Annecy 2009, June 8 through 13^th, was its usual mixed bag.  On the plus side there were lots of old and new friends to see and some fantastic special screenings.  On the other hand the majority of the short films in competition were mediocre.  Since networking and doing business has become one of the major purposes of the festival, it was definitely a success in that department.

From the moment we arrived in Annecy on Sunday afternoon we could feel the buzz of excitement as you walked down the main street.  It was a day filled with meeting and greeting, trying to get last minute tickets and preparing to get down to the business of watching film.

Monday morning the festival started off on a high note for me with A Thorn in The Mind.  Mathieu Bergeron and Yves Martel’s fascinating documentary gives us a touching and incisive look into the creative imaginations of 6 prominent animators from around the world:  Jacques Drouin form Canada, Great Britain’s Barry Purves, Pjotr Sapegin of Russia, Swiss animator Georges Schwizgebel and Raoul Servais of Belgium.  One of the most touching moments in the film was Georges talking about how satisfied he is with his life and his work.  His face beaming down at the audience was the very picture of a life well spent.

I alternately laughed and cried as I watched The Boys, another documentary screened this week.  You may not know the names Robert and Richard Sherman but you know their music.  Their combined musical genius earned each of them 2 Oscars for Mary Poppin,1 for Best Musical Score and another for Best Song, Chim Chim Cher-ee as well as giving us the longest word in the English language, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.  The rise of their careers at Disney Studio, where Walt called them simply “the boys”, their creative genius, and their eventual estrangement from each other is told in interviews and film footage with family members, Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke who worked with them on Mary Poppins, Roy Disney and many others who knew and worked with them.

Most important and moving of all was the commentary from Bob and Dick themselves.  Their sons, Jeffrey C. Sherman and Gregory V. Sherman, who wrote, directed, and produced the film brought the estranged brothers together for the first time in years to give us a touching glimpse into a past that lives on with their music in films that have delighted generations of adults and their parents.

Monday evening brought us to the official opening ceremony and screening.  The first surprise in store for us was provided by Pixar with a screening of their delightful new short Partly Cloudy.  Everyone knows that the stork delivers babies, but where does the stork get the babies from?  Animator and story board artist Peter Sohn answers this question in his directorial debut.

The opening night centerpiece, A Town Called Panic, began life as a cult favorite series of 5 minute episodes featuring toy plastic action figures.  In their first feature length film Belgian animators Vincent Patar and Stephane Aubier tell a tale of their classic characters of Cowboy and Indian wanting to give Horse a birthday present.  Of course soon it all dissolves into chaos.  The stop motion animation utilizes the plastic miniatures of our childhood which they have remolded and reformed into all sorts of bizarre positions to create a hilarious animated film.  The hundreds of figures and sets that Patar and Aubier have created were  on display upstairs at the Bonleiu Center.

Following the screening we went to a party at the lovely Hotel de Ville (“House of the City”, or City Hall) where we all enjoyed delicious food and drink along with our first chance to catch up with old friends.  From there, Nik and I went to the late night party at the La Plage restaurant for champagne and yummy hors d’oeuvres.  There are very few things lovelier than walking back from La Plage along the lake front late at night with the moon shining on the water, a fitting end to a perfect evening.

Nancy and Henry Selik celebrating the opening

This year Annecy spotlighted Germany’s contribution to the world of animation with numerous special screenings including a presentation of Lotte Reiniger’s 1926 classic The Adventures Of Prince Ahmed with live musical accompaniment.  Stuttgart’s renowned Studio Film Builder, celebrating their 20^th anniversary this year, was saluted with a screening of their films, and Throwing Light On Works In The Shade  took us deep into the archives of German animation from the 1920’s to the 1960’s along with interviews with surviving witnesses of the dynamic German avant-garde film scene.

My favorite party every year is the Stuttgart Animation Festival event, and this year as the honored country they went all out.  In past years the event was a large affair but this year Filmförderung Baden-Wurttemberg was co-hosting the party, as well as the opening MIFA event and so this fete was a “petite animation reception. After a bus ride up a very curvy mountain road we arrived at the beautiful Auberge la Mageriaz.  This tranquil, cozy inn is owned by Vincent and Cathy Ferris.  In case Vincent’s name sounds familiar, he is the former manager of MIFA.  The superb French-Swabian regional food ( Swabia  covers much of Germany’s Southwestern state of Baden-Wurttemberg) was only matched by the lovely rustic country surroundings.  The food and atmosphere was totally complimented by music provided by Rolf Bachler and Nik.

Ivan Maximov and Alexei Alexeev at the Stuttgart party, in the background Philippe Moins of Anima Brussels

In 2009 the festival strengthened their new policy in favor of feature films with 10 feature films in competition chosen from a field of 45 entrees, 9 shown out of competition, 3 film premieres and of course, the night time outdoor shows on the giant screen.

I had already seen Adam Elliot’s brilliant Mary and Max, Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey’s beautifully animated Brendan and the Secret of the Kells, and Coraline, Henry Selick’s modern master piece, but there were still delightful surprises such as My Dog Tulip. 

Paul and Sandra Fierlinger created a beautiful adaptation of A. J. Ackerley’s 1956 book telling of the 14 years he shared with a German Shepherd that he rescued, who he named Tulip.  The film features the voices of Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave, and Isabella Rossellini.  The Fierlingers and producer Norman Twain have created a very personal love story which is definitely an adult film, which once again proves that animation is not just for children or dog lovers.

Paul and Sandra Ferlinger

The other feature that grabbed my attention was The Story Of Mr. Sorry.  A group of 5 South Korean students from the Korean Academy of Film Arts adapted Lee Jeok’s delightfully strange story of Mr. Sorry, a professional ear wax cleaner who, due to a chance encounter with a fortune teller, finds himself shrinking and shrinking until he is small enough to climb into his customers’ ear canals.  This tale of social comment, emotional resonance and mystical fantasy answers the question “What will happen to Mr. Sorry now that he knows his clients deepest thoughts.

I was a bit surprised that $9.99 was shown out of competition, but at least Tatia Rosenthal’s Israeli/Australian co-production was screened on 3 separate occasions throughout the week.

By and large I found the 5 short film competition programs not particularly inspiring.  Of course, there were some outstanding exceptions.  I have been anxiously awaiting Latvian animator Vladimir Leschiov’s new film, and his Wings and Oars definitely did not disappoint me. The beautifully drawn film tells the tale of a pilot looking back over his past with extreme sensitive, delicate hues and superb art work.

With all of the mediocre computer animation that seems to fill festival screens lately it is a real pleasure to see a film created by an animator who practices the fire art of drawing with such skill.  With subtle touches of humor Vladimir inserted references to his past films, like the man climbing up the side of a building with a pick ax from Insomnia.  One very funny aside was naming the boat for his friend Alexi Budowsky who could be at Annecy in name only this year.

New York animator PES demonstrated how he makes pasta sauce following his mother’s receipt and using common household items such as velvet pin cushion tomatoes, a cube pulled from a Rubik cube as a garlic clove, and pick-up sticks for spaghetti.  The film is 1 minute and 45 seconds of pure delight and the audience agreed with me, awarding Spaghetti Western the Audience Award crystal.

I have watched so much bad Chinese animation lately that it was a pleasant surprise to see The Winter Solstice.  This graphically beautiful film takes us into the mind of a man as he relives scenes from his recent past as he lies dying after being shot in the head.

Of course my hands down favorite film was Ivan Maximov’s surreal The Additional Capabilities of The Snout.  I have always loved Ivan’s quirky films and so Nik and I were very honored when he asked to use Nik’s music for his latest film.

