Ottawa International Animation Festival

Last updated

Ottawa International Animation Festival
Ottawa International Animation Festival 2019.jpg
The poster for OIAF 2019. Design by Steve Angel.
StatusActive
Genre Film festival
FrequencyAnnually
Location(s) Ottawa, Ontario
CountryCanada
Inaugurated1975 (1975)
Most recentSeptember 2023 (2023-09)
Next eventSeptember 2024
Website Ottawa International Animation Festival

The Ottawa International Animation Festival is an annual animated film and media festival that takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIAF was founded in 1975, with the first festival held from August 10 to 15 in 1976. [1] Initially organized by the Canadian Film Institute on a biennial basis and with the co-operation of the International Animated Film Association, the Festival organization now remains in the hands of the CFI. It moved from a biennial to an annual festival in 2005. Today the festival is recognized as the largest and oldest animation festival in North America, and regularly attracts upwards of 25,000 attendees when it is held each September. [2] [3]

Contents

History

The Ottawa International Animation Festival was founded in 1975 by various figures in the world of Canadian animation, most prominently Bill Kuhns, Frederik Manter, Prescott J. Wright, Frank Taylor, and Kelly O'Brien. Many Canadian film and media institutions, such as the National Film Board of Canada, Télévision de Radio-Canada, CBC Television, and Cinémathèque Québécoise also played a fundamental role in building the festival into its present state.

Canada's national capital Ottawa was chosen as the host city due to its already strong film culture, being the former home of the NFB as well as many of Canada's first animation studios. Additionally, Ottawa was (at the time) home of famed Canadian animator and filmmaker Norman McLaren, who went on to be recognized for his contributions to the field of animation by the festival as its first honorary president. The festival was originally led by Wayne Clarkson, until he left in 1978 to become artistic director of the Festival of Festivals.

The OIAF experienced a brief change of location in 1984 when it was moved to Toronto and subsequently to Hamilton, Ontario in 1986 before settling back in Ottawa in 1990, where it has remained since. In 1999 the festival office suffered a fire, leading to many of the files from past years being lost. Nevertheless, the festival has continued to thrive. In 1997 the Ottawa International Student Animation Festival (SAFO) was founded and held in alternate years to the larger OIAF. In 2005 the OIAF moved from biennial to annual and as such the student categories became part of the main festival.

In 2002 the festival premiered its business conference component, originally called the Television Animation Conference and now known simply as The Animation Conference or TAC. The Animation conference runs concurrently with the festival and is aimed more at industry professionals than the general public, providing those in the animation industry an opportunity to network with their colleagues.

Today the OIAF continues to grow and is known in the festival world for its practice of pitting both commercial and independent projects in competition with one another, a strategy which leads to a wide breadth of styles and formats. The OIAF features traditionally-drawn animated films, animation made with computer graphics, and more recently, even projects made in virtual reality.

Grand prize winners

Venues

The following venues host events and screenings during the Ottawa International Animation Festival:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleksandr Petrov (animator)</span> Russian painter (born 1957)

Aleksandr Konstantinovich Petrov is a Russian animator and animation director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Priit Pärn</span> Estonian animation director and caricaturist

Priit Pärn is an Estonian cartoonist and animation director whose films have enjoyed success among critics as well as the public at various film festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Mulloy</span> Irish-English animator (born 1948)

Phil Mulloy is an Irish-English animator. He was born in Wallasey, Merseyside and studied both painting and filmmaking. Mulloy worked as a screenwriter and director of live-action films until the late 1980s before becoming an animator. His animations have been described as "satirical grotesque" and often portray the dark side of human nature and contemporary social, political, and religious values in a humorous and at times, shocking way. His visual style is distinctive in its use of primitive, often skeletal figures and minimalist backgrounds. Mulloy has made over 30 animated films many of which are in themed groupings based on Hollywood genres. Mulloy has won many international awards for his work and has conducted several workshops for young animators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre</span> Canadian documentary film maker

Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre is a Montreal-based filmmaker most notable for her animated documentary films.

The International Animation Festival Hiroshima is a biennial animation festival hosted in Hiroshima, Japan. The festival was founded in 1985 by Association International du Film d'Animation or ASIFA as International Animation Festival for the World Peace. The city of Hiroshima was one of the sites of nuclear bombings in 1945 at the end of World War II and it was chosen to inspire thoughts of unity through the arts. The festival was considered one of the most respected animated film festival, along with Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Ottawa International Animation Festival, and Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films.

