OIAF artistic director Chris Robinson admits it’s difficult to narrow down the films in competition at this year’s fest, but points to a number of possible buzz-makers.

Canadian shorts in competition include Here and There by Diane Obomsawin, about living in two countries; the France/Canada copro Conte de Quartier by Florence Miailhe, which competed at Cannes; and The Man Who Waited from Théodore Ushev, in which its protagonist hypothesizes about what’s behind a closed door.

Dreams and Desires: Family Ties from the U.K.’s Joanna Quinn will compete among narrative shorts under 35 minutes. It has already received awards at both Annecy and Zagreb Animafest, and Robinson says it’s likely to receive an Oscar nomination this year.

Also – with so many animation companies and broadcasters in city centers such as Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver – one wonders why the event is held in Ottawa. OIAF will answer that 30-year-old question with Toon Town: 65 Years of Animation in the Capital – two nights of screenings featuring locally made shorts from the National Film Board, Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi, and the ’80s classic series The Raccoons, produced by Hinton Animation Studio.