My favourite Ottawa festival, the Canadian Film Institute’s Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), begins on Wednesday, Sept. 24 and runs to Sunday, Sept. 28 at several downtown locations—mainly at the Ottawa Art Gallery and the ByTowne.
There are a huge number of films on offer: 76 short films in competition, including the Canadian Student category, Young Audiences 7+, and Teen Audiences 13+. There are also seven animated series and six feature films in competition, as well as retrospectives and special screenings.
My recommendations are only a starting point; you’re sure to spot other films in the catalogue that will intrigue you.
Poster provided by Ottawa International Animation Festival.
Are animated films just for kids? Definitely not! Last year’s big winner at the OIAF and the Oscars–Flow–was suitable for preteens and teenagers, but it was also a huge hit with adults (myself included; it was my favourite film of 2024). Not convinced? Then consider the wonderful Studio Ghibli films Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron. Both are beautiful fantasies with happy endings, their audiences being primarily adults.
There are also light-hearted treats at the OIAF. Some of these are part of the OIAF’s great free programming for young audiences. There are school field trip days—a Kids Day on Wednesday for elementary school kids and a Teens Day on Thursday (although, unfortunately, both days are fully booked. Teachers, pencil this in for next year!). I love it that the jury for the Kids 7+ is made up of their peers! Plus, there’s a free Saturday Day Pass for Teens. Adults, be sure to check out what’s available Saturday, Sept. 27, in the competitions for Short Films for Kids 7+ and Teens 13+. Some of the best stuff I’ve seen at OIAF has been in these two programs. Check the Young Audiences @ OIAF webpage.
Films are curated into collections, each lasting approximately an hour. Here’s what caught my eye in the catalogue.
As usual, the Canadian Student Competition is worth a look. I won’t single out any one film—there seems to be so much variety and talent. See what the cohort of up-and-coming animators from Canada’s animation schools is doing. You might even be inspired to consider animation as a career.
In the Short Film Competition 1, there are a couple of films from Estonia whose descriptions appeal to me. Bird Life has lovely still photos. Kyiv Cake (a joint Estonia/Ukraine production) is about an odd Ukrainian family’s peculiar difficulties. There’s also a US/Japan/Ukraine comedy, Off-Time, about a data engineer who believes multi-tasking saves time—but it creates chaos. Sounds familiar!
Short Film Competition 3 has several stop-motion films I’m keen to see. CNESST: “Hanging by a Thread” is about a stressed office worker who is literally unravelling; The 12 Inch Pianist starts as a bar joke that goes awry; and ICan’t is about the world’s most useless vacuum cleaner. Short Film Competition 3 also includes Join, a film by Ottawa’s Brennan Bova.
Short Film Competition 5 has two films that caught my eye: Two Point Five Stars is about a hotel receptionist’s worst possible day, and Existential Greg (Greg is a fluffy cat), with its still photos that make me smile.
There’s much more in competition—six animated features! This year’s crop looks particularly exciting.
In Feature Competition 1, Death Does Not Exist is from Canada. Hélène abandons her companions and flees into the forest after participating in a failed armed attack on wealthy landowners. One of her friends, Manon, returns to haunt her. Hélène’s life is complicated by strange occurrences in the forest. The stills for this film are gorgeous.
Feature Competition 2–The Great History of Western Philosophy–had me intrigued right from its title! From Mexico, the synopsis for this wordless mixed-media film is “A cosmic animator is hired by the Central Committee of the People’s Republic to realize a philosophical film under the gaze of Chairman Mao who is displeased and sentences them to death right at the start.”
Feature Competition 3, Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake, is a stop-motion film about Olivia, a 12-year-old Spanish girl who tries to shield her little brother Tim from the unpleasantness of their family’s eviction by convincing him that it’s all part of a film in which he’s the hero.
There’s more stop-motion in Feature Competition 4, Tales from the Magic Garden. Three kids spend the night at their grandfather’s, creating stories and discovering the power of imagination.
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Feature Competition 5, ChaO, is from Studio 4°C, the renowned anime powerhouse. In a future where humans and mermaids coexist, office worker Stephan is swept into an unexpected romance when Chao, a mermaid princess, proposes marriage. For business reasons, his boss pushes him to accept her proposal. Then Stephan must adapt to a most unusual lifestyle. There’s very elaborate animation in this one.
Feature Competition 6, Decorado, is another Spanish film. A middle-aged mouse who is having an existential crisis decides to rebel. He and his wife Maria, leave their town to start a new life. (I think this one will be very different from anything The Mouse House has produced.)
There are also lots of films that aren’t in competition.
Like the Canadian Student Competition, the Canadian Panorama is always worth viewing. The films that particularly interest me are The Gnawer of Rocks, based on an Inuit legend, and Still Moving, a story about a mother and daughter leaving for a new life after the mother’s divorce and discovering how difficult it is to leave the past behind.
This year’s national retrospective is Georgia On My Mind: 90 Years of Georgian Animation. Since I’ve never been disappointed by a national retrospective and I know nothing about Georgia’s animation, I’m looking forward to expanding my horizons with this one!
I’m not sure about the other films in this retrospective, but Universe Room: The World of Clyde Henry (Shorts) allows us to see the wonderful, slightly weird Madame Tutli-Putli. Its synopsis is “Adrift between real and imagined worlds, Madame Tutli-Putli is drawn into an undertow of mystery and suspense.”
At the end of the festival, there are three Best of the OIAF screenings on Sunday evening of the feature film and short films that won prizes at the ByTowne. If you can spare only a few hours for the OIAF, these are the screenings you should attend.
I’m sure you’ll have a great time at the OIAF!
Learn more at the Ottawa International Animation Festival website, or check out their catalogue and daily schedule. Tickets can be purchased here.