Even the short film competition seemed to have longer films with Kaspar Jancis’ wonderful Crocodile at 16 minutes, Nick Park’s most entertaining Wallace and Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And Death running 29 minutes, and Pritt and Olga Parn’s totally delightful Life Without Gabriella Ferri at 43 minutes.  I love all three of these films very much but I hope that this is not a trend and that the 3 to 5 minute well told story film will not become a thing of the past.

Signe Baumane and Kaspar Jancis

Five uniquely different programs gave us the opportunity to discover the world of visual harmony and rhythm.  The highlight was the 2 programs devoted to the master Russian ballet choreographer  Alexander Shiryaev.  At the beginning of the 20^th Century Shiryaev began filming the movements of ballet dancers on an amateur 17.5 camera.  He also made drawings of dancers movements and step sequences which he also annotated.  He then traced these drawings onto paper strips which were projected with an optical device similar to a praxinoscope.  He also made papier-mâché puppets which were wired and could be moved and filmed.

In 1995 documentary film maker and historian Viktor Bocharov used restored footage to create A Belated Premiere.  The second program, Shiryaev:  Animation and Movement was made up of recently restored films, including much of the puppet animation and the paper films.  An exhibition on the 1^st floor of the Bonlieu Library presented original items from the Shiryaev archives.

The 10^th birthday of Sponge Bob Square Pants was also celebrated with an exhibit at the library, along with a display of characters and sets from Henry Selick’s Coraline.

The short walk through old town to the Musee Chateau d’Annecy was well worth it to see the Angels and Demons exhibition, a collection  of sculptures, design boards, watercolors, and collages from the amazing world of animator and visual artist Walerian Borowczyk.

For the Videomappings: Aida, Palestine presentation Till Roeskens asked people living in the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem to sketch a card of things around them.  The drawings were videoed  while they were being done along with the commentaries that went with them to give a very personal view of day to day life under extremely difficult circumstances.

The Courier Center offered an exhibit of design boards for Miyazaki’s latest feature Poyo On The Cliff.  At La Turbine you could experience an interactive exhibit for the entire family as a companion piece to the open air screening of Rattatouille on the giant screen.  La Turbine also paid tribute to the renowned German DEFA Studio for Animated Film in Dresden with an exhibit of the beautiful puppets created between 1955 and 1990 for their more than 1,500 animated films.

Along with the usual really fun programs that we have come to expect like Politically Incorrect with something to offend everyone, Are You Bothered?, a program of raw and edgy shorts and Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation, Act Up screened a program of provocative shorts to commemorate the group’s 20^th anniversary.

Two of my favorite features at Annecy are the daily Shorts and Breakfast chats and Features at Noon.  Erudite festival Artistic Director Serge Bromberg, master of the early morning hot seat, interviewed the previous days short film makers.  It is always interesting to listen to animators speak about their work, techniques, and sometimes even their motivation for making their film.  Their words very seldom change my opinion of a film but it is interesting to hear an animator talk about their work.

Monica Tasciotti’s Features At Noon interview series with the previous days’ Feature Film directors usually leaves me anxious to see the film again with a new prespective.  The highlight of  the week for me was Monica’s chat with Henry Selick.  The two of them talked so comfortably that it was more of a living room conversation than a formal interview.  Henry brought 3 puppets from Coraline and talked extensively about their construction, and why his studio is in Oregon rather than Los Angeles.  He said that he has wanted to make a 3D film for a long time but was willing to wait for the right project because he didn’t want it to be just a gimmick.  Selick feels that Coraline is just as enjoyable without the glasses but that the 3D effect heightens the contrast between Coraline’s two worlds she inhabits.

While Serge sometimes seems to intimidate or badger the animator in his hot seat, Monica Tasciotti is a very gentle  and intuitive interviewer making her guest feel completely at ease.  That said, Serge often has several animators that must be given time in one hour where as Monica can devote a full half hour or more to an interview, which does make quite a difference in the ways they work.

It’s hard to believe that this is the fifth year of Annecy Plus, and once again the screening played to a packed audience at the Le Venitien Bistro.  Bill Plympton and I began Annecy Plus to present films that have been rejected by the Annecy Official Selection Committee but that we feel deserve to be seen.  It has now grown into  an “unofficial-official” Friday night event, and this year, as befits a real festival, we awarded our own statutettes.  Stuttgart producer Teymour Tehrani designed and produced the Golden Bone award for the film that the audience voted the best underdog film, and Omid Javanshad, on behalf of Welle beer manufacturers, presented the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place audience favorites each with a case of beer.

Bill Plympton and Nancy with the Golden Bone Award

The Annecy Plus band regulars, Rolf Bachler on percussion and Nik Phelps on saxophone, were joined by Annecy Selection Committee member Alexei Alexeev on guitar  to entertain the audience before and after the show and during intermissions with their melodic tunes.

After all of the audience ballots were counted the Bronze Bone was given to Divers by Paris Mavroudas for an experimental animation that was inspired by Busby Berkley, mass gymnastics, and experimental cinema of the ‘20’s and 30’s.

The Silver Bone went to Alexi Budowsky for his 3 minute 50 second flash film Royal Nightmare, the story of an evil King whose life is turned into a nightmare by a pilgrim.

The audience voted the very prestigious Golden Bone Award to Signe Baumane for Teat Beat Of Sex:  Job  which really shouldn’t need any explanation.

Annecy Plus has now grown to a point where we have a staff, so thanks go to Signe Baueman and Pat Smith who helped program, Kerri Allegretta our program designer,  Jonas Raeber who provided the projection and ED Distribution who helped sponsor Annecy Plus.

The Annecy plus Crew

Of course all of my time was not spent in the dark watching film, I always found time to be with friends in the cafes and at the numerous parties.  As the week progressed we became increasingly busy.  Our Wednesday afternoon round of parties began at the Croatian Animation Cocktail party hosted by Animafest Zagreb and the Croatian Audiovisual Center.  It was lovely to see so many friends that we had been with just the week before at Animafest Zagreb. From the Zagreb party we strolled to the Swiss Film fete which honored the 4 Swiss films and animators that were in competition at the festival.  The Swiss party is always a very fun event but this year the lovely new intimate lawn setting with good wine was the perfect place for a relaxed gathering.

Nik, Nancy and Thomas Meyer-Hermann

Next we attended the Danish gathering which was on a docked boat on the lake.  The view from the top deck at sunset was breath taking and the lively gathering was definitely the place to spend the early eveing with a glass of wine, lovely food, and good conversation.

Later that evening we took a relaxed stroll around the lake to La Plage for the cocktail opening of MIFA at the lovely Brasserie du Parc de L’Imperial.  The opening of MIFA has become a major event and the evening gala party was indeed a grand affair.

Thursday afternoon began with the lawn party hosted by Finanimation, the network of Finish animation producers.  Tables set up on the lawn  outside of the  MIFA area were loaded with Finnish vodka, beer and wine as well as a tasty array of salmon and cavier treats.  This was the first opportunity I had had to see my friend Latvian producer Vilnis Kalnoellis who has a booth at MIFA.  His studio, Riga Film, produce films with such notable film makers as Signe Baumane.

From the Finnish party Nik and I strolled back to the center of town to the Wallonie Bruxelles Party.  My old pal Adam Elliot was on the Annecy Short Film competition jury and so we had had very little time to catch up on all of our adventures since we had last seen each other but this party turned out to be the first chance for a little quiet gossip session.

Chris Landreth and Nancy

The final party of the evening was hosted at the Café d’ Arts by the Dutch Film Commission.  The evening was so lovely and warm that we stayed until closing time.  It was an ideal time to have some serious chats and Chris Landreth and I had a long talk about his new project Lovecraft.  The Toronto based Oscar winner  told me that he has had a lifelong fascination with the master of Gothic horror and plans to go into production  next year on his fiction feature length animated biography of H.P. Lovecraft.

