National Film Board of Canada at Ottawa International Animation Festival

This year’s Ottowa International Animation Festival (OIAF) will be showcasing 17 different animated productions by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) along with many other animation feature length films and shorts. If you have not had the privilege of seeing any of NFB’s work, the festival is the perfect opportunity. Starting on September 17th through the 21st, you can partake in numerous screenings and seminars.

Five of NFB’s films will be in competition in various categories including:

• Seth’s Dominion (Animated Feature – World Premiere) directed by Luc Chamberland (40 min) – The poignant inner life of Canadian cartoonist Seth, one of the world’s great storytellers in the form, is explored in an artful fusion of filmmaking techniques that perfectly captures Seth’s manifold creative universe. Produced for the NFB by Marcy Page and Gerry Flahive.

• Soif (Experimental/Abstract Animation, North American Premiere) directed by Michèle Cournoyer (8 min) – On the screen of her life, a woman drinks away her youth, becoming completely absorbed by the desire to satisfy her thirst. Co-produced byUnité centrale (Marcel Jean and Galilé Marion-Gauvin) and the NFB (René Chénier).

• Me and my Moulton (Narrative Short Animation, Ottowa Premiere) directed by Torill Kove (14 min) – Unexpected drama ensues when a seven-year-old girl and her sisters ask their parents for a bicycle. Co-produced by Mikrofilm AS (Lise Fearnley) and the NFB (Marcy Page).

• Rainy Days (Narrative Short Animation Canadian Premiere) directed by Vladimir Leschiov (8 min) – An elderly Japanese man boards a ferry, and during the voyage recollects three pivotal moments in his life. Co-produced by Lunohod Animation Studio (Vladimir Leschiov) and the NFB (Marc Bertrand).

• Pilots on the Way Home (Narrative Short Animation North American Premiere) Olga Pärn and Priit Pärn (16 min) – Stranded in the middle of the desert, three pilots who have lost their planes fall prey to visions. Co-produced by Eesti Joonisfilm (Kalev Tamm) and the NFB (Julie Roy).

Some of NFB’s special screenings during the festival will include Sunday (directed by Patrick Doyon – 10 min.), Paula (directed by Dominic Etienne Simard – 10 min.), End of Pinky (directed by Claire Blanchet – 8 min.), Batmilk (directed Brandon Bloomaert – 1 min.) and Muybridge’s Strings (directed Koji Yamamura – 13 min.).

Tickets for the festival are still available for single screenings or festival long passes. Keep in mind, the festival is 5 days long (!!), so whatever day you can book will be jam packed with screenings and seminars.