Last week, I returned to Ontario for the only animation festival in the world that is dedicated to animated feature films: the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema, or WFAC for short.
Located in Waterloo/Kitchener, the festival has been running since 2001 and is held at the Chrysalids Theater, a fully-licensed, 500 seat theater in the heart of downtown Kitchener, Ontario with an attached lounge area where festival-goers can relax and discuss the films over a drink while waiting for the next film to be cued up.
Well, no visit to Waterloo/Kitchener would be complete without a trip to the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory, so I made that my first stop. Luck was with me as there were only three other people at the Conservatory, and two of them left shortly after I arrived. So while the lighting wasn't the best during the late afternoon, my view of the butterflies was unobstructed by people.
That evening, Joe started the festival strong with the delightful children's film "Ernest and Celestine".
Based on a series of children's books, this film told the tale of a mouse and a bear--both chafing under the constraints of a society that demands conformity of profession and conformity of position. The two worlds--mouse and bear--coexist but never mingle, that is until Ernest finds Celestine trapped in a garbage can. The visuals were a sumptious feast of watercolor backgrounds and ink outlined characters. Joe stated after the film that the static watercolor painted backgrounds enabled the production company to save lots of time and money as it limited the number of cels to animate. The character designs were adorable and the motion very fluid. This is definitely a film, much like Winnie the Pooh, that parents will enjoy watching with their kids.
After the show, Joe presented a live performance called "Miyazaki Madness" A tribute show to Hayao Miyazaki that combined magic, acrobatics, dance, song, fire acts, and burlesque performances all themed to the films of Miyazaki. The show was in a word "Wow!" I'm used to Cirque du Soleil shows and this was definitely not the Cirque. Thoughout the show, every act left you wondering how they were going to top the previous one. Part of the "Nerdgasm" series, this troup of performers will be worth keeping an eye on.
My photos don't do the show justice, but fortunately, my friend Grayden Liang was there in the front row and has posted a selection of his photos on his blog: "Canadian Animation". Be warned though, as three of the performances were burlesque, a number of the photos are not suitable for work. A video of the performers can be seen on the WFAC YouTube Channel here.
The evening's screening began with Production I.G.'s "009 Re:Cyborg". Production I.G. is getting better and better at cel-shaded 3d animation. I liked the story right up until the deux ex machina ending. If they're going to relaunch the series, then the ending works and works pretty well. If not... well, it was still a fun ride anyway--fun enough to want to track down the first three series (all the way back to the original series in the '60's).
Joe followed up with all three "Berzerk" films. Three films, roughly six hours of the most medieval violence I have ever seen in my life (outside of a Mel Gibson film that is). After the weirdness of the third movie though, most of the film took place in what can only be described as hell, I'm not sure if I want to see more or not... though I can clearly see why the manga series has been going on for so long and engendered a lot of loyalty among its readers.
Saturday's lineup was a little on the lighter side and showcased such films like:
"My Mummy is in America, and She Met Buffalo Bill", a cute film from France set in the 70's about a boy growing up and coming to terms with having an absent parent.
"The Thief and the Cobbler", Richard William's unfinished masterpiece(?) After watching this re-edit it was clear why the Warner Brothers suits pulled the plug on this film. It was a mess and none of William's brilliant animation work was going to save it. The scenes were uneven with some that were pure genius and others left looking cheap and trite. And this unevenness extended itself to the character animation. Many of them just moved like they were in slow motion. Some characters were richly designed, others looked like they were pulled from a low-budget short. All in all, it seemed like the film just didn't know what kind of film it wanted to be. However, this screening set the stage for Sunday's documentary film "Persistence of Vision" which I had hoped would explain why Williams' film failed--expecially when it had one of the masters of modern animation at its helm. Though I hadn't seen "Thief and the Cobbler" before, going into the screening, I was already more interested in the history surrounding this film than in the film itself. Now that I know it's history, I'd love to watch both the re-edit and the documentary again. As always, Richard Williams has much to teach us whether through his successes or his failures.
"Approved for Adoption", Jung Henin's tragic yet hopeful film about growing up a Korean adopted by Belgian parents--at once a resident of both cultures but never truly a part of either. I was very happy to see this film a second time, the first being at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
"AninA" was a cute story for the kids, produced in Urugray. The film tells the story about a little girl who strikes back at the taunts of her classmates and learns to accept the consequences of her actions. Based on this one, I would like to see more films coming out of this country in the not too distant future.
Sunday started out with the Oshii Mamoru screening. I never get tired of watching "Ghost in the Shell", first time seeing it on the big screen though. Joe had the choice of screening this or the second Patlabor movie. As much as I love Patlabor, "Ghost in the Shell" was the better choice!
It was followed by "Persistence of Vision". Now this is the documentary I had hoped it would be. Pretty much every question I had about "The Thief and the Cobbler" was answered. So much talent, so little focus. It amazes me that Williams launched this project without cohesive, structured pre-planning. I have to give the man a tremendous amount of credit though, to stick with a project for 28 years and finance it outside of the regular studio structure. Williams was truly a man driven, sadly it looked like he lost sight of his film's story long before he lost control of his film to Warner Brothers.