Seeing Nancy double at the Dutch party, photo courtesy of Johannes Wolters, thanks to Felix Herzog for the camera

For the first time in many years the sun shined on the festival almost every day, with rain holding off until the afternoons the first few days.  Saturday dawned warm and dry, perfect for the annual picnic and paddle boat race that Nik and I host.  A day eating and drinking in the sun with friends is the perfect way to forget about the award ceremony and although several people at the party had reason to think that they might be standing up on stage that evening, no one talked about it.

Darcy Prendergast, Nancy and Brett Thompson, president of ASIFA Atlanta

The vast amount of food that everyone brought was washed down with three cases of delicious beer which Teymour and Ovid contributed. The Annecy Plus Band, Rolf, Alexei and Nik played music, supplemented later with guitar music by Canadian composers Benoit Charest and Pierre-Yves Drapeau, while we all soaked up the sun and had fun reliving the week, talking about new projects and comparing travel plans, trying to figure out when we would all see each other again.

Joost van den Bosch working hard in the paddleboat race

After all three cases of beer had been consumed it was a very happy crew that took to the water  for the annual paddle boat race.  It was such a warm lovely day that half of the race was taken up waiting for available boats due to the number of people enjoying the pleasures of Lake Annecy. This year there seemed to be as many participants in the water as in the boats.  People jumped from boat to boat while others jumped into the lake to run interference or give their crew an extra leg up by kicking from the back of the boat.  A good time was had by all.

Darcy Prendergast in the water trying to slow us down

Far too soon it was time to get ready for the closing ceremony.  With 2 good friends, Adam Eliott  and Alexei Alexeev on juries (Adam on the Short Film Competition Jury and Alexei on the Short Film Selection Committee) I was very curious to see who the winners would be.  Each year Serge Bromberg, who emcees the closing night festivities along with Tiziana Loschi, CITIA Managing Director, arrives on stage in a novel and outrageous way.  This year, to commemorate the 40^th Anniversary of man landing on the moon, Serge arrived on stage in  a “lunar golf cart” dressed in a space suit.  Tiziana wore a wonderful space age dress with a hair style to match.

Melanie Coombs, Henry Selik and Adam Elliot

It was no surprise to me when Mary and Max and Coraline were announced as co-winners of the Feature Film Crystal nor that Brendan and the Secret of the Kells  won the Audience Award.  I was also delighted  that PES was voted the Short Film Audience Award for his very cleaver Western Spaghetti and that Runaway by Canadian animator Cordell Barker garnered a Special Jury Award. Cordell, known for his delightful film The Cat Came Back, is as charming as his films.

Cordell Barker - Runaway Train!

I was very pleased with all of the awards until we got to the Annecy Gran Prix Crystal, and Slaves by Hanna Heilborn and David Aronowitsch was named the winner. The film is based on a 2003 interview with 2 children aged 9 and 15 who were taken by the government sponsored militia in Sudan and used as slaves.  Undeniably this is an important issue that deserves all the attention that it can get.  Slaves  certainly was a perfect choice for the UNICEF Award which it received at the festival, but it was definitely not the best animated film at Annecy this year.  A complete list of winners appears at the end of the article.

One of the big topics of conversation at the closing night party was the top award.  Should the Annecy Crystal be given as a political statement or should it be based upon the quality of the work?  I personally believe that the Crystal should be awarded to the best film not only for its story but for the quality of its animation. I was not alone in thinking that the jury voted with its heart and not its head.

The last official  event at Annecy was the closing night party at La Plage.  It is always a bittersweet time when you realize that you will not see so many good friends again for quite a while.  There were many congratulations for winners and hugs and kisses of good bye.  It was a long lovely evening.  I had not seen Adam Elliot since he had visited us in San Francisco on his way to the Oscars, or his producer Melanie Coombs since Annecy 5 years ago, so we had a lot of catching up to do.  Adam had been kept very busy as a juror and this was a chance for a really good talk.

As the last conga line snaked through the few remaining guests Nik and I left the party with Adam and Melanie to be driven back to the center of town in their VIP car.  After more hugs and kisses we headed off to our apartment full of happy memories of a wonderful week.

I am very happy to note that this year, unlike in the past few years, there were no attacks on festival participants that I heard of.  It had become quite a problem the last few years, and I am delighted that the festival and city seem to have managed to control the muggings that were definitely casting a black cloud over the festival.

Over the years I have watched the festival change and grow from a celebration of short independent animation into a big money marketplace where feature films are slowly but surely becoming the star of the show.  Major deals are made at MIFA.  At first I resented the changes but I have come to accept them. As an industry we do need one major event a year that is all about business.  This allows other festivals to retain their character as celebrations of animation as a great form of art.  I applaud MIFA and hope that it will continue to grow and foster the animation industry.

Annecy 2009 . . . It was a very good year!

OFFICIAL PRIZES:

Feature Film Awards

Jury:  Karen Byot, France; Bob Osher, USA; Thomas Haegele, Germany

Mary and Max  - Adam Elliot, Australia

And

Coraline – Henry Selick, USA

Audience Award for Best Feature

Brendan and the Secret of Kells – Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, Ireland and Belgium

Short Film Awards

Jury:  Marguerite Abouet, France; Justine de Lagausie, France; Benoit Charest, Canada; Adam Eliot, Australia; Anbdreas Hykade, Germanby

The Annecy Crystal

Slaves – Hanna Heilborn and David Aronowitsch, Sweden

Special Jury Award

Runaway – Cordell Barker, Canada

Jean-Luc Xiberras Award for a First Film

The Man in the Blue Gordini ­– Jean Christophe Lie, France

Special Distinction Awards

Please Say Something­ – David Oreilly, Germany and Ireland

Sacem Award for Origional Music

Chick –Michal Socha, Poland

Audience Award

Western Spaghetti­ – PES, USA

TV and Commissioned Films

Jury:  Maria Laura Moure, Argentina; Julien Borde, France; Thomas Szabo, France

Crystal for Best TV Production

Log Jam “The Log”, “The Rain”, “The Moon”, “The Snake” – Alexey Alexeev, Hungary

Special Award for a TV Series

Pat et Stan “Jour de Bain” – Pierre Coffin, Marco Allard, France

Best TV Special

Lost and Found – Philip Hunt, Great Britain

Educational, Scientific or Industrial Film Award

How to Destroy the World “Rubbish” – Pete Bishop, Great Britain

Best Music Video

Flogging Molly “Float” – Karni and Saul, Great Britain

Graduation Film Awards

Jury:  Marie-Pierre Journet, France; Jungo Maruta, Japan; Henry Selick, USA

Best Graduation Film

For Sock’s Sake – Carlo Vogele, France

Special Jury Award

EX-E.T. – Benoit Bargeton, Yannick Lasfas, Remy Froment, Nicolas Garcia, France

Special Distinction

The Soliloquist – Kuang Pei Ma, Taiwan

Junior Jury Award for a Short Film

The Man in the Blue Gordini – Jean-Christophe Lie, France

Junior Jury Award for a Graduation Film

Shrug – Alina Constantin – Norway, France

UNICEF Award

Slaves – Hanna Heilborn, David Aronowitsch, Sweden

Fipresci Award

The Employment – Santiago Grasso, Argentina

Prix “Canal+ Creative Aid Award for a Short Film

Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage – Bastien Dubois, France

May 22nd 2009

Hi all! Time certainly flies when you’re having fun. Class 2 went by in a flash with my mentor Jon Collins and now I’m in Class 3 with freelance animator Dana Boadway.

