OIAF Announces 2019 International Competition Selections
Skwigly
The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), North America’s leading animation film festival, is pleased to announce the official selections for OIAF 2019. The 2019 Festival features a diverse collection of films from 36 countries and nearly every continent. Selections range from experimental shorts to highly anticipated feature films, from Festival favourites to first-time competitors.
“The diversity, range and levels of innovation and experimentation of this year’s Competition films is quite impressive,” remarks Chris Robinson, Artistic Director of the OIAF. “Not surprisingly, there is an underlying tension and anxiety to many of the films. Animation artists are pondering the chaos of our time and where we fit into it all. I get this real sense of people being a bit lost and in exile from their lives as they struggle with personal identity, social media and the increasingly scary political slants around the planet. But it’s not all dark – you also see a lot of silly films about cats, masturbation, bondage, babies and twits. Artists continue to push themselves in terms of concept and technique.”
Festival favourites from across the globe are back for OIAF 2019. BAFTA-nominated Elizabeth Hobbs is a jury member and creator of this year’s signal film. Her short film The Flounder, an experimental interpretation of “A Fisherman and His Wife” by the Brothers Grimm, has its North American premiere at this year’s Festival.
The notorious Polish director Piotr Dumala is back with the world premiere of his new short film, Ostatnia Wieczerza (Last Supper). Another winner from the OIAF’s past, Koji Yamamura, returns with WildAid ‘Hankograph’ (Japan), a unique commissioned animation that tells a devastating story by animating the medium it is condemning. Austria’s Thomas Renolder and Estonia’s Priit Tender, among others, have chosen this year’s Festival for the Canadian premiere of their newest works.
Up-and-coming animators are poised to test audience expectations, and the medium’s boundaries, at OIAF 2019. Sophie Gate’s Slug Life (UK) and Sawako Kabuko’s Takoyaki Story (Japan) will play with your idea of what’s pleasurable, and the success of Tomek Popakul’s Acid Rain (Poland) and Bruno Collet’s Mémorable(France) at festivals like Annecy, Zagreb, and GLAS, all make for a festival that’s sure to be unforgettable.
The Ottawa International Animation Festival runs from September 25 – 29 and screens at various venues in Ottawa. Admission starts at $14 for the general public or $10 for children, seniors, and members of the Canadian Film Institute. Tickets and Festival Passes are available online at AnimationFestival.ca.