notice is that short films are getting longer (over 20 minutes). I think this is the lowest number of films we’ve had in the competition. That’s a testament to the strength of these ‘mini-features’ but I also hope that this doesn’t become a trend. That said, viewers will want to check out these beauties. (No naming names though; I would hate to influence the jury.)
As always, attendees get the chance to meet competition filmmakers and ask them questions about their work during the Meet the Filmmaker sessions. These sessions tend to be both comical and inspiring. Over on the youth side of things, we have the always intriguing Films for 7+ category, but we’ve replaced the preschool category (Those kids should be playing outside) with a category for films aimed at teen audiences. The teen winner will be voted upon by, well, teens.
Over on the Industry side, Pitch THIS! (presented with Mercury Filmworks) is back. Animation Exposé, which features a day-long series of talks by artists from your favorite shows and movies. Aside from the aforementioned Masaaki Yuasa, award-winning director Hisko Hulsing (Undone, The Sandman, Junkyard) will discuss his fantastic work and influences. Hilda creator Luke Pearson will sit down with Andy Coyle to discuss adapting Hilda from graphic novels to a Netflix animation series.
The centerpiece of OIAF industry activities is The Animation Conference (TAC), a three-day event that brings together producers, recruiters, distributors and international and local animation studio folks for boozy boat cruise … I mean … lots of eye-popping talks and panels (and yes, we’ll be talking about that old chestnut, AI)!
And of course, every day there’s a party. Sure, the screenings are the priority, but the parties are essential for building a sense of community. All the usual favorites are back: The Opening party (presented by Nelvana), Salon des Refusés (presented by Bento Box), and the famous Animator’s Picnic presented by Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, featuring the pumpkin carving contest (and no mac and cheese!) Jam Filled Entertainment will also be hosting the Sweet Antics Party to celebrate its 16th anniversary.
Oh, and there will be owls … lots and lots of owls.
Well, here ends my self-serving and totally unbiased report of what to expect at OIAF23.
OIAF23 runs September 20-24. You can get all the details at animationfestival.ca.