As before, each assignment builds upon what has been learnt previously so this term I’ve been pushing body mechanics further with a heavy lifting assignment, a push and a back flip (based on Donald O’Connor’s “Make ‘em laugh” routine from Singin’ in The Rain). I can’t wait to get into the acting soon but that’s still a few weeks away!

I’m currently in the blocking stage of my back flip animation but I’d like to share something I learnt from my first assignment this term, a heavy lift. When you’re still learning the basics of animation don’t stray too far from your video reference! Exaggerate of course but don’t go doing something almost completely different. My heavy lifting assignment went a little bit wrong because of this as I couldn’t find footage of something heavy enough for what I wanted. I then thought to myself, no problem, I’ll just make it look heavier when it comes to animating it, good grief I shouldn’t have done that! Anyway, lesson learnt and my next assignment came out a lot better.

After Class 1 the structure of the assignments changed from a new assignment each week to one every three or four, which gives everyone the luxury of polishing their shots to a very high standard. In the industry we certainly wouldn’t get the chance to spend a month animating an eight second shot but it’s certainly a fantastic opportunity at this stage.  As well as the huge amount of time we’re given, the enthusiasm and feedback from the mentors and fellow students help to add that extra level of quality. To see my Animation Mentor work so far you can watch this video here: http://www.vimeo.com/3105513

Going back a few months now I thought I’d talk about how I got started at Animation Mentor and the enrollment process. If memory serves I think I first heard about them through a website called The 11 Second club (www.11secondclub.com), which is a monthly animation competition with the prize being a critique of your work from a professional animator. Animation Mentor sponsors this competition so when I saw the level of work coming from them I looked for as much information as I could find and a few months later after I’d finished University I enrolled.

There’s no previous experience necessary when you enroll, the main bulk of the enrollment process really was there to test your enthusiasm for animation, it seems forever and a day ago now but I remember having to write a brief essay on why I wanted to be an animator and it’s always interesting to talk to other students about their stories as well. Everyone seems to have a defining moment when they decided that animation was what they wanted to do, for me it was a combination of watching Aardman’s character Morph on Tony Hart’s programme “Hart Beat”, Rolf Harris’s “Rolf’s Cartoon Club” and the Wallace and Gromit shorts.

Right o, I’d best get back to my assignment now. I’ve just started a part-time job so time management is getting more crucial. My upmost respect goes out to all the AM students with full time jobs and families!

Thanks again to Nik and Nancy for letting me invade your blog!

All the best everybody!
Simon

It is hard to believe that the Monstra Animated Film Festival in Lisbon, Portugal is only 8 years old because each year the festival leaves me with a lifetime of memories.  The 2009 edition (March 9 – 15, 2009) moved downtown from its prevision location so that it could reach more of the community. The experiment worked well, with good-sized audiences for the screenings. The majority of the screenings took place in the lavish Art Deco style Cinema Sao Jorge.  The cinema, built between 1947 and 1950 by the British Rank Organization to showcase their films, was once the largest movie palace on the Iberian Peninsula.
There are records of Chinese residents in Lisbon from as early as 1540 and to honor this segment of the population the Museu do Oriente (Museum of Oriental Art) was opened in the heart of the Asian Community last year.   This year it was the ideal site for respected Japanese abstract animator Maya Yonnesho’s 3-day workshop.  She and a group of students “toured” Lisbon via two wall sized pictographs in the museum, which they used as a starting point to create their film Lisbon Mix which was filmed all over the city.  The finished film, capturing the sights and sounds of the city through Maya and her student’s eyes, was screened on closing night.  Along with a retrospective of Maya’s films there were showings of Chinese animator Li-jun Sun’s Zhang Ga! and Through The Moebus Strip by Clenn Chaika from China and the United States.
The Museu da Marioneta (Puppet Museum) in conjunction with Monstra mounted an extensive exhibit of puppets and sets from Jose Miguel Ribeiro’s new film Passeio De Domingo (Sunday Drive).  There were also drawings and photographs used in the making of the 20-minute film, which was conceived in Lisbon, built in Montemor, filmed in Belgium and France and with post production taking place in the Netherlands.  I especially enjoyed the visual representations at the museum of the route that Jose Miguel traveled as he went to these countries working with different teams of professionals in their three different languages.  It was amazing to see the attention to detail that was taken with each character and set.
I have been anxiously awaiting this film because I am a large fan of his earlier film, The Suspect, which won more International awards than any other Portuguese film up to the present time.  When Nik and I screened The Suspect as part of our Ideas In Animation series our audience was delighted with the puppet animation that tells the story of four people on a train that may have a serial killer on board.  Several years ago Nik and I visited Jose Miguel at his workshop in Montemor and saw the first puppets being created, so I was eager to see the film, which was screened at the closing night ceremony.  Passeio De Domingo lived up to my expectations and I am sure we will all have ample opportunity to see this touching humorous story of a family’s Sunday drive that turns into a road trip.
The Museu da Marioneta also showcased Papirossy, a “lung-drawn” animation and audiovisual installation created by Otto Alder, acclaimed animation historian, documentarian, and co-chairman of HGKL (Hochschule fur Gestaltung und Kunst Luzern) in Luzern, Switzerland.  “Lung-drawn” is a confusing phrase that refers to Otto blowing cigarette smoke onto cardboard which was combined with animation to create an effect which he describes as “an installation that visualizes time through imprinted smoke on cardboard to create an effect where time is frozen, the past stays fixed, and emotions are visualized by integrating animation into a mixed media installation.”  Papirossy is the first lung-drawn animation ever filmed and the installation has traveled worldwide.

Set from Sunday Drive

Little Monstra, created to bring quality animation to young people, was expanded this year.  Special morning programs were designed for kids 3 to 6 years old, and other programs were designed to appeal to the 7 to 12 year old set. Emphasis was given to Portuguese animation, but such sure to please films as Oktapodi from France, Gil Alkabetz’s delightful A Sunny Day, and Germany’s My Happy End, winner of numerous audience favorite awards, were also included. A special booklet was given to each child with information about the film programs and suggestions for related activities such as how to make a simple flipbook.  The morning that I visited the young people’s screening it was full of children captivated by the images on the screen and you could hear a pin drop.
Monstra has adopted the system that several festivals have gone to, of alternating feature films and short animation competitions.  This year there were 8 features in competition along with 4 programs of student films and a wealth of special events.
Swiss animation was spotlighted with many special guests and programs.  Switzerland may be a small country with an area of only 40 thousand square kilometers and a population of 7.6 million people, but it has a vast, rich animation history.  Renowned Swiss animator Georges Schwizgebel presented a retrospective of Gisele and Ernest Ansorge films, two of the most important figures in the history of Swiss animation.  Their 1967 film Les Corbeaux is one of the first sand animations to receive international acclaim.  Based on a medieval ballad, the film is still as beautiful on the big screen as it was almost 50 years ago when it first appeared.
The opening night ceremony highlight was a retrospective of George Schwizgebel’s beautiful films.  I have seen the 14 films that were presented many times, but his work always looks fresh and vibrant to me.  More than any other animator I can think of, George merges painting, animation and music into a beautiful art form.  After I have watched a program of his work I can never hear the music that he has animated to without seeing his beautiful images in my head, nor can I imagine his films without their lush musical scores.  A side note is that his son is a concert pianist and plays on some of his father’s films.
The cinema lobby showcased an exhibit of paintings by Georges, who has been called one of the greatest painters in the history of animation. It was fascinating to see the still version of images that he so artfully brings to life.  Following the screening the Swiss Ambassador hosted a lovely reception where wine flowed and lovely canapés were plentiful.

