Feature selections include Studio Ghibli’s ‘When Marnie Was There’ and Aardman’s ‘Shaun the Sheep The Movie’; short film selections include Steven Woloshen’s ‘1000 Plateaus’ and Piotr Dumala’s ‘Hipopotamy.’
Of more than a thousand entries, the selections have been completed for the 2015 international competitions for features and shorts at the Holland Animation Film Festival (HAFF).
HAFF is a unique five-day international meeting place for all professionals, animation lovers, students, upcoming talents and all interested audiences featuring competitions, thematic programs, talk shows, exhibitions and installations. The 18th edition of HAFF will be held March 18-22, and the Grand Prix awards will be presented on Sunday, March 22nd, the last day of the festival.
Eleven feature films have been selected for the international competition:
L'Arte della Felicità (The Art of Happiness) • Alessandro Rak • Antonio Fresa, Luigi Scialdone, Luciano Stella • Italy • 2013 • 84:00
Dragon Nest: Warriors' Dawn • Song Yuefeng • Mili Pictures, Bill Borden • China • 2014 • 90:08 • European premiere
Giovanni's Island • Mizuho Nishikubo • Production I.G, Yoshiki Sakurai • Japan • 2014 • 102:00 • Dutch premiere
Hôtel 12 Étoiles (12 Star Hotel) • Borislav Sajtinac • Sajtinac Production, Hélène Sajtinac • France • 2014 • 70:00 • International premiere
Jack et la Mécanique du Coeur (Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart) • Stéphane Berla, Mathias Malzieu •Europa Corp • France • 2013 • 94:00
On the White Planet • Bum-wook Hur • The Korean Academy Of Film Arts, Ki-Hwan Kim • South Korea • 2014 • 73:15 • Dutch premiere
Pos Eso (Possessed) • SAM • Basque Films, Carlos Juárez, Conflictivos Productions, SAM • Spain • 2014 • 81:00 • Dutch premiere
A hilarious Claymation slasher-horror film by Spanish director SAM, Pos Eso (Posessed) follows World-famous flamenco dancer Trini, who has been deeply depressed and has abandoned the stage. Meanwhile, her son Damian is possessed by a malicious devil.
The Satellite Girl and Milk Cow • Hyung-yun Chang • Studio Now or Never, Young-kag Cho • South Korea • 2014 • 81:00 • Dutch premiere
The Satellite Girl and Milk Cow is a modern fairytale by South Korean director Hyung-yun Chang. It tells the story of Satellite KITSAT who changes into a girl while floating above Korea. The girl meets a singer who has been changed into a milk cow and helps him to become human again.
Shaun the Sheep The Movie • Mark Burton, Richard Starzak • Aardman Animations Ltd., StudioCanal Limited, Katie Paxton • United Kingdom • 2015 • 85:00
The Stressful Adventures of Boxhead & Roundhead • Elliot Cowan • Ace & Son Moving Picture Co., LLC, Richard O'Connor • USA, Romania • 2013 • 71:30 • International premiere
When Marnie Was There • Hiromasa Yonebayashi • Studio Ghibli, Yoshiaki Nishimura • Japan • 2014 • 103:00
A royal collection of 53 short films have been selected from all parts of the world. 29 of them are narrative and as much as 24 are non-narrative. For instance:
Cat Meets Dog • Paul Driessen • National Film Board of Canada, Marcy Page, il Luster Films, Arnoud Rijken, Michiel Snijders, S.O.I.L., Geert van Goethem • Canada, Netherlands, Belgium • 2015 • 11:08 • Narrative • World premiere
In the split-screen short Cat Meets Dog by Dutch filmmaker Paul Driessen, a dog and cat are invited for a romantic rendezvous. Driessen celebrates his 75th birthday at the festival with a special program about his work.
Mr. Sea • Xue Geng • Xue Geng • China • 2014 • 13:15 • Narrative
Director Xue Geng uses traditional Chinese ceramics to help animate this stop-motion short. A curious scientist investigates a mysterious island in the ocean, where he meets a prostitute and a snake.
1000 Plateaus (2004-2014) • Steven Woloshen • Steven Woloshen • Canada • 2014 • 3:21 • Non-narrative • Dutch premiere
Hipopotamy • Hippos • Piotr Dumala • FUMI Studio, Piotr Furmankiewicz • Poland • 2014 • 12:29 • Narrative
A Single Life • Job, Joris & Marieke • Job, Joris & Marieke • Netherlands • 2014 • 2:18 • Narrative
The complete list of selected shorts can be found here.
Piotr Dumala’s ‘Hipopotamy.’
Source: Holland Animation Film Festival
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
