Jul 5, 2019

Ottawa Animation Festival Announces 2019 Competition Selections

The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) has announced the short film selections for its 34th edition, which will take place September 25-29. Programmers selected 54 short films across four categories: narrative, non-narrative, student, and commissioned, from more than 2,200 submissions, down slightly from 2,469 last year.

The program includes several intriguing premieres, including The Physique de la tristesse (The Physique of Sorrow) by Theodore Ushev and Shannon Amen by Chris Dainty. Also included are notable award-winning films such as Bruno Corré's Memorable (winner of Annecy's Cristal and Audience Awards) and Tomek Popakul's Acid Rain (winner of Animafest Zagreb's Grand Prix and Audience Award). Overall, the films are primarily from Europe, North America, and East Asia, with one entry each from Argentina and Australia. For a complete list, click here.

Festival artistic director Chris Robinson (also a Cartoon Brew contributor) noted several common themes and motifs, including social media, "global chaos," female sexuality, and fish. You get the sense that people are a little lost, trying to get a grip on identity, home, etc.," he told Cartoon Brew. Acid Rain, Kids, Physics of Sadness, Levers, I'm Not a Robot, and Deathtz (Rain). .......

The festival has already announced its feature, series, and young competition picks. Pete Braungart's "The Curse of the Monkey Bird," one of the reboots of the "Looney Tunes" series that premiered in Annecy last month; "Away," a one-man production by 25-year-old Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilvarodis, is another feature film, and "The Curse of the Monkey Bird," a film by the director of the "Looney Tunes" series, is another of the features The OIAF's selections for these categories are on the same page. The Virtual Reality, Canadian Students, and Panorama programs will be announced next week.

Outside of competition, there will be a variety of special screenings, including retrospectives of Elizabeth Hobbs, Kathy Rose, and Ray Ray, and a look back at the evolution of how automobiles are depicted in animation.

(Image: "Flounder" by Elizabeth Hobbs)