Georges Schwizgebel at his Exhibition

Works by three of the country’s most important up and coming animators, Isabelle Favez, Claude Barras and Cedric Louis, were screened. The new talent program gave me an opportunity to see work by 10 young talents who are the future of Swiss animation.  Max & Co, the Swiss, Belgian, French co-production from twin brothers Samuel and Frederic Guillaume screened in the feature film competition.
Georges Schwizgebel gave a master class, as did the Brothers Guillaume who offered behind the scenes glimpses into the making of Max & Co.  The duo has always worked together, with Samuel being responsible for the animated “decoupage” and editing, and Frederic acting as artistic director.
Student competitions are usually one of the most interesting parts of any festival. It is an adventure to see what fresh young minds have to say, and the films at Monstra offered several nice surprises.  I was very impressed with Chaibreak, a sand animation that takes us on a walk to get a cup of tea.  Ten Indian students made it in an experimental animation workshop. Delwyn Remedios was at Monstra representing the film and he turned out to be not only talented, but a charming and fascinating young man.  Delwyn told me that the reason that he likes to work with sand is that it is formless, so movement becomes much more important than the formations of images. Over dinner he also talked about creative animation in India. I usually only hear about the industrial work coming from that vast country.
Another student work that caught my attention was In Our Home by Iranian animator Martam Kashkoolinia.  In this visually delightful film a little girl introduces her family members, comparing them with animals.  In stark black and white contrast, Anja Kofmel from the Lucerne University of Applied Arts and Sciences, uses black and white in Chirigi to accent the story of a woman recalling her childhood and her mysterious cousin, Chris, a journalist murdered in Croatia in January 1992.
The student competition jury, composed of Carmen Lloret, Spanish professor of Movement in Fine Arts at the University Politecnica de Valencia; Heliana Vilela, Regional Director of Lisbon and Tagus Valley of the IPJ; and animator Joana Bartolomeu, seemed to agree with my opinions by awarding an honorable mention to Maryam Kashkoolinia for In Our House.  Much to my delight, the Best Student Film award was given to Chaibreak.
While I arrived at the beginning of the festival, Nik flew in from Belgium on Friday morning in time to introduce Sita Sings the Blues.  He also conducted a Q & A session after the screening.  Since I have already seen and in many cases written about the eight feature films in competition so there is no need to write more about them.
The international jury awarded the Jury Prize to Sita Sings the Blues, which Nik was delighted to accept on Nina’s behalf. The jury consisted of Georges Schwizgebel, Maya Yonesho, Portuguese musician and actor J.P. Simoes, Duscha Kistler and Lisbon journalist Joao Paulo Cotrim. The festival’s grand prize went to the Israeli/Australian co-production $9.99 by filmmaker Tatia Rosenthal. (Being show in San Francisco in July)

Nancy with Georges Schwizgebel, Dutcha Kistler and Festival Director Fernando Galrito

Along with the anticipated announcement of the award winning films we were treated to the screening of four new Portuguese films.  Tiago Albuquerque’s Dario De Uma Inspectora Do Livro De Records (Scenes From The Life Of A Woman Responsible For The Verification Of The Guinness Book Of World Records) recounted  her trials and tribulations in an animation style that evoked images of Prince Achmed.  Nuno Beato showed another side of bull fighting with in Mi Vida En Tus Manos. In the delightfully drawn Un Degrau Pode Ser O Mundo (One Step Can Be The World) by Daniel Lima,  a woman discovers her sexuality while an artist finds his true vocation. The evening ended with the much-anticipated screening of Jose Miguel Ribeiro’s Passeio De Domingo.  After a week of good conversation and excellent films the closing party was a bittersweet chance to say goodbye to friends.

Nancy and Jose Miguel Ribeiro

We all go to festivals to watch films and there is an added bonus of seeing old friends and making new ones.  The festival bar is always a good place to hang out, but even better is the hotel breakfast room, especially at Monstra where most invited guests stay in the same hotel.  I am not a big breakfast person but who could resist when your table mates are such good conversationalists as Georges Schwizgebel, Maya Yonesho, and Duscha Kistler, noted animation historian and director of the acclaimed Swiss Animation Festival, Fantoche in Baden, Switzerland.
The only morning screenings were for the schools. The panorama and competition programs didn’t begin until 3:30 PM so there was plenty of time for 2-hour breakfast chats and long treks around Lisbon, which is one of the most walkable cities in the world.  In every article I have written about Lisbon I talk about the beauty of the city and the many fascinating places that you can stumble upon.   I won’t take you on my long daily rambles around the city this time, but I did have one very special morning at the Lisbon flea market where I saw so many treasures that I thought about buying another suitcase to get them all home.  Luckily the voice of reason in the presence of Nik was there to keep me from spending every cent that I had with me.
From the moment I was first introduced to Portuguese animation I became intrigued with its unique character.  Although more and more films from Portugal have reached the major European festivals thanks to Jose Miguel Ribeiro, Regina Pessoa, Joana Toste, and Abi Feijo, I never get the feeling that the Portuguese make animation for the world.  They use their special, often dark, sensibilities to tell stories for themselves.  When you watch animation from most countries, even if you can’t understand the language and miss finer points, you can get the humor.  Not so with work from this country which, isolated at the far end of the Iberian Peninsula for centuries, has developed its own culture independent from its Spanish neighbor or the rest of Europe.
Monstra is a festival for the Portuguese people and doesn’t invite a great number of foreign guests, but if you are lucky enough to be invited, it is a very special experience that you won’t soon forget.  Fernando Galrito, the festival artistic director, is a most gracious host who knows his city well and treats his guests to wonderful meals and good conversation.  The festival staff all went way beyond the bounds of normal hospitality to make sure that we were well taken care of.  I am already looking forward to Monstra 2010.
Nik and I were due in Bilbao for Anima Basauri in six days.  Even though it looks like my life is one vacation, it isn’t really because at festivals I can’t just lie in bed and read a book or do nothing.  We hadn’t had a real vacation in years so we took a few days for ourselves on the beautiful beaches an hour north of Lisbon.  I didn’t watch any animation the entire time we were there!  The next episode of our travels will come from Spain where a tanned and rested Nancy goes back into the screening room.

Nancy and the sea

from Sita Sings the Blues

For those of you who have only seen Sita Sings the Blues on your computer or from a DVD you have missed half of the experience.  It really deserves to be seen in all its glory on a big screen with a good sound system to appreciate what a tour de force Nina Paley has accomplished almost singlehandedly.

For those who have never had the opportunity to see that Nina calls “the Greatest Break-up Story Ever Told” this is about to be rectified in some cities.

If you live in the Bay Area you are in for a double treat because you can see a great film while supporting a wonderful neighborhood theatre that still believes in screening independent films and isn’t afraid to program films that other cinema won’t touch because they are not blockbusters.

I’m not going to write about the film’s story line because I (along with many other writers) have already written so many words about it.  If you are unfamiliar with the film and Nina’s long battle to gain the rights to use some of the songs as sung by 1920’s jazz vocalist Annette Hanshaw visit her web site:

http://sitasingstheblues.com

The story behind the making of the film is almost as exciting as the animated film itself.

On a personal note, Nik and Nina have collaborated on several films and Nik contributed music for Sita Sings the Blues.  Nik and I also have a very warm spot in our hearts for the Red Vic since we performed there regularly when we lived in San Francisco.  One of the things that I really miss from the Bay Area is the Red Vic’s popcorn.  Take it from me, as a true popcorn aficionado; they have some of the best popcorn that I have even eaten in a theatre!