The last film of the festival was "Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Fury". I've wanted to see this film since it was announced on Cartoon Brew years ago. It did not disappoint. What an amazing story! Brutal though. The history of Brazil with all it's pain and brutality. The film tracks the story of an immortal warrior who struggles throughout 600 years of oppression in Brazil on the one hand, and on the other, struggles to find his lover as she is reborn time and again throughout history. The film has a great ending to this tragic love story. I sincerely hope that this film gets an Oscar nomination and a wide release in the North American market. Lightstar Studios has produced a powerful and gripping film that hopefully will be part of my permenant collection one day.
While the previous list of films represent my favorites from the festival, they were certainly not all the films screened. A list of the shows along with trailers for all the films shown at WFAC 2013 can be viewed on their YouTube channel.
Once again, Joe Chen and his intrepid band of volunteers brought a show well worth the three-plus hour drive from Michigan. The Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema remains the festival that allows me to wrap up the festival season on a high note.
It was November, the weekend before Thanksgiving, so that meant my final vacation of the year was here: the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema.
I left Lansing later than I had planned due to my mother's car being down for repairs. Instead of leaving at my usual 9 a.m. for Waterloo, I stuck around until noon-ish, chauffering Mom around town so she could finish her errands. But, despite the late start, I still made it to the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory about an hour-and-a-half before closing. It worked to my advantage as there was only one other person walking around the Conservatory.
The butterflies were pretty much grouped into two major categories: those who were hanging from the underside of branches, getting ready to sleep for the night, or those who were swarming the feeding stations, looking for that last minute snack before going to sleep. As it was, I got some pretty unique shots and even found a butterfly that I hadn't seen in previous trips (and wasn't listed in their guide).
Butterfly Bowl
My first WFAC ritual completed, I trekked over to Kitchner and checked into the Walper Hotel. Old and creaky, the Walper is a maze of twists and turns that would make any Minotaur proud. Though the rooms are a touch on the cold side, and I was never able to get the room's heater to go beyond 64 degrees F, the Walper is still the easiest hotel to stay at since it's a short five minute walk right up the street to the theatre. After settling into my room, I quickly found a faster route from the elevators
and my suite. Then it was off to the Chrysalids Theatre.
For those who are interested in more detailed information about the films that festival curator Joe Chen showed over the festival, their trailers and synopses can be read on the WFAC website. I strongly encourage readers to check out the trailers, then jump over to the WFAC website for more info, and then tracking down these films.
I picked up my festival pass and immediately noted Joe Chen racing around as he performed video and sound checks for the first film. A quick 'hello' was all he had time for before moving onto the next task as time rapidly ran out before the first screening and the theatre lobby filled with festival attendees.
The first film of the screening was "Wolf Children". It was not what I expected. This film was a very touching story about the relationship between a mother and her children--and the sacrifices that she willingly made for her children. I'm not sure that I'd categorize it as slice-of-life, but it came pretty close. The story was about a woman who falls in love with a man who is--for all intents and purposes--a werewolf. They marry, have kids, and then he tragically dies, leaving her to raise two children who are werewolves themselves--with no guidance for raising two kids who can shift between wolves and humans at a moment's notice. This film was an excellent opening to the festival and really hit home. While driving to Waterloo was a nervous rush to see if I could make the Butterfly Conservatory in time, after watching "Wolf Children", I was thankful that I had the morning to spend with my mother and do something special for her.
Directed by Hosoda Mamoru, whose second film was Summer Wars, you can read WFAC's background and director bio here. This is definitely one of those sleeper hits that needs to be in your DVD collection.
The second film of the night "Hells" was... interesting. Honestly, I thought more about the visual style than I did the story. Hand drawn in a 'sketchy style', I wish I had something to compare it to other than one of the films I saw years ago in the "Genius Party" compilation. But the motion was fluid and the characters both interesting and engaging. Personally, I didn't care for their mangling of Christian theology and merging it with Buddhist and Shinto concepts, but, it was written and produced in Japan as a work of fiction. So...
"Hells" went on for a little too long with one 'ending' after another during the climax of the film. But the sketchy drawing style really breathes new life into hand drawn animation coming out of Japan and successfully broke from the traditional anime mold. Given that it was produced by the same studio that created "Redline", I really expected nothing less.
That night, I was pleased to see that fellow TAIS member Grayden Laing made it out to WFAC. After "Hells" was over we had a great conversation with Joe Chen that insured I wouldn't get back to the hotel until well after 1 a.m. as Joe graciously talked about the current state of the festival and its future direction.
The next morning began with "Babeldom". I initially skipped this film in Ottawa because I didn't find the trailer interesting. Just goes to show you that you can't judge a movie by its trailer. Am glad I saw it at WFAC -- I REALLY liked this film! "Babeldom" was a lot better than I expected. It had this "Waking Life" quality to it but less stream-of-consciousness. There were only two narrators/main characters and virtually no people in any of the shots. Personally, I thought the lack of people and the juxtaposition of live-action shots of architecture with the scientific visualization animations was an interesting choice. As I've been thinking about archeology a lot over the past few months, the concept of future cities built upon past cities drew me in from the start. As the film progressed, I was left wondering if the gulf that separated the two lovers wasn't distance but rather time. I like that. it makes the film more sci-fi. I think it also ties the concepts together a little more tightly as the two lovers from opposite ends of the city (topside and downside) communicated over the gulf that separated them. "Babeldom's" visuals evoked some fond memories of trips taken to unfamiliar cities and museums of science and industry--the architecture flowed from one scene to the next, evoking one memory after another. While a few elements seemed a little out of place, as a whole, I enjoyed this film and put it on my list of films to watch again.
