The Ottawa International Animation Festival has come in swinging this year, with plenty of films worth a watch for Ottawa audiences. Some may give you food for thought on hard topics, and some just feel like a nice massage on your audiovisual senses. Over the weekend (Sept. 26-28), you can catch some of what you missed over the past couple days.
This is part two of our review. Barb’s previous piece covered Features, Short Film Competition 1 & 2, and the Canadian Student Competition.
So far, I’ve seen two of the feature films in competition, one short film competition and one (very) special screening. All of what I’ll recommend will have a repeat screening at some point in the weekend. You can find out when and where by heading over to the OIAF schedule.
Short Film Competition 3
This collection had an eclectic and diverse range of short films to choose from, stylistically and thematically, but there were a few that really caught my eye.
- 12-Inch Pianist by Lucas Ansel: This one had the entire crowd roaring with laughter, myself included. It’s what happens when you take a punchline and see how creative you can get with it.
- Join by Brennan Bova: It was amazing to see the only Ottawa-born short film in competition at the OIAF up on the big screen. Join is a touching short about yellow ducklings finding community in each other.
- Mother’s Child by Naomi Noir: This film tells the story of a mother’s unconditional love for her disabled son, showing the struggles of taking care of a dependent loved one with rawness and sincerity.
- Life With an Idiot by Theodore Ushev: Vladimir is forced to live with an idiot as a punishment for not working hard enough. I was astounded by how impressive the visual language was, told through the form of watercolour painting. Its unapologetically French nature and pessimistic narration made it incredibly memorable.
One of the feature films in competition this year, ChaO by Yasuhiro Aoki brought a warmth to my heart that rivalled other acclaimed and heartfelt anime films like A Silent Voice. It might be because I’m a sucker for anime romance films, or maybe because it’s undeniably gorgeous, but I really connected with this one.
ChaO, Yasuhiro Aoki. Film still: OIAF.
In the fantastical world of ChaO, humanity lives (somewhat) harmoniously with the world of Merpeople. The real story begins when Stephan, a man working for a shipbuilding company in a futuristic Shanghai, somehow gets thrust into a marriage with the princess of the Merpeople, Chao, and is forced to act as a peacekeeper between the sea-dwellers and land-dwellers. Soon enough, Stephan learns to embrace his newly wedded wife for who she truly is, scales and all.
The film strikes the perfect balance between wholesome humour and touching dramatic moments, and actually made me root for a relationship between a man and a fish. The beautiful animation and dynamic camera work, especially in the action-oriented moments, as well as the outlandish cast of characters, kept me on the edge of my seat. You won’t want to miss this one when it comes back to the ByTowne Cinema this weekend.
Special Screening: Georgia On My Mind: 95 Years of Georgian Animation
One of the OIAF’s greatest strengths is putting a spotlight on certain thriving animation communities around the world. This year’s Georgia On My Mind is dedicated to the 95 years of the Georgian animation industry. Mariam Kandelaki was the architect for this spotlight, and it includes a number of her own animated shorts. These were some of my favourites:
- The Pocket Man by Ana Chubinidze: An endearing story about a man roughly the size of a button finding joy in the “little things”, and forms an unlikely bond with an old blind man.
- The Youth and the Leopard by Mariam Kandelaki: Based on an old folk tale of the same name, this one tells the visceral tale of a battle between a young man and a leopard, told through beautifully animated cave drawings on a rock wall.
- The Raven by David Takaishvili: It’s hard to make anything out here, with an almost complete absence of light slowly being eroded away by the yellow scratchings of light over the course of the short. However, its mystique kept me in a trance the whole time.
- Abandoned Village by Mariam Kandelaki: Amazingly, this is one of my favourite things I’ve seen at the OIAF so far, and in it, nothing happens, really at all. It’s a stunning work of still art that is brought to life by its subtle sound design and lighting. The sounds of animals, children playing, and the slow movement of the sun and shadows made by clouds gave it a meditative quality.
The Great History of Western Philosophy by Aria Covamanos
My last recommendation is also perhaps the most perplexing. A work of cinematic nonsense, unbridled dadaism, and something that you will not find anything like. The film’s director, Aria Covamanos, an acclaimed Mexican filmmaker, sadly passed away earlier this July. However, she lives on in what she called her “imaginary machine”, The Great History of Western Philosophy.
At the beginning of the screening, all viewers were instructed “not to make sense of this film,” which I didn’t, not for a lack of trying. If you’d like a little bit of plot to reel you in, the films synopsis reads: “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.” It’s a pure stream of consciousness type film that celebrates the absurd and the unordinary, and will stick with you if you’re willing to let go.
The Ottawa International Animation Festival continues through Sunday, September 28. Full schedules and tickets are available online.
