The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is the largest of its kind in North America, attracting film buffs, art lovers, filmmakers, and cartoon fans from around the world to the nation’s capital. The Festival is proud to announce several new and exciting films as part of its 2011 Official Competition line-up including:
ยท The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, a new hybrid short film/interactive book and iPad app by renowned author and illustrator William Joyce and co-director Brandon Oldenburg.
ยท The finest new animation from the National Film Board of Canada, with new work by legendary animators such as Paul Driessen (Oedipus), Koji Yamamura (Muybridge’s Strings), Georges Schwizgebel (Romance) and Wild Life, a new short directed by Short Film Palme D’or winners and Academy Award nominees Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis.
ยท Bill Plympton revisits his Academy Award-nominated Guard Dog character in the experimental collaborative project Guard Dog Global Jam.
ยท Chico & Rita by Fernando Trueba & Javier Mariscal, is a Spanish feature that evokes late-’40s Havana and Cuban jazz music while telling the story of of a gifted songwriter and a beautiful singer chasing their dreams โ and each other โ from Havana to New York and Las Vegas.
ยท The North American premiere of La Luna, the new short from Pixar Animation Studios, directed by Enrico Casarosa.
“This year’s competition,” said OIAF Artistic Director Chris Robinson, “features a mix of young and old. Alongside legendary animators like Paul Driessen, Georges Schwizgebel and former OIAF Grand Prix winner, Koji Yamamura, stand a number of exciting new works from a new crop of students around the world. The maturity and originality of these student films bodes well for the future of animation film.”
Out of 2005 entries received from around the world, 100 animation films have been selected for Official Competition, with an additional 51 showcase films were chosen to represent the efforts of the Canadian, Canadian TV, International, and Student communities. This year’s film selections originate from countries such as Canada, the United States, Estonia, France, Germany, Iran, Israel, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom.
The OIAF competition includes categories for best feature, narrative, experimental and student films, TV shows, commercials, and music video. There is also a separate competition for films and TV shows made for children. Prizes will be awarded to category winners and a grand prize will be awarded to the winner of each competition: best Short Film, Feature Film, Student, and Commissioned film.
More information and a complete listing of the film selections can be found on the OIAF website at: www.animationfestival.ca
About Ottawa International Animation Festival
The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is one of the world’s leading animation events providing first class screenings, exhibits, workshops and entertainment since 1976. The OIAF is an annual five-day event bringing art, industry and inspiration together in a vibrant hub that attracts more than 28,000 artists, production executives, students and animation fans from across Canada and around the world. OIAF 2011 will be held September 21 to 25, 2011 in Ottawa, Ontario. For more information, please visit: www.animationfestival.ca.