Next came "Tibetan Dog" a thinly veiled political statement on China's annexing of Tibet and their low-intensity war against the people of Tibet all couched in an Ol'Yeller style story. On its surface, the film is a story about this boy whose mother dies and he goes to live with his father, a doctor, who lives in Tibet. The boy is soon adopted by a golden Tibetan Mastiff who is on a mission of vengeance against the "monster" who is terrorizing the valley. Under the surface though, the story explores the situation between China and Tibet. Interestingly enough, this joint Japanese and Chinese film was produced in both countries in part to skirt the restrictive Chinese laws regarding importing and screening foreign films. I have to wonder if the Chinese censors will recognize the symbolism in the film and if they'll still allow it to be shown in China.
The last film of the night was "Blood-C: The Last Dark" by Production I.G. Not bad, but it didn't thrill me too much. Course, I've only seen the original 40 minute "Blood: the Last Vampire" so there were little gaps and scenes that would've made sense if I'd seen the television series. In reality, the only thing that bugged me was the 3d rendering in the final battle sequence. While it was a decent climax to the film, the 2d cel shading just didn't mesh well with the actual 2d hand-drawn characters.
Saturday's "Anime Mirai" was a four-film compilation showcasing some new directors as Japan searches for the next wave of talent for the anime industry. All-in-all, there was some impressive work there. All four films were decent. The first story "Juju the Weightless Dugong" was about a little girl who wants to play in the ocean with her father, but is repeatedly rebuffed by his job and his fear of swimming.
By far the strongest film out of the four was the second: "Pretending not to see". This was a must-see film about bullying from the perspective of a boy who witnesses a classmate being bullied but is afraid to speak out for fear of reprisals by the bully and his friends.
The third was "Li'l Spider Girl", the story of an antiquarian who inadvertantly unleashes a little girl who is also a half-spider monster. A fun little jaunt with some unexpected little twists, turns, and laughs along the way.
The fourth and final film was 'Buta'. It was okay. A story about an anthropomorphic pig who happens to be a traveling samurai that is afraid of cats. Nothing spectacular, but entertaining for a half-hour. It didn't break any new ground. Just your typical Saturday morning cartoon fare for kids.
"Marco Macaco" was a cute film. Definitely for the kids. Not my taste, but it did hold my attention. While the character designs, modelling, and sets were basic, the animation was solid, consistent, and unique to each character.
Unfortunately, "Day of the Crows" wasn't shown due to technical difficulties. So I made my first return visit to Niko Niko instead.
Afterwards, I ended up skipping "Jensen and Jensen" to take a nap as the drafty room at the hotel had left me with the beginnings of a head cold on Friday morning. Though hearing about its simplistic story and level of vulgarity from people who sat through "Jensen and Jensen", I think I probably made the right choice. But since that wasn't the case for "Babeldom", I might track this film down in the future and see for myself whether or not I should've watched it on the big screen at WFAC.
Refreshed and ready for the rest of the evening, I returned just in time to catch 'A Letter to Momo'. The story about a girl who loses her father--whose work took him away from the family for months at a time. This film is about the three bumbling spirits who try to protect Momo and her mother as her father makes the transition from the spirit of the deceased into the family's guardian spirit. "A Letter to Momo" is Production I.G. doing a Miyazaki film and doing it very well. Though thinking about the films I've seen so far, I'm starting to think that the Japanese have serious absent daddy issues!
"Library War: The Wings of Revolution" was one of the films I was really looking forward to watching. It was a decent enough film. A little too light-hearted and slow paced for my tastes given the subject matter. I got the feeling that this was meant to be a Patlabor-esque series. The film was taken from a series of light novels, but I think that there was a lot of information left out. I was expecting a lot more "Ghost in the Shell" and although it didn't deliver on that level of action, the story was interesting enough. Basically, you have two factions in the Japanese government: one that censors media 'in the interest of the public good' and one that protects the lives of authors, librarians, bookstore owners, pretty much anyone who deals with the uncensored sharing of books. All I can say is that this film really needed to be a 13 to 24 episode television series in order to tell the entire story.
The final film of the night was "Heart String Marionette". Joe made the interesting decision to leave the dialogue turned off and bring in two of the composer/musicians to play the soundtrack live during the movie. I left thirty minutes into the show since I was feeling ill. I hadn't planned on watching this film as the trailers shown on M-dot-Strange's confusing website didn't appeal to me, but I have to say that I'd like to see this film again with the dialogue. While the picture was dark, I found the characters to be expertly animated and liked the masks that they wore. Personally, I think the whole experience would've worked if they had shown the subtitles. On the bright side, for those of us who saw the film at WFAC, M.Dot.Strange provided a code which allowed us to buy the film (and the soundtrack) as a digital download for $5.00. While I've purchased and downloaded the film, it's now on my list of features that I'm going to watch before the year is out. Would be nice to see if "Babledom" is available for purchase, I'd like to do a double-feature.
I slept in on Sunday morning. Still felt sick, but checked out of the hotel, had breakfast, packed the car and then it was off to "Asura". What a heartbreaking movie to watch. "Asura" takes place during a famine and tells the story of a feral child who commits one of the most heinous sins in Buddhism to survive: he becomes a cannibal. Your heart really goes out this kid though, and even though it is a tragic story, it does have a somewhat happy ending. With great storytelling and solid animation, they used a hybrid 2d/3d cel shading technique that allowed for a 2d look that matched the oriental watercolor backgrounds. The whole technique reminded me of what Disney is doing with 'Paperman'.
