Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

- The second day of the Festival had a completely different feel. For one thing, I didn’t have to make a presentation; for another, there was quite a bit more activity now that the Festival had officially opened last night. I still have a high from some of the films seen last night.

The first program I attended was a salute to Canadian animation compiled by Chris Robinson (who also has a new book about the subject.) This show wasn’t as well paced as some of the others. There were a few lagging moments in there, but overall it was a high. A couple of the excellent shorts included: L’Ondée by David Coquard Dassault, The
____Fest director Chris Robinson_______.___Nose by Neil Burns and The Forming Game
__________________.___________________by Malcolm Sutherland.

Following this there was another Shorts Competition which included new films by some better-known filmmakers.

Run Wracke’s new short, The Control Master, utilized a lot of CSA images that were cut and pasted together and animated in his cut-out style. It didn’t have the same impact on me as his first film, Rabbit, though I was quite pleased to see it. You can watch it on line here.

This Way Up by Adam Foulkes and Alan Smith was a funny cgi short about two morticians trying to pick up a dead woman and take her to the grave.

Don Hertzfeldt’s new short, I Am So Proud of You, was something of a disappointment for me. After his recent film, Everything Will Be OK, which I found brilliant, this new film felt like more of the same.

A Child’s Metaphysics by Koji Yamamura was not a perfect film, but it was in many ways the most inspirational. I’m a big fan of his work and while watching this short I came up with a thought on an Independent film I’d like to make. You’ll hear more about this.

After a well deserved break, I came back last night for another program of competing short films. This compilation wasn’t my favorite, though a couple of shorts stood out: Western Spaghetti by NY animator, PES, was slight but fun. Baerenbraut by Derej Roczen from Germany was interestingly designed and animated with a complex story. Lost Utopia by Mirai Mizue, from Japan, was a stunningly attractive and complicated abstraction. Georges Schwizgebel had another gem in Retouches. There were quite a few abstract films on this program, and I was glad to see it. This is a form most other Festivals seem to be ignoing. The adolescent film takes centerstage these days even at animation festivals. Not quite true in Ottawa thanks to the taste of Festival director, Chris Robinson. He puts his emphasis on artful films, not cheap entertainment.

Following this screening, we were guided to a party at the old jailhouse, a courtyard at the Arts Courts building (the Festival’s headquarters.) It was outdoors, under a tent, and a bit cold, but the party was lively and fun.

Friday was about the picnic. Buses met at the Bytowne Theater, a small local theater about a mile from my hotel, wherein most of the competing films were screened. The first bus left
at 11:30 and others were to follow. I went earlier to the Arts Courts Center (pictured left) where the Festival’s headquarters is located. I thought I might see someone familiar, as is often the case. Not today, so I moved onto the theater. There, I found the doubledecker bus waiting at 11:15. People were moving to the upper deck, but I knew that would end up a cold ride (the weather here has been sunny but on the chilly side), so I stayed indoors. I had a nice New Zealand guy sit next to me, and he and I had a good conversation en route. He’s now located in NY representing his company.

The first arrival at the Picnic grounds led to the traditional tent and food set up for serving. Hamburgers and hot dogs were the fare. I decided to wait till the second round of arrivals to eat. It was too early, I felt, for lunch. I ended up talking at length with Dermot Walsh, a Toronto designer and board artist. Eventually, I made the rounds with a lot of NY artists: Dave Levy, Chris Boyce, Linda Beck, Candy Kugel, Justin Simonich, and Dayna Gonzalez. Linda and Justin were shooting a documentary about NY folk attending the Festival, so I was interviewed. Others I met there and chatted with included: Skip Battaglia, Karl Cohen, John Halfpenny.

Once the pumpkin carving was judged, the buses began to load and depart. I went back with Candy trying to make the 5pm show. The “International Showcase” was a Panorama (that’s what they used to call it) on animation that didn’t make it into competition. It was an odd mix. I loved El Empleo by Santiago Grasso from Argentina. It was a well designed and animated piece wherein people are employed as chairs, lamposts, taxis and tables. (Not too far fetched an idea if McCain gets in there! There won’t be many other jobs.) dEVOLUTION by Candy and Vince Cafarelli was a beautifully designed film with a quiet punch. Glago’s Guest was the recent short from the Disney folks. I’m not sure quite what to make of this. Nicely produced with a couple of out-of-place cute and sentimental bits. I really didn’t like Presto, from Pixar, or Ergo from Hungary.

After this, a group of nine of us went to dinner at a nice little Thai restaurant that Hélène Tanguay located. It was a fun dinner with good food (only the second real meal I’ve had since arriving.) After this I decided I was too tired for any more films, so I returned to write this post and check to see whether our economy was still operating.

Saturday, I have a conference and the first of two presentations of my “Retrospective.” I may not get a chance to post any more before returning on Sunday. If that’s the case, I’ll complete the sum-up on Monday. With pictures.

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