Showcasing fresh new talent, this year the Ottawa International Animation Festival will shine the spotlight on the art and imagination of students from around the world.

Taking place from Sept. 18-21, the first biennial Student Animation Festival of Ottawa is giving those new to the animation game a fair shot at competition, an opportunity to hobnob with the pros of the industry, and a venue to show their stuff.

While recruitment will be on the agenda, safo’s priorities lie in providing student animators with some well-deserved recognition, opening doors to job opportunities and introducing to those who have dreams only of Disney the numerous new avenues which have opened up to them.

With more animation in commercials, cd-roms, the always expanding Internet, video games, and the recent success of animated features like Space Jam, Beavis and Butt-head and Toy Story, the appetite for new animation talent has never been greater.

According to safo executive director Chris Robinson, the likes of mtv to Sesame Street have played an important part in making the individual style of independent animators profitable.

Along with the networking and screenings, workshops and panels will help to enrich budding animators’ experience.

Robinson says that while young animators may be experts at their craft, they often lack fundamental business knowledge. Giving them a taste of what they didn’t learn in school will be independent animators Bill Plympton and Corky Quakenbush, who will share their experiences dealing with the biz side of animation in a workshop called Film Licensing.

Other workshops and panel discussions will focus on How To Get A Job with Linda Simensky from The Cartoon Network in the u.s., Tools Of The Trade with reps from Mountain View, California-based Silicon Graphics and Toronto’s Side Effects Software, and How To Set Up Your Own Studio.

Preparing a Portfolio will be divided into two parts this year, with Don Spencer of Ottawa’s Fun Bag and Warner Bros.’ Liza Ann Warren outlining the important elements of a portfolio and reps from Pacific Data Images giving pointers on constructing reels for those leaning towards computer animation.

Also on the docket is the second Animart Trade Fair where companies can show off their goods and meet with students outside the intimidating corporate scene. safo will play host to a slew of companies such as mtv, Silicon Graphics, Fun Bag and Toronto’s Cuppa Coffee, which will be at the festival to see what newcomers to the field have up their sleeves.

‘The exciting thing about students’ work is that a lot of times they have adopted interesting methods which may involve more rugged approaches like mixing media, which may be necessary because of budget or tools available, so what you end up with is a very resourceful bunch of people,’ says Cuppa Coffee director Justin Stephenson.

Along with the big industry players, a number of schools such as Sheridan College in Oakville, Ont., Toronto’s Seneca College, the Vancouver Film School and the Academy of Art from San Francisco and Philadelphia will have representatives on the scene participating in the festivities.

‘It is important that schools come here to show off their students and do some recruiting of their own,’ says Robinson.

In addition to the North American cartoon keeners, students and school reps from as far as Japan, Italy and England are converging on Canada’s capital.

In past festivals, student work was traditionally entered in the first-film category of the competition, but going up against higher profile animators with more experience and bigger budgets, they rarely went home with an award.

With the introduction of safo, this year students are competing against other students in two categories: the school competition and the official competition.

Judges for the school competition screened around 30 reels in search of schools that encouraged students to use their imaginations. Six were selected to vie for the Best Artistic Achievement in Animation Education award.

The official competition attracted 600 student films using a variety of animation styles such as computer, sand, cel, stop-motion and even coffee. The list was narrowed down to 88 and split into two categories, finished and unfinished films. Winners will receive a software prize donated by The Cartoon Network and Cuppa Coffee. The grand prize winner will receive cash from teletoon and an opportunity to see their work on tv.

Ensuring that the festival offers something for the general public as well as animators, films will be shown under the headings of Animation by Kids, Animation Grooves, First Cracks, and Teacher’s Pets featuring rare animated films from around the world.

A sort of greatest hits of animation, Cartoons and Movies is a four-part program examining the relationship between live-action cinema and animation in such movies as Bambi Meets Godzilla and some Tim Burton classics.

Throughout the festival, local Ottawa company Bark Productions will be interviewing organizers and shadowing some young animators for a doc called Cartoon Rookies, which will air on teletoon.