The next film in the lineup was "The Tragedy of Man". Honestly, I'm amazed that I sat through the entire three hour film. It wasn't bad, but was very philosophical... and subtitled. The story was an animated version of Hungary's most famous play which tells the story of Satan and Adam as the devil walks the first man throughout the future history and shows him the consequences of his original sin (all in fifteen minute vignettes). Personally, I liked how the time periods were animated in a visual style appropriate to the particular time period, and that was the greatest appeal of the story for me. While I drifted in and out with the philosophy, I was intrigued with the artistic direction of this film and how it was used to enhance the story and hold the viewer's attention.
After a quick lunch/supper, it was back to the theatre for "Strange Frame"--a digital cut-out animation that was animated using Photoshop and After Effects, with some 3d animation thrown in where appropriate (like a hilarious robotic cockroach in one of those classic, blink and you'll miss it scenes). The story was pretty simplistic and really didn't do anything for me. I got the impression that the director was attempting a 'Heavy Metal' or 'Metal Hurlant' type of story. It did have very interesting visuals, so I expect to see it, or something like it, on the SciFi channel in the not too distant future.
Sadly, I skipped the final show of the night: "Rainbow Fireflies". Didn't want to, but as I was sick and had to be at work the next morning, I figured I was better off getting home at 9 p.m. and getting a good night's rest than rolling in at 1 a.m. and having to be at work eight hours later.
As it's now four days later and this head cold is retreating rapidly--and not as bad as they've been in the past--I think the choice to skip a couple shows and get more sleep was a good one. But next WFAC, I'll probably take the following Monday off of work and stay the night just so I won't have to shortchange myself and can see all the films.
I had barely recovered from the Ottawa International Animation Festival, when a rather timely article was posted on Cartoon Brew by animation historian Jerry Beck regarding the current state (and a possible future) of classic animated film.
It turns out that the Turner Classic Movie channel had decided to broadcast six hours of vintage animation with the added bonus of having Jerry introduce each segment with historical information about the films being produced during that time period. It immediately made me wish that I had more than just the basic cable package that Comcast provides for people with high-speed internet. Once again, I found myself wishing for a-la-carte packaging of cable channels.
Given the difficulties involved in watching classic animated film--that from the late 1800's even up to the 1950's--it makes me appreciate the efforts of Joe Chen, Chris Robinson, Madi Piller, and ASIFA/Central's own Brad Yarhouse even more as most of the films that I've seen at the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema, the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the TAIS screenings & workshops, and ASIFA's International Animation Day have never seen much distribution here in the States outside of the festival circuit or on the Internet. While not the purpose of Jerry's article, it does highlight why venues like these are so important to the animation community.
'Technotise, Edit y Ja', 'Fedot the Hunter', 'Chico and Rita'--these are just a few of the feature-length animated films that have been shown at the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema in recent years. And none of them received any serious distribution in the United States--leaving people like me to travel anywhere from one to ten hours, and usually to venues in Canada, in order to watch these films. And that doesn't even begin to cover the more fringe films and topics like the Russian animation retrospectives shown at the Ottawa and Waterloo festivals. These two retrospectives alone introduced many to the films produced by Russia's Soyuzmultfilm during the years of the Cold War.
While the Internet has done an excellent job at making more animated films available to a wider audience (especially many of the short films that up until now were only available on the festival circuit or through traveling programs like the Tournee of Animation or the Animation Show) it has made the signal-to-noise-ratio problem worse as we are continually bombarded by hours and hours of internet memes and so-called "animated" video mash-ups. One is only left hoping that the cream will eventually rise to the top--as in the case of Simon's Cat and Dick Figures. But while we won't always appreciate every film that makes it into a festival, the odds of seeing a film that is closer to our tastes is much more likely if one can just tap into the festival scene. There may be far more festivals out there than just Ottawa, Waterloo, the TAIS summer screening, and ASIFA's IAD, but these are the ones I've personally gravitated to--partly due to proximity, partially due to content, and partially due to community. The point being: at a festival or society screening, you already have someone that has sifted through the films and selected those that, at least in their opinion, are worthy of your time.
Personally, I have experienced a side-benefit from my festival attendance. Over the years, I developed a change in my own tastes. When I was in grad school, I couldn't stand abstract, experimental animated films--I always dismissed them as nothing more than computer screen savers. For me, it was narrative short films or I wasn't interested. However, through attending festivals and screenings where I could meet and talk to their creators, I started to see the artistic merit in such work. And I even started to see their influence on more commercial work, such as the flavor/taste sequence in Pixar's film 'Ratatouille' where Remy tries to explain food combinations to his brother.
Had I not been forced to sit through the occasional abstract animated film at festivals--films selected by people who understood the merits of such work--I would have never had the opportunity to expand my horizons and learn to appreciate these films. An appreciation which has recently led me to learn more about the films of Norman McLaren, Ishu Patel, the National Film Board of Canada, and the rich history of Canadian animation. Had I stuck with just watching films on the internet, I very likely would not have ventured beyond the confines of of my little box (which is filled with the usual narrative short films that I so love) and I would have missed out on the wider world of animated film.
