THE Ottawa International Animation Festival is set to kick off Sept. 22, despite the financial difficulties it faced last summer. The festival received nearly 2,000 entries this year, ranging from standard cartoon shorts to the Montreal-produced feature Pinocchio 3000. Of those, 111 films were chosen for competition, including Pinocchio, while another 59 will be selected to be screened in the Best of the Rest showcase.

There will be an estimated 30,000 people in attendance to see such famous names as Bill Plympton, who animated the film Boomtown, and Gary Baseman, who has done drawings for Rolling Stone and Time magazine. Included in the special screenings and retrospectives this year, the festival will honor Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, most famous for his animated feature Spirited Away. The festival will also celebrate the career of Popeye, who is celebrating his 75th anniversary.

Among the films being shown at the festival, artistic director Chris Robinson names Ryan, by Chris Landreth, as his favorite. Done with a type of computer animation Landreth calls ‘psychological realism,’ the film is a documentary on the life of Ryan Larkin, Oscar-nominated animator turned drug addict and panhandler. The two met at the 2000 OIAF after festival directors had invited Larkin to be part of the selection committee. Landreth was so inspired by his story it led to his film. Other Canadian highlights include Mr. Reaper’s Really Bad Morning by Kevin Kurytnik and Carol Beecher, as well as Beijing Flipbook from Marv Newland, which Robinson describes as ‘a different style and concept for him.’

Determined to remain an important force within the industry, the festival has introduced TAC: Television Animation Conference, which will run for two of the festival’s five days. Designed to bring together local and international TV executives, the conference offers industry panels and keynote speakers including Micheal Hirsh from Cookie Jar and Fred Seibert of Frederator Studios.

Kelly Neall, OIAF managing director, explains, ‘It’s a small, intimate business event designed to give producers concrete networking opportunities and a chance to listen to experts in the industry talk about all sorts of issues that producers need to know about. We want producers to see what a great resource this festival is for seeing the new material that’s out there and the potential some of this material has for becoming property.’

Panels include showcases on new market opportunities for Canadians in China, as well as a rundown on how the animated series Atomic Betty was made.

The festival, founded nearly thirty years ago, almost called it quits last year when Telefilm Canada announced that it was cutting its funding, which accounted for approximately 25% of the OIAF’s operating budget. However, due to an outpouring of support from festival fans, as well as animation big wigs (representatives from Walt Disney, Pixar and Warner Bros.), Telefilm announced it would restore its funding 100%, allowing the festival to take place this year. Neall is pleased with the decision.

‘We got so much industry support in favor of the festival. We’re an incredible showcase of Canadian animation and that’s what Canada is known for, so we’re a great asset to Canada,’ she says.

The 2004 Ottawa International Animation Festival runs from Sept. 22-26. *