SITA SINGS the Blues will screen at the Red Vic for 5 days:

May 8^th through the 12

Show Times:   7:15, 9:15; also Saturday and Sunday 2:00 and 4:00

Tickets:    Advance tickets available via http://www.redvicmoviehouse.com

Regular admission $9; Tuesday evenings and 2PM Matinee $6,  Seniors (62 and older_ and children (12 and younger)  $6  at all times

RED VIC MOVIE HOUSE

1727 Haight Street (between Cole and Shrader)              San Francisco, California  94117

GETTING THERE IS EASY:  The Red Vic is served directly by Muni Routes 7, 33, 37, 43 and 71.  Muni Routes 6 and N Judah come within a few blocks

IF YOU DON’T LIVE IN THE BAY AREA YOU CAN STILL SEE Sita Sings the Blues

Columbus, Ohio – April 17 – 23 – Drexel Theater

Chicago, Illinois – May 1 – 7 – Gene Siskel Film Center

Portland, Oregon – May 8, 9, 12-15, 18, 21 and 22 – Van City Theater

Wilmington, Delaware – May 15 – 17 – Theatre N at Nemours

Lake Worth, Florida – May 15 – 21 – Lake Worth Playhouse

Boston, Massachusetts – June 12-14 – Brattle Theater

Notre Dame, Indiana – July 23-25 – DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

I barely had time to unpack the warm weather wardrobe that I took to China and replace it in with heavy winter clothes for my trip to Budapest for the Anilogue Animation Festival.  Festival Director Tamas Liszka and Programmer Kreet Paljas hosted a very ambitious undertaking with 4 days of screenings in Budapest followed by 3 screening days in Vienna.  All programs were screened in both cities with films screened in the original language, with Hungarian translations in Budapest and English in Vienna.

Anilogue Festival directors Kreet Paljas and Tomas Liszka with Thomas Renoldner

The three competition screenings were an excellent cross section of styles, mediums, and content.  There were several of my favorite films that I had seen many times this year, such as Alexei Alexeev’s hilarious KJFG 5 and Glow by British animator Jo Lawrence. It always sends a chill up my spine.  The film is based on the story of Grace Fryer, one of the “Radium Girls” who worked at the Radium Dial Company in New Jersey, during the 1920’s painting clock dials with radium.

There were some delightful new surprises. I am constantly amused and delighted by Estonian animation.  Dialogues by Ulo Pikkov is an absurdly humorous film, drawn directly on film, and was a burst of color combined with absurd figures.  Lovesick by Spela Cadiz tells of a couple truly made for each other.

I was extremely pleased to see a new film by Swedish animator Jonas Odell.  His previous work, Never Like the First Time,  told 4 different stories of first sexual encounters and  his new film Lies, looks at 3 liars - a burglar, a boy, and a woman, is based on documentary interviews.

The opening night screening was held in the magnificent , a sumptuous Moorish hall. It makes you feel that you are at a very special first night event, and indeed it was.

Inside the Urania National Film Palace

The opening night feature was the real highlight of the festival, Pony On the Cliff by the Sea, Hayao Miyazaki’s new film. It is a delightful flight of fancy about Ponyo, a young goldfish girl and Sosuke, a 5-year old boy who befriends her. The little gold fish girl, daughter of the Queen of the Ocean and a human father, longs to be a human girl. It is a charming tale of desire and longing. The strong family theme is a new route for Miyazaki.We are never told why her father lives under the sea, but his struggle to force her to return to the ocean where she belongs is the focus of the picture.

The film opens with an ecological message as we see the bottom of the ocean where a gigantic net is trapping its catch along with a vast array of trash that humans have discarded into the sea.  Ponyo barley escapes capture, but her head is wedged inside a glass jar.  She is washed up on the beach where young Sosuke finds her.

More than in any of his previous films, Miyazaki uses humor and the theme of the strong bond of familia love to portray not only the friendship between the two young people, but also the relationships between Ponya and her father and Sosuke and his mother.

The great master of Japanese anima created lush visual effects with special attention to the depiction of the sea. Japanese maestro Joe Hisaish, who has scored 8 other Miyazaki features, has composed a beautiful musical score that matches its visual flights of fancy. He has created  rich and varied music woven though out the film in numerous variations on his main themes ending with a piano solo of Ponyo’s theme performed by Hisaish.  He also utilizes full orchestrations, solo violin, and a haunting soprano solo for the Mother of the Sea theme.  Ponya’s Lullaby emphasizes the childish innocence of the film.

As the end credits roll the film’s theme song is sung again. When the film was released in Japan the song became a great hit, rising to number 3 on the charts. There seems to be no neutral opinions about it. I have heard it called everything from one of the most annoying sounds ever heard to naively charming.  Decide for yourself, but I was not charmed, nor did I come out of the theatre humming that tune. The movie, made up of 170,000 hand-animated images, is slated to open in theatres in the United States later this year.

Following the screening a reception was held in the lovely theatre bar, which was used throughout the festival as a place to gather between films for a drink and conversation.  Screenings were also held at the nearby Toldi Art Cinema, an excellent screening location with a casual and comfortable bar. It was the setting for another festival party.

Nina Paley’s award winning Sita Sings the Blues received a warm reception.  Nik introduced the 4 screenings, 2 in each city.  He also conducted a Q & A following each screening.

Along with the 32 films in competition and the feature films screened, there were many special presentations.  I had been anxiously awaiting the new film by my friends Priit Parn and his lovely wife Olga Marchenko, so Life Without Gabriella Ferri  was on my must see list.  The dramatic story is about love, locked doors, a faceless thief, a wounded stork, lost laptop, and the O’Key Sisters, 2 virtual prostitutes and Gabriella Ferri who is never seen in the film.  All of this is packed into 35 minutes full of entertaining animation that definitely did not disappoint me.

The World Panorama program was packed full of films that have garnered honors at major festivals around the world, ranging from Kunio Kato’s The House Of Small Cubes  which won the 2008 Annecy Crystal and most recently the Academy Award to French animator Jeremy Clapin’s very funny Skhizein, winner of the Annecy 2008 Audience Award.  We had all seen the Sony Bravia Play Doh commercial on TV with hundreds of colorful bunnies running all over Manhattan, but it was delightful to see it on a big screen in the Panorama program.

I thoroughly enjoyed the program of award winning Hungarian animated short films, and the prestigious French animation school La Poudriere was showcased with a selection of their most acclaimed films.  The Red Bull Animated Night, an all-night marathon, screened in both cities. It had something for everyone, with over 40 films from the 4 corners of the globe.

Michaela Pavlatova and I were friends when she lived in San Francisco before returning to Prague, her native city, but I had not seen the Academy Award nominated Czech animator in several years.  I was delighted to find out that she was a member of the jury and thoroughly enjoyed the retrospective of her films that she introduced. It was followed by a Q & A session.

Nik and I presented a screening and talk on the history of music driven animation.  Nik also conducted a 5-day workshop on composing music for animation.  One of his students brought a film that he had made so that Nik and the group could work on composing and recording music for it.  The work area upstairs in the Urania National Film Palace Building was perfect for the workshop.  The festival also provided Nik with a very nice and very competent tech person to help him set up equipment.

Nik with workshop students n Budapest

Budapest and Vienna are beautiful cities.  Screenings did not begin until late in the day, so while Nik held his workshops all day, I spent my free time taking long walks that included a stroll along the Danube.

Not only was Anilogue an impressive animation festival for me it will always hold a special place in my heart for its warm hospitality, fabulous meals, and a very special outing that that Michaela and I were treated to by the festival staff.  Budapest is the home of several fabled hot spring baths and the Szecheny Spa is one of largest spa complexes in Europe.  Built in 1913, this luxurious water palace features indoor and outdoor pools of various temperatures, as well as steam rooms and saunas.  The large circular outdoor hot pool features three concentric rings, the large outer one for soaking and paddling in, a small center soaking ring, and a wonderful whirling corridor where currents of hot water propelled us round and round a circular route.  Michaela and I felt like two young girls as we sped around giggling and gossiping.  It was cold and rainy, but sitting in the outdoor pool with clouds of steam rising from the water I felt completely relaxed.  The amazing therapeutic effects of the water stayed with me for days.