I'm very encouraged by Turner Classic Movies' decision to show films that, up until recently, were the purview of only a select group of die-hard enthusiasts, like myself, and students who sat through History of Animation courses at college. TCM should also receive credit for making the controversial decision to show the films of James Stuart Blackton unedited--those which have racist and anti-semetic imagery. These films were discussed by the hosts beforehand, along with a warning to the audience of what they were about to see, and were presented in their proper context: the world as it existed when they were created.
November saw my return to Waterloo, Ontario for the annual Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema. Every year, Joe Chen puts together a first class selection of animated feature films from around the world and this year was no exception!
Day one: drive to Waterloo and spend a couple hours taking photos in the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory. After visiting this conservatory several times, I have to say it's the second best that I've been to in the Great Lakes region--the first being the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory right down the road from Niagara-on-the-Lake. Yeah, I know. Why butterflies and animation? Again, no real reason, watching butterflies is just a relaxing experience for me. You show up, hunt butterflies with your camera for a while, then sit on a bench in the enclosed nature setting and watch them flutter from here to there. Honestly, I can't think of a better way to relax and prepare myself mentally for a weekend of animated feature-length films.
As always, the Walper Terrace Hotel is comfortable and the staff friendly--and best of all, one block down the street from the Chrysalids Theatre (which used to be named 'the Gig Theatre').*
Thursday only had one screening: 'Full Metal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos.' I've never been a big fan of FMA. It's not a bad series, and I absolutely love Major Armstrong (whose presence was notably absent in this film save for one scene), but it didn't hold my interest after the first episode or two. Fortunately, I have a couple friends who dragged me to the first film--which I enjoyed--and explained to me the whole premise for the series (including character bios). Needless to say, I was entertained with this film. It wasn't spectacular, but it wasn't bad either. I liked the story, which took place between a couple of episodes during second season--or so a fan told me. The animation was acceptable and the characters interesting. However I thought that the special effects were above average. There are scenes with magma flows and eruptions which had me thinking back to Disney's Atlantis and my time talking hand-drawn SFX with Joseph Gilland. I have to say that attending the TAIS Elemental Magic workshop has really expanded my appreciation of animated special effects.
After the screening, I hunted for someplace still open where I could have dinner. I settled on takeout pizza and a soda. No complaints. They were open and the food was something that could be eaten back at the hotel while watching cable t.v.
Day Two: Spent a dangerous amount of time in the local used bookstores before the evening screenings. Sadly, while there was some interesting stuff there, it wasn't anything I couldn't live without. As time marches on, and my library expands, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find books on animation with information that I don't already have.
Teriyaki Beef Bento Lunch
I also returned to a favorite restaurant for lunch: Niko Niko. As I had been watching the anime series 'Ben-To' for the previous couple of months, I just had to order one of their bento box lunches.
I was not disappointed and made several return trips before leaving town on Sunday. Needless to say, I must find a restaurant like this in the Lansing area!
There were two films that screened on Friday night: 'Leafie - A Hen Into the Wild', a big-budget Korean animated film, and 'El Sol', an Argentinean film that I still am having trouble wrapping my brain around.
Leafie was good. Hands down. It was produced from a popular Korean children's book about a hen who escapes a farm and ends up raising a duck in the wild. I don't want to say too much about it because Leafie is a film that must be experienced. Like Disney films, there's a lot there for adults and children alike. Even though you can really tell the difference between American and Asian mindsets and their effect on storytelling, Leafie was still an easy film to follow for Westerners. One word of caution though, there are parts of the film that are really dark--think "Bambi's mother getting shot" dark, so it's probably not a good film for very young children.
I really can't say anything about the content of 'El Sol'. It held my interest, no question there--even through the many scenes of sex and violence. I guess I just didn't "get it" is all. I think it was about surviving in a post-apocalyptic world and trying to find your own happiness in that world. I'm not sure. Personally, I thought an earlier Argentinean film 'Boogie, El Aceitoso' was a better film partially because it was more logical and plot driven--though with equal amounts of sex and violence.
One of the more interesting things that occurred at this year's festival was the addition of live acts. While I skipped the one evening of metal (due to a pounding headache), I did stay for the live animation show. I can describe this performance as watching a animated screensaver to music. Unfortunately, that doesn't begin to do it justice. While one performer played stringed instruments, fed the music into a computer, and remixed them in realtime, another performer worked with a computer and tablet to create abstract animated 'paintings'. It was a very interesting, very surreal experience that left me very appreciative of my time spent with Stephanie, Skip, and Marla back at R.I.T. Before I met those three professors, I never really appreciated abstract animated films. But through their explanations, education, and personal films, I've developed a rudimentary understanding of (and appreciation for) abstract animated film. Was very nice to see the college education pay off in a new and unexpected way!
Day Three: 'Fimfarium 3', 'the Great Bear', 'the Princess and the Pilot', and 'Chico and Rita'. Wow, what a great line-up of animated films. 'Fimfarium 3' was a series of three stop-motion vignettes that carried a very dry wit to them, much like you would see in the films from Aardman Animation. While there didn't seem to be any connecting thread between them, each individual vignette was expertly animated and very entertaining. It's always a treat to watch what the Eastern European puppetmasters produce!
