Talk to the Snail

“The House of Small Cubes”

Well, I’m back in beautiful Burbank after a four-day trip to Canada for this year’s Ottawa International Animation Festival. I always look forward to this event – the city’s beautifully historic/historically beautiful, I always meet new filmmakers, and, if I’m lucky, I can grab a plate or seven of poutine in between screenings.

I landed in Ottawa around 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday, forcing me to rush to the hotel, then to the city’s Arts Court Building (pictured below) to pick up my pass, then to the ByTowne Cinema to catch Shorts Screening #1 at 9:00 p.m. It turns out I had plenty of time – there was about forty-five minutes of talking and stuff before the animation began. I would’ve gladly done without most of it, but Emru Townsend’s sister gave a touching tribute to her brother, who underwent a stem-cell transfusion just the day before. Get well soon, Emru.

The Arts Court Building

Short Competition #1 wasn’t just my favorite screening at this year’s festival, it might be my favorite in the years I’ve been attending. There were fifteen films: narrative shorts; music videos; commercials; experimental films; and both high school and undergraduate student shorts. The upshot is I liked everything real well. Further, so you know, I’m a nerd when it comes to sequencing films, relishing judging and second-guessing the ordering of the films more than the films themselves, often. This screening was programmed perfectly, I concluded. Tone, subject, media, length – the pacing, spotless.

The night kicked off with Niven Wilson’s high school film, “Jugglers”. The fact I couldn’t stop thinking this was made by a high school student was actually distracting (would I’ve liked it as much had I not been so impressed?). Joris Clerte and Anne Morin delivered “C’est Toujours La Meme Historie (It’s Always the Same Story)”, a film about a boy whose father takes him to see Emmanuelle. “Casa de Maquinas (Power House)”, by Maria Leite and Daniel Herthel, is a fun Rube Goldbergesque stop-motion film that you can watch here, before watching the making of it here.

The biggest ovation of the night (and of the whole festival, from what I saw) was for Kara Nasdor-Jones’s “I Slept with Cookie Monster”, a film she made as a Massachusetts College of Art and Design undergraduate. A first-rate, uplifting work, although no character does any sleeping nor does Cookie Monster make an appearance. You can see Kara’s film by going to the ‘Animations’ section on her website. Serge Elissalde’s “The Noir/Black Tea” is the short I most need to see again. The five-minute film, ink on paper, was animated terrifically, but I was too busy attempting to soak in both the art and the subtitles to fully appreciate either (filmmakers, take note – do not employ off-white subtitles on white backgrounds). After Serge’s film was Edouard Sallier’s flipbookish music video for the Replicants’ “User”. To watch it, click here.

“The Heart of Amos Klein”

Some folks I talked to found “The Heart of Amos Klein”, an Israeli film by Michal Pfeffer and Uri Kranot, a little tough to get through, but I enjoyed it a lot. Throughout its fourteen minutes, I was eager to see not only what came next but also how the story ultimately wound up. Kunio Kato’s “La Maison En Petits Cubes (The House of Small Cubes)”, from Japan, looked wonderful and was touching as well. Written by Kenya Hirat, “Cubes” has everything about it to admire. Maybe my favorite film of the night, no wonder it won the Crystal at this year’s Annecy Festival.

I knew of Blu’s “Muto” from the web, but seeing it with a full audience was a blast. Very rock and roll. Watch it here.

Jerry Beck mentioned how much he enjoyed Jeremy Clapin’s “Skhizein”, and I concur. Funny, clever, and it looked cool. The only drawback was Clapin pulled off the toilet gag exactly when and how I was expecting it (“He’ll be taking a leak in 3…2…1…”). I had seen “Oktapodi”, the collaboration of yet another talented Gobelins group, at Siggraph this summer. Again, I enjoyed it. Again, the audience loved it. The night wrapped up with a short short, Matthew Walker’s comedy, “Operator”, centering around one guy’s phone call to God. Enjoy Matthew’s film after finding it on this page.

“Okatpodi”

The night also included superb spots for MTV by Isaac King, Clorox by Russell Brooke, and Mitsubishi by Eddie White and James Calvert.

Hats off to all the filmmakers and to the festival folks. Wednesday night was a great way to start off the shorts competitions and the festival proper.

– Eric