The event's 50th anniversary edition runs from September 23 to 27
The Ottawa International Animation Festival returns to our nation's capital for its milestone 50th anniversary this September. Across five days, OIAF presents screenings, workshops and talks celebrating the best animation has to offer.
From September 23 to 27, the ByTowne Cinema, Arts Court, Club SAW, Strathcona Park, the National Arts Centre, the National Gallery of Canada and the Ottawa Art Gallery will all play host, welcoming artists, industry insiders and animation connoisseurs from across Canada and around the world.
In addition to awarding features and shorts, including the audience-voted Public Prize and the Canada Media Fund Award for Best Canadian Animation, OIAF will also hold special screenings and retrospective programming, showcasing the potential of animation and the films that have shaped the form.
As we gear up to head over to the nation's capital, here are five movies to get on your OIAF schedule.
For information about tickets and passes, visit the festival's website here.
Written, directed and animated by Grace An (who will be on hand for the screening), Cabbage Daddy explores the simple yet charged premise: "Why am I so bad at Korean?" The predicament of many third-culture kids who lost (or are barely grasping onto) the mother tongue of their ancestors, Cabbage Daddy uses crayon-drawn imagery to gleefully get lost in translation. Not many films can pull off moving from an anus visual to a hearty soup with such grace and whimsy.
La comète (The Comet)Directed by Julie Charette
With echoes of the innocence in Maurice Sendak's classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are, Julie Charette's La comète (The Comet) follows a brother and sister enjoying the final days of summer, taking advantage of the warm evenings to go stargazing. Their childhood bliss is shattered by an unspeakable event, creating a sombre atmosphere to juxtapose the gentle world Charette brings to life. Charette will attend the screening.
O Filho da Puta (Son of a Bitch)Directed by Erica Maradona, Tania Anaya, Otto Guerra & Sávio Leite
Described as a "road movie on foot" by co-director Otto Guerra to Cartoon Brew, O Filho da Puta (Son of a Bitch) sees young Ismael set off on a mission to find his father and the sea. Armed with a copy of Moby Dick (the only tangible item left by his father) and his three-legged dog Bacalhau by his side, Ismael traverses across the sertão (backcountry) of Brasil. Raw visuals elevate Ismael's internal and external challenges, making O Filho da Puta a stunning journey to navigate.
Based on Sarah Leavitt's biographical graphic novel Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer's, My Mother and Me, Leah Nelson's film brings to life the pain and frustrations of Alzheimer's disease, as well as the beauty of imperfect familial love. Featuring voice performances by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Seth Rogen and Abbi Jacobson, Tangles exhibits the strength and resilience of caregiving through a powerful and delicately rendered visual language. Nelson will attend the festival for the film's screening.
Combining rotoscope and digital animation, Kohei Kadowaki's directorial debut We Are Aliens presents a psychological coming-of-age story that examines how young minds hold memories. Two friends, the withdrawn Tsubasa and a more boisterous Gyotaro, recount the same school adventures with conflicting results. Tsubasa accuses Gyotaro of being an alien and following a string of related events, while Gyotaro progressively becomes more of an outsider. Hailed as a hidden gem among the Fortnite selections at Cannes earlier this year, We Are Aliens brings stunning imagery alongside visceral storytelling.
