The Best of Ottawa 2008

Award-winning films from the
2008 Ottawa International Animation Festival

Founded in 1975 by the Canadian Film Institute and first held in 1976, the now annual Ottawa International Animation Festival is the largest festival of its kind in North America and one of the most respected animation festivals in the world. The 2008 festival, held September 17-21, attracted a record-breaking number of entries: 2,149 works from 70 countries. Of these, 105 were selected for the festival’s official competition, and another 26 were chosen for out-of-competition screenings. The festival awards prizes in several main competition categories, including feature films, independent short films, commissioned films, student films, and animation for children. This year’s entertaining “Best of” program showcases festival award winners, audience favourites, and other outstanding and innovative entries in a wide variety of genres and forms.

FILMS:

OIAF 2008 Signal Film – This year’s festival trailer, made by Ian Lagarde of Montreal’s Fake Studio. Ian Lagarde/Canada 2008. 1 min.

C’est toujours la même histoire (It's Always the Same Story) – At the age of 16, Jean-Luc went to the cinema and saw a movie that would forever change how he looked at his father. Joris Clerté & Anne Morin/ France 2007. 5 mins.

Cattle Call – Auctioneering and animation meet in a wonderfully boisterous pixillated report from the Winnipeg stockyards. Mike Maryniuk & Matt Rankin/Canada 2008. 3 mins.

I Slept With Cookie Monster – Best Student Animation, Best Undergraduate Animation – Made at the Massachusetts Collect of Art, an account of a woman’s struggle with, and triumph over, domestic violence. Kara Nasdor-Jones/USA 2008. 3 mins.

The Comic That Frenches Your Mind – A drug-muddled mind tries to think back to its origins in this brain-melting exercise in pencil-on-paper animation. Bruce Bickford/USA 2008. 5 mins.

A Letter to Colleen – Haunted for years by the events of his 18th birthday, Andy London writes a letter to Colleen in an effort to put his demons to rest. Andy London & Carolyn London/USA 2007. 9 mins.

The Mixy Tapes – Musician MIXYLODIAN (Mike Wray) and filmmaker David Seitz team up in multiple animated ways to tell the story of their increasingly problematic effort to collaborate on a film. David Seitz & Mike Wray/Canada 2008. 6 mins.

ong>Último: “Spong Ice” – Best Music Video – Made from ink on 16mm film, this music video for Portugal’s Último mixes live action, animation, music and movement into an richly textured whole. Bolos Quentes Design/Portugal 2008. 3 mins.

The Control Master – In peaceful Halftone City, a mysterious heroine and a brave ally face the ultimate threat. Run Wrake/Great Britain 2008. 7 mins.
 

Chainsaw – Best Independent Short Animation, Best Narrative Short Animation – Love is like a chainsaw in this tour-de-force, twisting chain of stories mixing fact and fiction, power tool safety, bullfighting, and Frank-and-Ava celebrity romance. Dennis Tupicoff/Australia 2007. 25 mins.

Total running time: approx. 70 mins.