On the heels of a quite adult-y selection for the television competition and the horizon-expanding feature film lineup, Ottawa International Animation Festival has risen to the challenge of finding animation for kids that really breaks the mould. OIAF has uncovered a selection of off-beat and diverse works in this year’s Young Audiences competitions, with 17 titles across two categories which showcase some highly creative new works with a lot of heart.
Young Audiences, Ages 3+:
- Don’t Be Scared (dir. Richard O’Connor, United States)
- Fluffy Hour: PuiPui & MuuMuu “Selfish GyuGyu” (dir. Hiroyuki Mizoguchi, Japan)
- Franzy’s Soup Kitchen (dir. Ana Chubinidze; France, Georgia)
- Hush Hush, Little Bear (dir. Māra Liniņa, Latvia)
- Konigiri-Kun Parasol (dir. Mari Miyazawa, Japan)
- My Name Is Fear (dir. Eliza Płocieniak-Alvarez, Germany)
- Rain (dir. Han Yuki, China)
- Spuffies (dir. Jaka Ivanc, Slovenia)
- The Smortlyback Come Back! (dir. Ted Sieger, Switzerland)
- Toddler Talks (dir. Diana Reichenbach, United States)
Young Audiences, Ages 7+:
- Hello Stranger (dir. Julia Ocker, Germany)
- La Reine Des Renards / The Queen of the Foxes (dir. Marina Rosset, Switzerland)
- Letters from the Edge of the Forest (dir. Jelena Oroz, Croatia)
- Lost Brain (dir. Isabelle Favez, Switzerland)
- Luce and the Rock (dir. Britt Raes; France, Netherlands, Belgium)
- Snails’ Breakfast (dir. Eugeniy Fadeyev, Russia)
- Tales of the Salt Water (dirs. Tamerlan Bekmurzayev, Antoine Carre, Rodrigo Goulão De Sousa, Alexandra Petit, Martin Robic; Gobelins; France)
“These are all works that explore characters and experiences through different cultural lenses,” says OIAF Artistic Director Chris Robinson. “With children able to access more shows and animation than ever before in the history of human existence, the OIAF strives to find beautiful, engaging, and thoughtful works that families aren’t necessarily able to find on their favourite streaming gadgets.”
The ages 3+ competition consists of 10 animated works from nine different countries. This year’s competition includes Reichenbach’s Toddler Talks, an artistic visualization of a conversation with a toddler and Płocieniak-Alvarez’s My Name is Fear, a story about the universal emotion of fear that lives in the head of kids and adults alike.
The ages 7+ competition includes seven films from seven countries. Animated shorts of curiosity and problem-solving in this competition include Raes’ Luce and the Rock, a film about a young girl and her attempts to save her village from a giant rock, and Favez’s Lost Brain, a story about a crocodile who has to find her brain after sneezing it out.
The winners of the Young Audiences competitions will be selected by a jury of Canadian children. Applications for the Kids Jury are open until July 15. Young animation enthusiasts aged 8-12 are encouraged to apply through the Kids Jury Application Form.
OIAF 2022 runs September 21- 25 at venues throughout the Ottawa downtown core. Passes are available for purchase through the OIAF Box Office and individual tickets will be available closer to the Festival dates.