Széchenyi Spa

All too soon it was time to leave Budapest and board a bus for a 240 Kilometer ride to Vienna, another breathtakingly beautiful city.  The Vienna leg of the festival screened a repeat of the Budapest programs at three theatres with the exception of Ponyo On the Cliff by the Sea, which was not shown.  Several of Nik’s composition students traveled to Vienna with us, where the workshop continued.  Unfortunately, the back bar area of the Schikaneder theatre was not very conducive to work.  Since it was not only a bar but also the festival headquarters people were constantly coming and going, which made it difficult for the group to stay focused.

The center of Vienna was alight with Christmas decorations.  Each block or two had row after row of colored lights in different complex designs strung down the center of the streets and store windows were gaily decorated.  While Nik continued his workshop, I took advantage of the free days to explore the city.

Quite close to our hotel was one of the most wonderful open air markets that I have ever seen.  From early morning until well after dark, it has everything that you could ever want with row after row of fresh spices, beautiful fruits and vegetables, and a number of stalls with magnificent displays of fresh fish.  The sights and smells overwhelmed the senses and the market cafes were the perfect place to have a glass of wine and people watch.

The festival staff continued to treat us to exceptional hospitality.  One evening they took a group of us to one of the best meals I have ever eaten at Beograd, a local Serbian restaurant.  I have never had calamari prepared in such a delicate manner and of course there were copious amounts of wine to accompany the meal.

It was a great pleasure to spend time with my fellow ASIFA International Board Member, Thomas Renoldner, who lives in Vienna.  Thomas arranged a reception for us sponsored by ASIFA Austria at the chapter’s exhibition space, ASIFA KEIL in the central museum corridor, Museumsplatz.  It was a lovely chance to meet chapter members in a relaxed atmosphere.  As an added treat Nik played music with percussionist Don Reitz. Don, who works in the exhibition department of the Kunst Museum of Modern Art, invited us along with our friend Thomas to tour the museum that featured a retrospective of Austrian artist Peter Kogler.  His most impressive piece of work is a large 3-dimensional installation created for the Kunst exhibition. It comes to life through computer animation and video projections which keeps the entire room in vertical motion.  The sound installation interacted with the projected images to create a mesmerizing effect of moving walls.  After dark, Kogler’s trademark, larger than life projected white rats, moved across the outer facade of the museum building in labyrinthine paths.

Don Reitz, Nik and Thomas Renoldner

The closing night award ceremony was held at the Film Casino.  This years’ Anilogue jury was composed of Adam Wysiwyz of Poland, Hungary’s foremost sand animator Ferenc Cako and Michaela Pavlatova.  They awarded the Grand Prix to Muto, an ambitious, surrealistic animation painted on walls in Buenos Aires and Baden, created by Italian artist/filmmaker Blu. (You can see it on YouTube and other web sites.)

Each juror also awarded a Special Award to the film of his choice.  Ferenc Cako selected French filmmakers Nicolas Pawlowski and Alexis Ducord’s Cracks, the tale of a man who has one passion in life, a potted plant.   Michaela chose Alexei Alexeev’s very clever KJFG No. 5, and Adam Wyrwas gave his award to Weiss by Florian Grolig from Germany. Grolig describes his black and white animation as, “In the middle of white is monotone balance, jolly blasé marking time.  One definition of space is the absence of embarrassing contact.  Yet gridlock is definitely death.”  I’m not sure that I get anything like that from the film but I did find it visually intriguing.

Audience members in both cities voted for the Audience Award. The combined tally voted Lovesick by German animator Spela Cadez the winner for her tale of a couple who are the perfect example of the old adage that there is someone perfected suited for everyone.

Following the announcement of winners, the 5 nominees for the Cartoon d’Or were screened.  Sponsored by Cartoon, the European Association of Animated Films, it is the only European prize specifically for the animation industry.  The nominees for this prestigious prize are the winner’s of the top nine Animation Festivals in Europe.  The evening ended with a closing party in the theatre lobby.

Kreet and Tamas, the festival directors, far exceeded the bounds of hospitality, treating us to many lovely meals and an almost endless supply of beer and wine.  The enthusiastic volunteers were always cheerful and very helpful.

Anilogue was founded in 2003, and the 4 day Budapest leg of the festival, ran seamlessly, at least from the viewpoint of a guest.  Although the festival has a 6 year track record, this was its debut in Vienna, and invariably every new festival is a challenge to launch.  Given the massive task of moving staff, guests, all films and equipment in one morning with the first Vienna screening starting at 4:00 PM, it’s a miracle that there weren’t serious problems. When I asked festival director Tamas Liszka why he had decided to take on such a herculean task, he replied without a moment’s hesitation “I love a challenge” and he definitely got it. This was a learning year, and I know next year will be much easier for the entire staff.

The festival generously arranged for Nik and I to stay 2 more days in Vienna after they returned home.  For our one free day we walked out to the beautiful Belvedere Museum that was built in 1722 for state occasions and to display works of art.  It is home to an outstanding collection of works by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt as well as art treasures from Medieval and Baroque periods down to 21^st Century works.  We spent 4 glorious hours strolling from room to room soaking it all in.

After a walk around the beautiful formal gardens we went to the Lower Belvedere which was built as Prince Eugene’s magnificent private living quarters. The Baroque building, completed in 1716, with the Hall of Grotesque, Marble Gallery and Golden Room were enough to take my breath away, but the special exhibit was what I really came to see.  Gustav Klimt and the KunstschauI overwhelmed my senses with beauty and creativity.  The exhibit commemorated the 100^th anniversary of the Kunstochan project, which had a pioneering influence on the development of Viennese modernism.  Several of the original 54 rooms from the exhibit had been reconstructed in minute detail even down to the original wall paper designs.  The exhibit made it easy to see why Klimt and his colleagues have had such a lasting influence on the world of art and design.

The next day we were invited to give a workshop at the University (akademie der bildenden kunst [Academy of Fine Art] and institut fur bildende kunst [Institute for Visual Arts]),  where our friend Thomas Renoldner teaches.  Nik and I screened animation and talked with his students and guests about a wide range of subjects from copyright laws to the most effective way for an animator to work with a composer.  We received a very enthusiastic reception and 2 students stayed to talk with us about their work long after the formal presentation was over.  Thomas also gave us a tour of the school work spaces and gallery so that we could see firsthand the high quality of the work that the students are producing.

As the sun set, Thomas, Nik and I shopped in the open air market a few blocks from the university.  Ladened with a great variety of fresh fish and vegetables, Thomas drove us to his house where his wife and two daughters gave us a lovely, warm welcome.  It was a pleasure to scrub mussels and chop vegetables with them as we talked and laughed.  After many days of restaurant food it was a treat to have a home cooked meal.  Thomas is a superb chief and the meal was beyond our wildest expectations, only equaled by the good conversation.  The time flew by, and all too soon the wonderful evening was over.

Very early the next morning we were on the train back to Budapest, where our old friend Susanna Szabo met us. We became good friends several years ago at KROK and she has repeatedly asked us to visit her in Budapest.  After an evening of walking around the city under her excellent guidance we ended up for dinner at a charming restaurant with the unassuming name of M.  The only thing more charming than the food was the décor.  Every inch of the walls and ceiling were covered in brown wrapping paper with black line drawings of home furnishings.  Piles of books, lamps, a parrot in a cage, a phone on a stand and flowers in a vase, all of the little homey touches, were there down to a drawing of a ceiling fan with a real cord hanging from it, ready to cool you on a hot summer evening.  Kreet and Tamas joined us later for drinks and a final farewell.

