The Festival Stop Motion Montreal returns for an 11th edition from September 16 to 22, under the theme of “stop motion in the digital age” After a decade, the Festival continues to grow and offer a unique event in the world: a full week dedicated to the art of stop motion. The open-to-the-public part of the Festival will take place Sept. 20-22 at Concordia University and Cinéma Moderne. Professional workshops will be organized from Sept. 16-19, in collaboration with MIAM and Salman Sajun Studio.
The 2019 Festival will welcome Phil Tippett as a special guest. A legendary stop-motion visual effects artist, Tippett has been working for several years on the short film series Mad God as an independent filmmaker. Three episodes of this series will be presented, in addition to its virtual reality version. The acclaimed artist will also offer a conference that allows festival goers to learn about the different aspects of his work. This conference is made possible by the Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art, Science and Technology. It will take place on Saturday, September 21 at 7 p.m. at the Alumni Auditorium at Concordia University (room H-110).
The Festival will also welcome Philippe Tardif. Originally from Gatineau, Tardif studied stop motion at Concordia University. An animator for several years at LAIKA in the United States, he has participated in five of the six feature films by the Oscar-nominated Oregon studio. Tardif will share his knowledge of the secrets and tricks behind LAIKA’s unique visual style during a conference focusing on the digital tools used in the creation of stop-motion films, to be held on Friday, September 20 at 7 pm at Concordia University’s J.A. de Sève Theatre.
Another special guest of this edition is Johan Oettinger, founder of the Danish animation studio Wiredfly, which specializes in animated short films, puppetry and video games. The studio is currently developing the video game Vokabulantis, produced by Kong Orange — an episodic game where the puppet film and video game merge. Segments of the game can be experienced by the public during the Festival. Oettinger will give a behind-the-scenes lecture on this interesting production on Saturday, September 21 at 4:30 pm at Concordia University’s J.A. de Sève Theatre.
The full lineup of the 11th Festival Stop Motion Montreal will be announced this Wednesday, August 28. More information at www.stopmotionmontreal.com.