'The Great Bear' a 3d CGI film about this brother and sister who roam the forest and try to save a bear the size of a mountain from the hunter who is stalking him! Personally, I thought the moose were hysterically funny. Seriously though, this was a nice family film. The characters were a touch wooden in their appearance, but once you get past that, it's a really cute story with a nice payout at the end. Sadly, I don't see this film showing up as an 'English dub' in the States anytime soon. Too bad. This is a nice movie to put in the DVD player and entertain the kids while you're sneaking upstairs for a little fun (or a much needed nap) with the wife.
'The Princess and the Pilot' was textbook. Discriminated and abused pilot has to brave enemy territory and deliver a princess to her soon-to-be-husband prince, thus uniting the two realms against a mutual enemy. This is one of those films where you just sit there and enjoy it. It's not very deep, but it's good. It had solid continuity, engaging characters, and really cool airplane and warship battles. This is one to put on your list of anime to watch once it's out on DVD--although it was undoubtedly better seeing this film on the big screen!
This brings us to the last film of the night. I'll admit it. I hate Jazz. Hate it with a passion. Most Jazz sounds like noise to me--no harmony, just dissonance. Add to that, it was supposed to be old-school rotoscoped. So I went into 'Chico and Rita' with low expectations. But, I skipped the film at Ottawa this year, so figured it was worth sitting through. Wow was that ninety-four minutes well spent! 'Chico and Rita' tells the story of a pair of performers from Cuba experiencing the Cuban and New York Jazz scene before, during, and after the Communist revolution. At its heart, this film is a love story between two people who are brought together and torn apart by forces both within and beyond their control. While I'm still not a fan of Jazz, per se, 'Chico and Rita' has really helped me understand a lot more about the history of Jazz and it's place in both American and Cuban cultural history. Although I haven't seen 'Cat in Paris' yet, so far, 'Chico and Rita' is my choice for the Animated Film Oscar this year.
Day four: Up early to check out of the hotel and see 'Adventures in Plymptoons!'--a student-made documentary (mocumentary?) showcasing the life and times of America's most prominent independent animator, Bill Plympton. This story is told mostly by the people who know Bill and through a lot of reused footage from his earlier film 'Plymptoons'. I don't want to be too critical of this movie because I know that it's a student-produced film--which, in my mind, means it's held to a lower (perhaps more forgiving) standard of quality. But I have met Mr. Plympton. I like him very much both as a professional animator and as a person. I just left the theatre thinking that this film wasn't up to his standards.
Due to last minute licensing restrictions, Joe couldn't show 'Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below', one of the films I was looking forward to seeing. On the good side, it looks like it'll have a North American DVD release, so hopefully sooner rather than later, I'll get to enjoy this film. But, as I was tired, had to be back at work on Monday morning, and my car was giving me trouble the entire trip, I decided to skip 'Green Days' and go home early. On the bright side, I missed the bad weather on my way in and had some time to relax, unpack, and gather my thoughts. On the down side, I think I should've gone back to Niko Niko, had a very leisurely lunch, and then watched 'Green Days'. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, I suppose.
All in all though, the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema remains one of the high points of my year and a trip that I look forward to at the end of every year. I truly wish that WFAC got the press and turnout that it deserves. It remains one of the best kept secrets in the world of animation festivals.
* No, I didn't realize the butterfly themed connection between the conservatory and the theatre when I was there, but now that I have, I'm really digging it.
I'd like to end this month of profiles on Women in Animation by sharing some information about a great success story in the field of animation: Eiko Tanaka.
Eiko Tanaka founded her own animation studio, Studio 4°C (1), in Tokyo back in 1986 after working "as a line producer on Hayao Miyazaki's MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO and KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE" (2). In the past twenty-five years, Studio 4°C has worked on such films as "Spriggan", "the Animatrix", "Batman: Gotham Knight", "First Squad: The Moment of Truth", and two of my personal favorites: "Genius Party" and "Genius Party Beyond". Additionally, Studio 4°C has worked on television series, commercials, video games, public service announcements, and their own animated shorts (3). And if that wasn't enough, she apparently is also "the chief executive office of a producing company called Beyond C" (4).
Having had both Spriggan and the Animatrix in my collection, I hadn't given much thought to their production companies until I went to the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema back in 2008. It was there that I saw both Genius Party and Genius Party Beyond. Having been raised on a steady diet of anime (and it's ofttimes uninspired visual style), I was blown away by the wide range of story and visuals projected on the screen. It was fascinating to see such an established a studio break out of the 'big eyes-small mouth' stereotype of Japanese animation and push the boundaries of the artistic medium using the gift for technical precision and quality that is so prevalent in Japanese society. The following is a trailer from WFAC's presentation of Genius Party which clearly illustrates the skill and vision of Eiko Tanaka's company.
My last word for this month is to mention the professional organization "Women in Animation". WIA is a very affordable professional group for pros and students who work in the field of animation (5). WIA currently has chapters in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. If I had a daughter who wanted to know what it was like to work in the field of animation, WIA is probably one of the first places I would suggest she start looking for information--since their membership roster is a who's-who of animation studio creatives, executives, and independents. As networking is one of the best ways to gather intel about a job field (and a pretty good way to find employment and educational opportunities), I view this collection of women (6) as having one of the widest spectrums of job experience in the field of animation. The women of WIA are a resource that should be consulted by any girl wishing to pursue a career in animation at any level.
