NFB animation celebrated at OIAF with new films, retrospective and exhibition
Skwigly
A world leader in auteur animation, the National Film Board of Canada will be showcased at the 2015 Ottawa International Animation Festival from September 16th-20th with new films from established animators and upcoming talents.
Making its Ontario premiere in Official Competition in the Narrative Short section is Carface (Autos-Portraits), the latest from award winner Claude Cloutier (Sleeping Betty). A scathing satire of the power of Big Oil, Carface skewers our carefree attitudes toward the threats to our planet, in a musical comedy on a grand scale. Cloutier’s previous 2007 NFB short Sleeping Betty received over 20 awards, including the Canadian Film Institute Award for Best Canadian Animation at the OIAF.
The festival is hosting the world premiere of Sheldon Cohen’s latest, My Heart Attack. Premiering in the Canadian Showcase, it’s the most personal film to date from the acclaimed animator, known for beloved NFB classics like The Sweater. In My Heart Attack, Cohen couldn’t have made up the events that led to his being rushed to an emergency room one sunny summer afternoon, reminding us all that life is stranger than fiction.
The Canadian Showcase also presents the Canadian premiere of If I Was God, by two-time Academy Award nominee Cordell Barker (The Cat Came Back, Strange Invaders). In this semi-autobiographical 3D animated short, a 12-year-old boy speculates about what he would do if he were God—while dissecting a frog in Biology class.
Image via NFB
The OIAF is presenting four films from Hothouse, which in its 10th-anniversary year asked participants to visually reinterpret snippets of found audio―and for the first time, welcomed two emerging animators from Mexico. Screening in Official Competition in the Narrative Short category is Esteban Azuela’s Sweet Talk and Alex Boya’s Focus, while Alexandra Lemay’s All the Rage and Frances Adair Mckenzie’s A Little Craving will screen in the Canadian Showcase. The mentoring director of Hothouse 10 was Chris Landreth, whose Oscar winner Ryan also received the Grand Prix for Best Independent Short Film/Video at the OIAF.
Pioneering animator Michèle Cournoyer will be honoured this year at the OIAF with a retrospective of her films as well as an exhibition of her artwork. Isolation Drills: The Films of Michèle Cournoyer (September 18th–19th) features 13 of her NFB and independent films, while Blow Up: Drawings by Michèle Cournoyer (September 16th–20th) presents a selection of Cournoyer’s artwork, in which she tackles powerful subject matter ranging from alcoholism and sexual abuse to other violations of the mind and body.
Have a watch of Skwigly’s exclusive interview series on the NFB’s animation output here.
For the full OIAF festival line-up visit animationfestival.ca