The 2000 edition of the Ottawa International Animation Festival took place last week with a record attendance to the action-packed week of screenings, exhibitions, workshops and, of course, parties! Many of the festival workshops centered on the topic of distribution. "Distribution And Exhibition," moderated by AWN's Dan Sarto, covered how independent animators could use the Internet to get their work purchased and promoted, and questioned whether there was a market for Web animation which doesn't necessary appeal to 16-year-old boys. "State Of Prime Time Animation" moderated by AWN's Heather Kenyon, focused on the health of animation in prime time and determined that animation does just fine when given the special attention it deserves. The festival came to a close with the announcement of this year's winners. The winners were chosen by an international jury, comprised of acclaimed Canadian animator Suzanne Gervais, former ASIFA-Hollywood general manager and critic, animator and teacher Wendy Jackson Hall, Wild Brain CEO John Hayes, renowned Estonian animator Priit Pärn, and the head of the Shanghai Animation Studio in China Jin Guo Ping. This year's top honors went to Andreas Hykade's groundbreaking animated film "Ring Of Fire." (Priit Pärn shared an inside joke of admiration with Igor Kovalyov publicly stating Kovalyov's "Flying Nansen" should have won; just as Kovalyov stated in his 1996 acceptance speech that Parn's 1895 should have won.) The international jury awarded this film the grand prize because "it's a daring exploration of suffering, redemption and love." "Ring Of Fire" follows two young cowboys who spend their days in the cool shade of a rock, but at night they make their way to the bazaar of sexual desire. For a complete list of winners, visit theOttawa website.
To read more about many of the winners visit Animation World Magazine's archives.
Peter Chung, who won the Ottawa prize for Best Commercial with "Rally's G-Force," is featured in AWN's Animation Showcase, together with Bill Plympton, Raoul Servais, Folimage studio and more. The Animation Showcase is a slick, new online gallery featuring work from some of the world's leading animators as well as emerging talent -- a valuable resource for creative searchers and animators.