1. Although one source I found (Crunchyroll.com) lists her as a co founder along with: Koji Morimoto and Yoshiharu Sato 2. Source: Studio 4°C website - company hyperlink 3 Source: Wikipedia Entry - Studio 4°C 4. Source: Wikipedia Entry - Eiko Tanaka 5. Annual membership is currently $50 for professionals and $25 for students. 6. And no, you don't have to be a woman to join WIA. As my current membership will attest, 30% of WIA's membership happen to be men.
I finally got to see the Secret of Kells here in Michigan--though I had to make a two-hour, round-trip drive to Grand Rapids to see it. My first attempt was the previous night in Ann Arbor. I drove to the State Theatre only to find out that someone had updated the website incorrectly and the film wasn't being shown at 9 p.m. Two hours and over half a tank of gas wasted. So. The next evening, it was off to the Grand Rapids Celebration Cinema with my friend Jeff. This time, success! The screen was a little smaller than the first time I saw Kells in Waterloo, but I saw it one last time in the theatre.
Watching Kells on the big screen reminds me why I go to the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema every year. In Lansing, we just don't get to see animated feature films in our theaters unless they're from (or sponsored by) big Hollywood studios*. I can't help but believe that if the Odeon Theatre in Frandor was still around, I'd get to see films like Kells locally.
Sadly, the Odeon Theatre shut down (despite being a moderately profitable venture, as I am told by a friend of the former owners). And even with the advent of the internet and online video, the animation festival remains the best place to see the majority of independent animated film on, for most of them, a screen large enough to show these films the way they were meant to be seen. And while I'm encouraged by studios like Pixar who are leading the charge to show shorts in front of their feature-length animated films and touring shows like The Animation Show and Spike & Mike, festivals like Annecy, Ottawa, KAFI are still one of the only places where you can see experimental animated film, student-produced films, and independent animated films.
The Ann Arbor Film Festival came one step closer to 'getting it right' this year (due in large part to local animator Gary Schwartz). AAFF took one Friday evening screening and showed a 1.5 hour block of experimental animated films, followed by a Q & A session with a few animators who had made the trip to Ann Arbor for the festival. While I would've preferred to see all the animated films handled this way, since I can't afford to spend an entire week sitting through live action films that don't interest me just to see the one or two animated films interspersed throughout the other screenings, I'm happy to see that AAFF is moving in a direction that is a little more friendly to those of us who want to see these animated films. And for the record, the theatre was easily three-quarters full. A good showing for a very esoteric segment of the animated film medium.
Well, the whole point of this post is not so much to rant about festivals, but rather to celebrate the following announcement: Secret of Kells will be released on DVD in the United States this October 2010. So this foreign-made, Academy Award nominated film, which proved hand drawn animation is still alive and well, will soon be accessible to the entire population--especially to those who didn't get to see it at a theatre near them.
* Props to NCG Cinema and Celebration Cinema for showing Ghost in the Shell: Innocence and Spirited Away...now how about showing the Evangelion relaunch films or Technotise: Edit and I! :)
Here's one of those foreign animations that I'm hoping they show at the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema this November. Lutas is a Brazilian production from LightStar Studios. According to the LightStar website, this story is the "Brazilian tale of an immortal 500 year old hero who is destined for the same woman through the ages, although he finds himself in troubled moments throughout Brazil's colorful history."
I'm always intrigued when watching foreign animated films because, while the animated medium may be the same (along with the principles of animation), each people group interprets film and story through their own cultural lens and (usually) creates a unique visual style. As the costs of software and equipment go down, I'm hoping that we'll see more foreign animated feature films like Triplets of Belleville, Secret of Kells, Technotise: Edit & I,and Metropia. One of the reasons why I make the trek every November to Waterloo Ontario is that Joe Chen (and crew) does a masterful job of finding animated feature films from around the world to show at his festival. Here in the midwest United States, the opportunity to view these films on the big screen just isn't there yet--whether that's due to a lack of money or a lack of mainstream appreciation for the cinema from other cultures, I guess that's up to the reader to decide. For now, I'll just be thankful that I'm within driving distance of Waterloo, Toronto, and Ottawa for my yearly animation festival fix.
NOTE: Due to some nudity and violent images, this trailer is NSFW.
Friday, November 20
Skipped the Thursday opening Gala and film--didn't want to take an extra day off of work (and was reasonably confident that I could see Mary and Max another time). So, drove to Waterloo, Ontario on Friday afternoon. Knew I'd have a little extra time, since the first film that I wanted to see was at 9:15 p.m. So I checked into the hotel and took a meandering (read that: 30 minute) drive to the Gig Theatre. Next time, I'll plot out that five minute drive on the map a little more clearly.
First Squad: Not the cornucopia of Zombies and Nazis that I was hoping for. The ending was a touch anti-climactic, but was the first of a trilogy. I did like the documentary feel to it with the Russian actors talking like they were being interviewed.
First Squad:
Afterwards, met an Evangelion fan named Jennifer.* Had a short chat with Joe Chen. Unfortunately, "Boogie, el aceitoso" couldn't make it here in time to be show--despite the best efforts of Mr. Chen and the Argentianian consulate to sidestep an official who was looking for a bribe/extortion fee.** So, it was back to the hotel and the very comfortable bed. Going to be a good weekend.
