Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog

Just to let you all know I will be attending this year’s Ottawa International Animation Festival, and I can hardly wait. I went last year and came back on such an animation high that my co-workers had to pry me off the ceiling. So what is it? To quote OIAF’s press release, it’s “the largest festival of its kind in North America and one of the most respected animation festivals in the world.” And I second that.

This year will feature the premiere of Henry Selick’s Moongirl (he’ll be attending, also), which we mentioned in an earlier post, John Canemaker’s The Moon and the Son, Igor Kovalyov’s Milch, among many others — 109 films from 64 countries were chosen for Official Competition. Some special screenings at Ottawa will include: a Pink Panther retrospective and “The Worst Cartoons Ever,” both presented by Cartoon Brew’s Jerry Beck, a Paul Bush retrospective, as well as Prudence Fenton showcasing a nice compliation of animated segments from Pee Wee’s Playhouse. That’ll be fun.

Speaking of Pee Wee, Gary Panter designed OIAF’s poster this year (shown at left). Gary was the award-winning set designer for Pee Wee’s Playhouse — he’s still doing his thang, illustrating and painting. Check out his site here.

So there ya go. The festival will be held September 21-25 in Ottawa. For further info, check out the festival’s site, or call 613-232-8769. Boy, do I sound so official. If you’re curious as to what I look like, click here. Hope to see you there.