Recently I recommended some films at the Ottawa international Animation Festival (OIAF). The OIAF started on Wednesday, Sept. 24 and ends Sunday, Sept. 28. Having seen many films the first two days of the festival, I’ll tell you about the films that I enjoyed and think you’ll enjoy, too. Please don’t restrict yourself to these — there are so many films that I haven’t yet seen, and I’m sure you’ll find some other gems in their catalogue.
This is part one of our review, covering features, Short Film Competitions 1 & 2, and the Canadian Student Competition. Keep an eye out for Luke’s piece covering Short Film Competition 3 and Feature Competitions 2 & 5, as well as a special screening of Georgia on my Mind.
Feature Competition
So far, I’ve seen three of the six features that are in competition. One was outstanding, and the other two were quite good.
The outstanding feature is Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake by Irene Iborra. It has a terrific script, great characterizations, and beautiful stop-motion animation. Twelve-year old Olivia is living with her unemployed actress mother Ingrid and little brother Tim in Barcelona. One of Olivia’s favourite pursuits is making mini-videos on her cell phone. When, in rapid succession, the electricity and heat are cut off in their apartment and Ingrid receives an eviction notice, Olivia tells him that they’re just living in a film, and that he’s the star. Between the housing situation and impending threat of having to put the children into foster care, Ingrid doesn’t know what to do.
Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake by Irene Iborra. Film still: OIAF.
The script deals with community solidarity, and makes clear the impact poverty has on children. But Olivia’s a resilient and optimistic kid, so there’s plenty of humour and playfulness in the film. All the characterizations are terrific. I eavesdropped on two audience members after the screening; one was enthusing about how much Tim reminded her of her little brother. Another product of Spain’s thriving robust animation industry, Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake is a a film I hope gets Canadian distribution and will be widely available to all of us, teens and adults alike.
Tales from the Magic Garden also focuses on children, but in a really sweet way. Pre-teen Tom, 7-year-old Suzanne and preschool Derek are dropped off by their mother at the grandfather’s home. Their beloved grandmother — a masterful storyteller — has recently died and everyone is still in mourning. Missing her grandmother’s presence, Suzanne adopts her grandmother’s storytelling style and tells her brothers three fantastic stories. Through these, the three children and their grandfather learn to heal from their bereavement. Another beautiful stop-motion film, Tales from the Magic Garden would be enjoyed by school-age children.
Death Does Not Exist is a film from Québecois animator Felix Dufour-Laperrière. It’s set in an unidentified country where there is severe inequality. A band of young activists attack the estate of a wealthy older couple. A bloody gun battle leaves all but one of the attackers, a young woman named Hélène, dead. She flees into the forest. There she’s haunted by visions of her friend Manon (who perished in the battle). Manon urges her to commit to her political convictions, but Hélène is conflicted — she wants to return home, to be safe. What struck me about this film was its beautiful detailed digital hand drawings and bold use of colours — dark red, verdant greens, and rich gold. Hélène moves through these fields of shifting colours as she struggles with existential questions. The film gives no easy answers.
Death Does Not Exist, Felix Dufour-Laperrière. Film still: OIAF.
I’ve seen three compilations of short films that are in competition. All included films that are worth seeing, several of which I think are contenders for the “best of” awards.
Short Film Competition 1
NOTE: Several of the films in this collection are rated “Mature.”
Short Film Competition 1 starts with Fusion, which reminded me of Norman McLaren’s experimental animations such as Blinkity Blank and Hen Hop, though with more electronic music. It made me smile!
Next is Poor Marciano, a story of a kid whose father saddled him with a “weird” name (he’s named after a Canadian boxer). A misfit, he finally finds somewhere he belongs.
I recommended Off-Time in my preview, and I wasn’t mistaken. It’s a terrific amusing example of how trying to multi-task leads to chaos.
Off-Time, Nata Metlukh. Film still: OIAF.
Allied ABLE is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it advert for a trail bike, featuring adorable stop-motion characters.
The Estonian Vogellebeb (Bird Life) surprised and delighted me. It starts off as if it’s a nature film, then things go sideways! Great fun.
Basketball Explorer Presents the Shot Doctor is about a minor regional basketball player (he’s not that great, really) who is struggling with his imaginary demons.
And Kiev Tort (Kyiv Cake) is about the trials of a Ukrainian family, including their ravenous gas meter which is always demanding they feed it money. Lots of silly things happen, but then…
Short Film Competition 2
Most of the films in Short Film Competition 2 are worth seeing, but the one that astounded and delighted me was the National Film Board (NFB) film La jeune fille qui pleurait des perles (The Girl Who Cried Pearls). A wealthy old man tells his young granddaughter how he came by his great fortune, having started life as a street urchin in Montreal, eating food he found on the docks and living in an unheated hovel. I have rarely seen such beautiful stop-motion animation. I’ll remember it for a long time.
La jeune fille qui pleurait des perles, Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski. Film still: OIAF.
NOTE: Some of the films in this collection are rated “13+”.
I smiled all the way through Desi Oon, a musical paean to Deccani sheep, a special breed of black sheep which is raised in India. It’s super charming (and all the puppets and scenery are made of wool). Towards the end, the film makes a hard-hitting point that, although India produces a vast amount of wool, it discards most of it and imports equally vast amounts of wool and acrylic from other countries.
There’s great variety in the other films that I liked in this collection. Dark Globe uses that old animation technique — flipping through little packets of drawings — along with the artist’s hands and a few small models to illustrate an anti-war message.
Ordinary Life uses beautiful pastel videos of similar objects (Venetian blinds and the gills of a mushroom, for example) repeatedly, with slight variations each time. Eventually, things become destabilized.
Shadows tells the true story of how a 13-year old girl in Baghdad marriage to a mentally unstable man resulted in her fleeing, by air, at 14, leaving behind her infant son.
And Paradaiz is about a Canadian returning to her childhood home in Sarajevo, where she relives memories of the Siege of Sarajevo.
Canadian Student Competition
As usual, the Canadian Student Competition is worth watching. My favourite was the exquisite Music in the Pocket, a wordless story of an old musician’s life expressed through music synchronized with sand animation. The film is breathtakingly beautiful!
Music in the Pocket, Veronika Kostyuk. Film still: OIAF.
Nos fleurs en perles is a lovely true story about a family coming to accept their Métis heritage, using Métis beading patterns to visualize the pride the animator feels for her roots.
Bugsick is an amusing stop-motion film about a large bug who is having trouble getting over his human girlfriend breaking up with him. 3 X 23 uses 24 animation techniques looped together to comment on today’s environmental crisis.
Hogar explores what we mean by “home.”
And the 44-second Monkey Bar made everyone in the audience laugh.
There are lots of films that aren’t in competition; be sure to check them out.
At the end of the Festival, there are Best of the OIAF screenings on Sunday evening (Sept.28) at the ByTowne of the feature film and short films that won prizes. If you can spare only a few hours for the OIAF, these are the screenings you should attend, and I’m sure you’ll have a great time!
Check out the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) website, catalogue, daily schedule , and the Young Audiences @ OIAF webpage. Tickets and passes can be purchased here.
