Tonight (Friday, June 28) ASIFA-Hollywood’s Animation Educator’s Forum (AEF) presents the 2024 Student Animation Showcase premiere panel event, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. PDT. The Showcase is in its fifth year and highlights 144 animated short films from 33 schools.
Tune in via Zoom here to view the films, and join host Michael Bonitatis and several of the film creators for a Q&A. These films will be available for viewing for the rest of 2024 year.
Following the announcement of its Teen and Young Audience selections, Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) has announced six titles competing in its Animated Series section. The 2024 festival runs September 25-29, details at animationfestival.ca.
“Each year, we strive to find under-the-radar series that OIAF audiences might not be familiar with. We don’t just look abroad, but also in alternative streaming sources,” said OIAF Artistic Director Chris Robinson.”This year’s crop features sci-fi, office comedy, historical works, and absurdist works that the OIAF has become known for uncovering.”
The selections are:
- Bad Bad Belgium – dirs. Jasper Declercq, Wouter Medaer and Jonas Wellens (Belgium) – North American Premiere
- Gotchu Catchu (가츄캐츄) – dirs. Taesik Shin and Kyuri Park (Republic of Korea) – International Premiere
- In the Know ‘Portrait of a Safety Rep on Fire’ – dirs. Zach Woods and Brandon Gardner (United States) – Canadian Premiere
- Let’s Play Pretend! – dir. Sam Lane (United States)
- Little Edy ‘Episode 3’ – dir. Felipe Di Poi United States)
- Scavenger’s Reign ‘The Signal’ – dirs. Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner (United States)
Britain’s Royal Television Society (RTS) announced the winners for the national RTS Student Television Awards 2024, sponsored by 4Skills, Channel 4’s nationwide training and development strategy. Hosted by rapper, author and broadcaster Guvna B, the winners were crowned at an awards ceremony at the IET, Savoy Place last week. The 2024 animation winners are:
Undergraduate Animation – Sketchbook by James (Hamez) Watt, Nyah Deamer, Marta Smielewski & Steven Watt (Manchester Metropolitan University)
After a failed day of selling sculptures on the streets, a homeless woman breaks into a car to steal a bag. Later, When rummaging through the bag she finds a sketchbook, belonging to a child. After flipping through the sketchbook, she feels guilty and is compelled to return it. (Trailer)
“The judges felt that the poignancy of the story in this short was well matched by the beautiful and ambitious animation. The attention to detail on color and visuals was particularly commented upon.”
Nominees: Doggerland (Michael Blake & Martin To; University of the West of England, Bristol) |The Curse of Dracular (Jack Paterson; Norwich University of the Arts)
Postgraduate Animation – Crab Day by Ross Stringer, Aleksandra Sykulak, Bartosz Stanislawek & Donya Maguire (National Film and Television School)
- Also the winner for Postgraduate Craft Skills – Sound
As part of a fishing community’s annual ritual, a young boy must kill his first crab in order to become a man and gain his father’s approval. (Trailer)
“The judges loved this fresh take on a coming-of-age story told with humor and poignancy. The beautiful and deceptively simple animation style only served to enhance the clever storytelling in this captivating short.”
Nominees: Mum’s Spaghetti (Lisa Kenney, Emma Grazette, Martina Buendia Silva, Jack Maraghy & Team; National Film and Television School) | Singularity (Conor Mullin, Alexander Leeming Froudakis, Joe Flowers, Pip Denning & Team; University of the West of England, Bristol)
Online, the Collision Awards — a new platform honoring excellence in animation and motion design — has announced its finalists in categories across film, TV, experiential and more. Public voting is now open at vote.collisionawards.com.
As a small excerpt of the many deserving nominees, the feature film finalists include:
- Nimona (Netflix)
- Wish (Disney)
- Suzume (Crunchyroll)
- Elemental (Pixar)
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount)
This October 1-6, Valencia, Spain will host the 16th Weird Market, the International Animation, Video Games and New Media Market, with the professionals program Oct. 3-5. New venues that will host hundreds of professionals: La Harinera and Las Naves join the Filmoteca Valenciana as hubs for a multidisciplinary program including project presentations, talks, networking spaces, recruitment and screenings, among others.
The 2024 event unveiled official signal art, featuring the return of the “Mr. Weird” mascot. The new poster was designed by the Spanish animation studio Mr. Klaus, bringing back the iconic character they debuted in 2020. “[Mr. Weird] returns to give us some surprises during the event. At Weird we are always investigating the limits of technology and creativity so stay tuned for this,” said festival director José Luis Farias. Check out the full poster below.
Specialized in the creation of quality content for the animation and video game industry, Mr. Klaus has a client portfolio that includes international companies, production companies and channels such as Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Anima Kitchent, Canal+ Junior , El Ranchito, BRB International, IGG, Supercell.
The Weird Market will open its call for projects on July 25. Learn more at weirdmarket.es.