Saturday, November 21
Got up after a fitful night and made it to the Gig Theatre with plenty of time to catch the Serbian film "Technotise: Edit & I". This was the world premiere and I so wish that there had been more people around to see it! It was like watching an animated story from Heavy Metal magazine (or Metal Hurlant). You could really see the level of detail in this film as the creator had been working on this story for twelve years!!
Technotise: Edit & I:
A quick lunch later and I was back for the russian film "Fedot the Hunter". Imagine a feature length (90 min) film that is animated in Terry Gilliam's visual style of cut-out figures, except the colors and patterns are rich and vivid and every character moves with purpose, weight, and secondary motion. It reminds me a lot of how my friend Leah animated her entire MFA thesis film in Photoshop using characters built entirely of textures that she scanned into her computer.
Fedot the Hunter (entire film with English subtitles):
Early afternoon brought us the first of two retrospectives on Russian animation. Given that a quarter of my family hails from Russia, this held a certain place in my heart. Eugene, the gentleman who did most of the subtitle translations, selected the films and was there during the screenings. The really nice thing was that he took the time to introduce the films and explain the context of what we were going to see in addition the historical and cultural relevance of each film.
Laughter and Grief by the White Sea (entire film w/English subtitles):
The Little Tiger on the Sunflower (entire film w/English subtitles):
At 4 o'clock, it was time to visit another branch of my family tree as they screened the Irish film: Brendan and the Secret of Kells. This film was produced by Ireland's Cartoon Salon and told a fanciful tale of the history of the Book of Kells***, Ireland's greatest national treasure. If you've watched Samurai Jack or Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, then you've seen some of the visual style of this film. It looks like it was created using Flash and After Effects. This is one of those films that is so enthralling that I can't wait for it to be shown here in the States. As much as I enjoyed Coraline, Secret of Kells is the film I'm hoping will win the Academy Awards.
Brendan and the Secret of Kells:
A minor diversion to the cute, but unengaging Klasky-Csupo feature "L.A. Dolce Vita" and it was off to one of the five films that I drove to Waterloo for.
Evangelion 2.0: You Shall (Not) Advance. I was more than cautiously optimistic having seen Evangelion 1.01 the previous year. Wow. Just wow! Personally, I hated the original Evangelion tv/OVA series. Epitomized the best and worst of Japanese Anime: technical brilliance in the art and animation, characters so utterly unlikable and story execution so utterly idiotic that it rendered the final product unwatchable. No wonder the director had a nervous breakdown. Well, this was his chance at a do-over, and he succeeded on every level. Had he produced this film instead of the television series, I would be joining the ranks of the zealots who think that Evangelion was the best Japanime title of all times.
Evangelion 2.0: You Shall (Not) Advance:
Debated the merits of going back to the hotel and getting a little more rest, after all, I'm driving down to Ohio on Monday to film (and help remove) part of an engine on Tuesday morning. Decided to push the envelope a little and bank-sleep on Sunday night and catch Metropia tonight. Metropia was a decent film--visuals were pretty odd--but this was a pretty solid take on the 'corporate mind control' film. Unfortunately, while the film was built using a new technology, the projector wasn't strong enough to display the film in all it's glorious high-definition detail. Nice thing was, the story and performances were still strong enough to hold everyone's interest, even though we could barely see what was happening half the time. Would love to see this one again on equipment strong enough to handle it.
Metropia:
Once again, skipped the evening outing with festival goers and went back to the hotel to get some sleep. This time was a touch more successful--not much, mind you, but a little more.
Sunday, November 22
Skipped Panique au Village this morning. Saw the shorts on the net. Cute, but not my cup of tea. So I opted for the sleep instead. Was the right choice. They're showing Panique au Village at the Detroit Institute of Arts if I want to see it in January. The part two of the russian retrospective was just as engaging as the first.
The Cat Who Walked by Herself (Part 1 of the film w/English subtitles):
The Elephant and the Pug (entire film w/English subtitles):
The Lost Letter: The first animated film produced by the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any trailers or clips of this film online.
The Stolen Sun (entire film w/English subtitles can be viewed in two parts on YouTube: Part 1 and Part 2
Last film of the day was the Production I.G. film Musashi: the Dream of the Last Samurai. This was Mamoru Oshi's portrayal of Musashi that was based upon Oshi's research into the man, not the legend.
Musashi: the Dream of the Last Samurai:
And that was it. Four hours later, I was home. The drive home was a blur as I had so much running through my head--films, people I spoke to, a fun weekend in Canada. Once again, Joe Chen and crew put on a phenomenal show. Yep, I'll be back next year as this film festival gets added to the list of festivals I attend every year.
* Don't often hear a girl say "I'll wait until it's out on Blu-Ray before I buy it."
** Boogie will be shown at a later date, so I see a return trip to Waterloo in my future. :)
*** The Book of Kells is a lavishly illustrated copy of the first four gospels of the Holy Bible copied by the early Celtic Christians.
By day, I'm a mild-mannered forensic animator, but during evenings and weekends, I work on my own animated films and various artistic endeavors for clients. I'm a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology's M.F.A. Computer Animation program and a current member of ASIFA, MATAI, and the Toronto Animated Image Society.
Building upon the 2008-2009 project for the NY MET and Bard Graduate Center, I am currently animating gold-and-silk needlework stitches and managing lesson webpages for an online course presented by Dr. Wilson-Nguyen for her Thistle-Threads Historical needlework website.