The next day Susanna had a special treat in store for us.  In marked contrast to the luxurious water palace I had visited the week before she took us to the 400 year old Kiraly Thermal Bath, one of the best remaining examples of a Turkish Bath House, with domed cupolas topped by the Turkish crescent moon.  A good long hot soak in these beautiful surroundings got us ready for our next adventure.

Susanna had asked us to give a presentation at the Arts Secondary School where she teaches in Bodajk. We stayed in Mor, where the school has a guest house for visiting faculity.  It is a totally charming  village with a winery and art center.  Nik and I were immediately reminded of Napa Valley before it became so chic and overdeveloped for tourists.  We fear that Mor will soon suffer the same fate since it is only an hour from Budapest and is thoroughly charming.

After an evening of good conversation and wine in front of a wood burning stove with Susanna we woke in time to take the bus a few kilometers down the road to Bodajk where the Art Secondary School is located. With Susanna acting as translator, Nik and I screened a program of animation to a packed auditorium of students and faculty.  For a group of students in a small rural town whose knowledge of animation is limited to Cartoon Network, they proved to be an avid audience and asked a myriad of good questions.

Nik spent the afternoon with Susanna’s animation class screening more films and talking about how to select music for their works.  We ended our visit by viewing the students’ sketchbooks and storyboards.  Nik and I always enjoy visiting animation classes and this was an especially rewarding experience.  Many of the students told us that they had never met anyone from outside of Hungary, much less an American, and they had many questions to ask us about our life which seemed so foreign to them.

That night we took the bus back to Budapest to be ready to catch an early morning train back home to Gent.  The ride through Austria and Germany was beautiful.  We arrived back home late that night with a head full of beautiful memories of a fantastic two weeks.

Congratulations to Bill whose Idiots and Angels won the feature film Audience Award at MONSTRA and to Nina Paley for her Special Jury Award for Sita Sings the Blues, also in Lisbon.

I have written about the Art Institute at Bournemouth and their exceptional animation program before.  Peter Parr, Reader in Animation and his colleagues consistently produce award winning students who find good places in the animation industry when they graduate.  Peter and his colleagues have plenty to be proud of this year.

Graduates Geoff King and Beth Witchells took home multiple honors for The Great Race, winning The Royal Television Society Award and a £500 award at Animated Exeter.  Richard Williams presented them with his DVD Animator’s Survival Kit as their award at Animated Encounters.

from The Great Race

Fish by Dennis Constantinou and Chara Sottou picked up the Best Student 2D Animation Award at Animex and was also a Royal Television Award nominee.  IO, created by Alex Wad, Robert Nelson, and James Swindells was also nominated for the Royal Television Society Awards where it was gained a Special Jury Mention.

It was an especially noteworthy year for the Art Institute with renowned screenwriter, Simon Beaufoy, an Arts Institute graduate, winning an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Slumdog Millionaire.  He also took home the Best Screenplay Award at BAFTA, London; a Golden Globe, and the Critics Choice Award.

Simon graduated from the Film course at the Arts Institute at Bournemouth in 1991 where he produced Release, a half-hour drama which premiered on BBC2 and won five international awards.  He later went on to write the screenplay for the award winning film The Full Monty.

I leave for MONSTRA Animation in Festival in Lisbon on Sunday and I look forward to seeing Aerius, Fish, and Journey Out.  All three have been selected for the Student Competition at the festival.    Congratulations not only to the award winners but to all of the students and faculty of The Art Institute at Bournemouth for a job well done.

When Simon Taylor, a young British animator, first told me about the Online Animation Mentor Program I was anxious to learn how it worked first hand. For the last few months I have followed Simon’s progress.  As he told me more and more about the program I realized that many of you might not be aware of this on-line opportunity and so I have asked Simon to write about his adventure.  Whenever Simon feels that he has something to say and has the time, more installments of his adventure will appear here.

Simon Taylor

Good morning, afternoon and evening fellow wanderers of the Internet.  My name is Simon Taylor, I’m an animation student and I’ve been invited by Nancy to share with you my experiences at the online animation school Animation Mentor. Just to give as brief an intro as possible about myself, I’ve been animating in one shape or form since a very early age. From 2001 to 2006, I was entering films into the Co‐Op Young Film‐Makers Festivals, which really gave me the enthusiasm to keep pushing myself to get better and is how I came into contact with Nancy.

Animation has always been a hobby of mine, but I only started to think of it as a serious career choice relatively recently as I was doing my degree in Italian and Film Studies at The University of Kent at Canterbury. I did a Masters in Computer Animation at the same University run by former ILM animator David Byers Brown. The course taught a phenomenal amount about Maya and animation and has given me a good foundation to find some animation‐related work while I continue my studies through Animation Mentor.

If you’re interested in seeing my work from University please see my current site www.simontayloranimation.com and to see my older and more embarrassing productions please visit www.simontaylorfilms.com !

Right - on with the show!

2nd October 2008

Somewhere in an undisclosed desert, an army of clowns are building a hotel out of legos. As I stand there observing, an alarm sounds out of nowhere and I’m suddenly awake in my room. I turn to my alarm clock and the time slowly comes into focus ‐ 5.01am ‐ and I’m actually excited to be up this early!  Today is my first Q&A session at the online animation school Animation Mentor and in just under an hour I’ll be meeting my mentor Josh Book (who works at Wild Brain) and classmates for the first time.

Two slices of toast and a cup of tea later, I’m in front of my webcam introducing myself to the class, talking about what inspired me to get into animation and listening to everyone else’s back stories. There’s an infectious enthusiasm at Animation Mentor and a surprising range of backgrounds  from everybody, ranging from people in their teens who have always wanted to be animators to people who have spent their lives in one career and wanting a new start.

The Q&As are a weekly meeting with your mentor and classmates and are your chance to get some face to face time with everybody, ask questions on the week’s lecture, and generally get to know everyone.  Each semester, you’re given a new class and mentor, so you quickly build up a collection of current (and hopefully future!) industry contacts.

Class 1 (the first semester) was fantastic - each week was spent on just one exercise which centred around a particular animation principle and made sure we really understood why we were animating something a certain way, which paid off later on. The lectures are a weekly video you watch online and are always very clear. Of course you can always watch them as many times during the week as you like. The assignments each week gently built upon each other so by the end of the twelve weeks, the combination of community feedback and Josh’s excellent critiques really ensured that you improved quickly and build confidence.

I’ve included below a link to a collection of my shots from Class 1. What has really impressed me with the course structure is how logically the characters and the syllabus build upon each other so by the time you finish Class 1 you think of the hips in the same way you originally thought about the bouncing ball and it almost becomes second nature to think about how the weight and overlapping action should be working.

CLICK HERE

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Lucerne International Animation Academy 8-12 of December 2009

The institute Design of Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts will organise the first Lucerne International Animation Academy from the 8–12 of December 2009. The goal of this Symposium is to encourage a theoretical debate about current and historical questions of animation as an independent form of the “Moving Picture Production” in Switzerland.

This event mainly addresses researchers, lecturers and students in the field of media (animation, film, special effects). During this unique platform in Lucerne, highly qualified lecturers from theory and practice will discuss topics about animation.

The questions on the specifics of dramaturgy in animation film will be the main focus. It will be discussed whether it is right to use dramaturgic concepts of real films for animation. The objective is to find out whether or not there are independent rules for the Dramaturgy in animation films. Presentations, keynotes, workshops and film presentations will be held in order to discuss the main subject of this event in an interdisciplinary way. The results will be published and used in practical and theoretical lessons in animation and film schools.

Otto Alder, Co-Head of the Animation Department