Chris Landreth’s animated biography Ryan took the Grand Prix for independent short film ‘for exploring a new visual style of groundbreaking documentary story telling,’ and French director Jacques-Remy Girerd’s La Prophetie des grenouilles (Raining Cats and Frogs) received the Grand Prix for feature film at the 2004 Ottawa International Animation Festival.

Awards were presented Sept. 26 at the festival’s closing ceremonies.

American entries to the official competition walked away with the largest share of prizes, securing 13 awards, including a pair for Saddam and Osama by David Wachtenheim and Robert Marianetti. The cartoon won the best TV special nod and the Mike Gribble Peel Of Laughter Award, presented to the most hilarious film in competition.

The festival also announced that, due to record-breaking submissions received this year, it would no longer alternate every other year with the Ottawa International Student Animation Festival. There were 1,978 entries for the 2004 edition, which ran Sept. 22-26.

‘From the 1960s to early 1990s there was such a long turnover of new productions – because of the timely process of production and the marginality of animation in general – that a biennial event was sufficient,’ says OIAF artistic director Chris Robinson. ‘However, with the development of new technologies and the rising popularity of animation, animation production has increased dramatically over the last decade.’

Elements of the student festival will be incorporated into the OIAF beginning next year. The 2005 festival, it was announced, will run Sept. 21-25.

This year marked a new direction for the festival, as well, with the launch of the Television Animation Conference Sept. 23 and 24. According to organizers, the conference exceeded expectations, attracting 200 industry delegates.

‘While reactions from Canada and around the world were positive in the months leading up to the festival, we did not expect to have such an overwhelming response,’ says Maral Mohammadian, TAC and workshop director.

Cookie Jar Entertainment CEO Michael Hirsh opened the conference with an optimistic keynote breakfast address, telling delegates that he anticipates in the next few years broadcasters will be looking for more new product, having worked through the massive inventories of animated programming created through the 1990s by companies such as Nelvana, which he founded in 1971, and Cinar, which Hirsh took over in 2004.

TAC sessions included a panel on the American animation market, which included Peter Gal, director of development at Nickelodeon; Heather Kenyon, director of development, original animation, Cartoon Network; and Linda Simensky, senior director of children’s programming at PBS. Another panel featured the creators of Canada/France copro Atomic Betty, including Rob Davies of Vancouver-based Atomic Cartoons, Kevin Gillis from Breakthrough Animation in Toronto and Virginie Jallot of Paris-based Tele Images Kids.

Panelists described the phenomenal success of Atomic Betty, which, in targeting young girls, managed to sustain major market buzz throughout its development and was sold to more than 40 territories worldwide before the first episode even aired in late August.

-www.awn.com/ottawa