October 25, 2007
Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema announces 2007 line-up
Programme features premieres of feature-length animation from 10 countriesWATERLOO, ON - The Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema (WFAC) today announced programming details for the 7th edition of the festival, running November 15 - 18, 2007.
A unique film festival dedicated to animated feature films from around the world, WFAC showcases the power of animation in filmmaking, and celebrates the art and the artists who work in this powerful visual narrative form. The WFAC showcase is one of the most comprehensive public exhibitions for animated feature films in the world.
"Animation is the only way a filmmaker can express himself without any creative limits," says curator Joseph Chen. "There's a renaissance of feature animation going on outside North America right now, and we're really pleased to bring these wonderful films to Canada."
The festival opens Thursday Nov. 15 with the premiere of Oscar-nominated Leslie Iwerks' "The Pixar Story," a chronicle of the history, the challenges, the triumphs, and the people of Pixar Animation Studios and the art they pioneered: computer animation. Narrated by Stacy Keach, the film is the story of Pixar told by who's who of Pixar and the animation industry: Steve Jobs, John Lasseter, Ed Catmull, George Lucas, Michael Eisner, and Robert Iger amongst others.
The film selection spans the gamut of animation techniques from 2D to puppetry to 3D, and storytelling styles from comedy to action to drama: "The Ugly Duckling and Me," re-imagined from Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale; "Black Ceiling," a collection of 7 modern Estonian poems committed to animation; "Aachi and Ssipak," a wacky comedy about small-time hoodlums who inadvertently get in the crossfire between a dysfunctional government bent on controlling the source of energy - something very stinky! - and the rebels bent on wreaking havoc; "The Killer of Montmartre," a surreal dark comedy about a man who has had enough of his evil repressive mother; "Anna and the Moods," about a perfect little girl living a perfect little life until she wakes up one morning as... a teenager!; "One Night In The City," a puppet horror animation by master Czech stop-motion animator Jan Balej; and "Free Jimmy", a hilarious romp involving four stoners, five vegans, three Lappish mobsters, a drug-addled elephant, four crazy hunters and an overwhelmed moose.
Two films document the development of one of Brazil's leading animators, Otto Guerra: "Wood & Stock: Sex, Oregano and Rock 'n Roll," a hilarious satire of two fat old hippies trying to cope with the pace of modern life, the rents to pay and the demands of the family; and "Rocky and Hudson," a very special retrospective of Guerra's first feature film on a brand-new 35mm print - a comedy about the life of two gay cowboys!
From the land of anime comes "Five Centimeters Per Second," a heart-wrenching anthology in three parts of the relationship between two people whose hearts touch, but who might never be; "SOS Metro Tokyo Explorers," by the team of legendary creator Katsuhiro Otomo's "Steamboy" and "Akira". The influence of anime can be seen in other Festival selections and premieres "RH+," the vampires of Seville; and "Film Noir," a true hard-boiled tale of dames, hidden agendas and murder.
Last but not least, the Festival will be holding the premiere of Ladd Ehlinger Jr.'s "Flatland." Director and animator Ehlinger will present the film in person and take Q&A after the screening - and for the first time, the Festival will be presenting the film and the Q&A session not only to the attending audience, but to the entire world via the Internet!
The screenings will be held at The Gig Theatre (the old Hyland Cinema), 137 Ontario Street, Kitchener, Canada. Tickets are available starting Wednesday November 24th, in person or via phone at Centre In The Square, Kitchener at (519) 578-1570 or (800) 265-8977, and at the University of Waterloo Humanities Theatre, Waterloo at (519) 888-4908.
About the Festival
The Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema (WFAC) is a film festival for animated feature films, founded to promote appreciation for animation as a narrative medium for mature cinematic storytelling, and to review and celebrate animated feature films in the venue they were meant to be seen in: a theatre.