Every Child is an animated short film produced in 1979 by the National Film Board of Canada in association with UNICEF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kōji Yamamura</span> Japanese independent animator (born 1964)

Kōji Yamamura is a Japanese independent animator who, after leaving a career as a background artist at an animation studio, directs, writes, edits, animates, creates the model sheets and background art for and sometimes produces his own short films and has worked on many commissions such as music videos, television advertisements, title sequences and station idents, both on his own and under or with other directors. He is also a regular illustrator of children's literature and textbooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-François Laguionie</span> French animator

Jean-François Laguionie is a French animator, film director and producer of animation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animafest Zagreb</span> Film festival in Croatia

World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb, best known as Animafest Zagreb, is a film festival entirely dedicated to animated film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA), the event was established in 1972. Animafest is the second oldest animation festival in the World, after the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

Richard Roger Reeves is a Canadian animated filmmaker. He is known for his whimsical abstract animated films created using a drawn on film technique.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodore Ushev</span> Bulgarian animator and filmmaker

Theodore Asenov Ushev is a Bulgarian animator, film director and screenwriter based in Montreal. He is best known for his work at the National Film Board of Canada, including the 2016 animated short Blind Vaysha, which was nominated for an Academy Award. He is a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France.

Chris Robinson is an animation, film, literature and sports writer, author of numerous books on independent animation and artistic director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF). He also wrote the screenplay for the Jutra Award and Genie Award-winning animated documentary Lipsett Diaries, directed by Theodore Ushev. In 2020, Robinson was awarded for his Outstanding Contribution to Animation Studies by Animafest Zagreb. In 2022, he received Le Prix René-Jodoin.

<i>The Painting</i> 2011 film

The Painting is a 2011 French animated film directed by Jean-François Laguionie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane Obomsawin</span> Canadian author, illustrator and animated filmmaker

Diane Obomsawin is an Abenaki Quebec-based author, illustrator and animated filmmaker, often known by her pseudonym, Obom. Some of her notable works have explored the issue of lesbian first love, including a 2014 graphic novel, published in French as J'aime les filles by L'Oie de Cravan and in English as On Loving Women by Drawn & Quarterly. J'aime les filles was adapted as a 2016 National Film Board of Canada animated short, I Like Girls , which received the Nelvana Grand Prize for Independent Short at the 40th Ottawa International Animation Festival.

Rowing Across the Atlantic is a 1978 French animated short film directed by Jean-François Laguionie. The film was scripted by Laguionie and Jean-Paul Gaspari and features the voices of Charlotte Maury and Jean-Pierre Sentier. It premiered at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival and was released in French cinemas on 25 October 1978.

<i>Blind Vaysha</i> 2016 Canadian film

Blind Vaysha is a 2016 animated short by Theodore Ushev, produced by Marc Bertrand for the National Film Board of Canada, with the participation of ARTE France. Based on a story by Georgi Gospodinov, the film tells the story of a girl who sees the past out of her left eye and the future from her right—and so is unable to live in the present. Montreal actress Caroline Dhavernas performed the narration for the film, in both its French and English language versions. The film incorporates music from Bulgarian musician and composer Kottarashky and is his and Ushev's fourth collaboration.

Igor Adolfovich Kovalyov born 17 January 1954) is a Ukrainian animator, director and educator, co-founder of Pilot — the first private animation studio in the Soviet Union Ukraine. From 1991 to 2005 he worked at Klasky Csupo where he co-created Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and co-directed The Rugrats Movie. He currently serves as a creative producer at Soyuzmultfilm. Kovalyov is also known for his auteur films for which received multiple international awards, including three Grand Prizes at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.

Caterpillarplasty is a Canadian animated short film, directed by David Barlow-Krelina and released in 2018. Set in a futuristic world, the film takes place in a plastic surgery clinic where advanced new technologies have enabled people to alter their appearances to conform to extreme new beauty standards.

Flux is a Canadian animated short film, directed by Christopher Hinton and released in 2002. The film presents a fast-paced, humorous summary of life, from birth to death, in eight minutes.

When Adam Changes is a Canadian animated comedy-drama feature film, directed by Joël Vaudreuil and released in 2023. The film centres on Adam, an impressionable teenager growing up in smalltown Quebec who has the unusual quirk that each time somebody makes a comment about his body, whether fair or unfair, his body actually changes to match the comment.

References

  1. Levy, David B. (May 1, 2006). "The Ottawa International Animation Festival". Your Career in Animation: How to Survive and Thrive. Allworth Press. p. 225. ISBN   1581154453.
  2. The Ottawa International Animation Festival isn't just a film festival, it's a 'dysfunctional family reunion'|CBC Arts
  3. What to do in Ottawa this week: From Indigenous to bluegrass to opera|Ottawa Citizen
  4. 1 2 Jamie Lang, "‘When Adam Changes,’ ‘Miserable Miracle’ Take Top Prizes At Ottawa 2023". Cartoon Brew , September 25, 2023.
  5. French animation in animation festivals: Fall 2022 - Unifrance
  6. ‘Dozens Of Norths,’ ‘Bird In The Peninsula’ Take Top Prizes At Ottawa 2022|Cartoon Brew
  7. Ottawa International Animation Festival Announces 2020 Winners|Skwigly Animation Magazine
  8. Milligan, Mercedes (September 25, 2016). "'J'Aime les Filles,' 'Louise' Take Ottawa Grand Prizes". Animation Magazine. Retrieved September 29, 2016.