Telefilm Canada has restored its portion of funding to the Ottawa International Animation Festival for next year’s event after stating it would pull its financial support to the fest indefinitely.

After an outpouring of support from festival fans, including Bob and Margaret creators David Fine and Alison Snowdon, animators Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis, and representatives from Walt Disney, Head Gear Animation, Pixar, Funbag, Atomic Cartoons, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, Bardel Animation and Klasky Csupo, among others, Telefilm rethought its position on only supporting initiatives involving feature films with wide-release distribution deals.

In all, approximately 300 letters from OIAF supporters were sent to the funder and Heritage Minister Sheila Copps.

‘We’re very pleased that Telefilm listened to the industry,’ says OIAF managing director Kelly Neall. ‘There has been a lot of comment in the past that Telefilm doesn’t listen to the industry, but in this case they have listened and they are now going to revisit this issue next year in the fall, doing more consultations with us and the industry to decide where to go. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.’

Telefilm has been the major government resource for the festival for more than 20 years. There is no word yet whether Telefilm will completely restore its support for the years to come, or if this will be a one-year reprieve, but the next OIAF will go ahead as planned in September 2004.

-www.awn.com/ottawa

NFB, France 2 award docs

Tabac, retenez votre souffle and Yamakasi were winners of the 2002 France 2-NFB documentary pitch competition at Sunny Side of the Doc, held last month in Marseille, France.

The selected films will be shot as feature-length documentaries, in both English and French versions, with the backing of the National Film Board and France 2.

Tabac, a partnership between Quebec-based Kondolole Film and France’s Kuiv Productions, will be directed by Nadia Collet and takes an insider look at the tobacco industry. It will receive the majority of its funding from the NFB.

The second winner, Yamakasi, out of France’s Apiproduction, is about young suburbanites who literally jump from building to building and leave graffiti in the most impossible places. The film, to be shot in high-definition by U.S.-born director Marc Daniel, will receive the majority of its funding from France 2.

The NFB will hold the international distribution rights to both films, and they will air in primetime on several international television networks, including France 2.

Render, set, go!

Toronto is home to the first Renderfest, a 3D animation festival taking place July 25-27. The lineup for the event includes work from around the world, and will include a North American showcase, as well as opening- and closing-night galas.

The opening gala will include animated shorts from the U.S., U.K. and the Republic of Ireland, as well as Canadian films Hoverboy Destroys Christmas, Bib vs. Tob, The Puppy Who Loved Me, The Painter, Guernica and David Krupicz’s 18-minute Rocketmen vs. Robots 2. The closing gala will feature the viewers’ choice winners, selected by the Renderfest audience, and all those who vote will be admitted free.

There will also be Saturday and Sunday matinees programmed specifically for children.

-www.renderfest.org

Deadlines

The 8th Sea to Sky Film Festival has issued a call for entries. The one-day festival takes place Sept. 8 in Squamish, BC.

Organizers are looking for recently produced entries under 30 minutes, shot on 16mm, 35mm or professional-quality video in drama, documentary, comedy and experimental categories.

The submission deadline is Aug. 15.

-www.sea-to-sky.net/filmfest

* The Whistler Film Festival, held in Whistler, BC, is calling for submissions. The festival, to be held Dec. 4-7, boasts 60% Canadian content, as well as the cream of the international film fest circuit, workshops and special events still to be announced.

Submission deadline is Oct. 24.

-www.whistlerfilmfestival.com.

* The National Screen Institute – Canada in Winnipeg has set a deadline of Aug. 29 for writer/producer teams interested in submitting their TV series proposals to 2003 NSI Totally Television.

The program is designed for up-and-coming teams that want to further develop their series ideas through mentoring, all leading to a pitching session at the next Banff Television Festival.

The Totally Television program is scheduled to begin in October.

-www.nsi-canada.ca/totallytelevision