PRESS RELEASE:
Animation (and Exeter) – in a new light
For its 15th edition, Animated Exeter will be celebrating its new status as an international animation festival, screening competitive films from around the globe in the company of wonderful animators and artists. Constantly innovating: the festival showcases the best animation from around the world; provides opportunities for young people to get a foothold in Britain’s growing digital industries and commissions amazing public spectacles with new artists, making animation accessible and inspiring to all.
Executive producer, Michael Fukushima will be joining the festival from Canada, to mark the 75th anniversary of the National Film Board of Canada, and will present a selection of animation in addition to highlights of the NFB’s world-class archive.
Animated film-lovers will also have the chance to see the finest new animation picked from our five competitions which received over three hundred entries this year. These competitions provide the central core to the festival and thanks to our flood of entries, as well as providing a showcase for the world’s animators we are creating a unique opportunity for cinema-goers – as films like these are rarely seen outside the festival arena. Canadian sponsors Toon Boom have provided prizes for most categories including £500 for the Audience Award for the best overall winner.
LIGHTSTREAM, will transform one of Exeter’s key streets with animations, projections and lighting over two magical evenings starting on Valentine’s night, featuring work by Bafta awarded artist/ filmmaker Tal Rosner and a group of aspiring animation and media arts students from the South West.
The talented animators from Mind Candy, a British entertainment company based in London and the creator of kids hit, Moshi Monsters, will be talking at our Careers Day about animation for gaming, followed by Moshi Monster Sunday, including a special festival screening of the new ‘Moshi Monsters: The Movie’ plus workshops and talks, entertaining all age groups from toddlers to adult animation fans.
As always, there will be a variety of screenings, exhibitions, talks, master-classes, and careers information. Stretch your writing muscle with Alan Gilbey, one of the UK’s most successful cartoon screenwriters, take the kids to Mike the Knight Day at Exeter Cathedral, learn to animate with Flip Boom software or simply kick back with DJ Mr Scruff, Ninja Tune producer and cartoonist for a night of groovy sounds and visual surprises. There is something for everyone in this annual vibrant animation extravaganza.
SOME OF THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS:
LIGHTSTREAM – Spectacular Public Animation in Exeter
Starting on Valentine’s Day, Animated Exeter will transform one of Exeter’s key streets with a spectacular variety of projections and illuminations. This ancient, medieval entrance to Exeter rises from the River Exe and leads to the city’s centre. The buzzing Fore Street Collective will be involved, so the shops and cafes will form part of two evenings of dazzling display. Everyone will be welcome to come and see this unique, independent quarter of Exeter in a completely new light. 7pm – 9pm 14th and 15th February Free and suitable for all.
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) comes to Exeter
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) produces groundbreaking animation at its studios in Montreal and at NFB centres across Canada, as well as via international co-productions with many of the world’s leading auteur animators. The NFB is a leader in developing new approaches to stereoscopic 3D animation and animated content for new platforms. Michael Fukushima will be giving a presentation celebrating the best of Canadian animation and discussing the influence of the experimental British animator, Norman McLaren who, at the request of John Grierson, set up the NFB animation studio in 1941. In conjunction, AE will be showing two programmes of the finest Canadian animation at the Festival.
Mind Candy at the festival
Mind Candy, the creators of kid’s hit Moshi Monsters are taking the world by storm with their online characters and now a new feature film. Moshi Monsters, which has 80m registered users online and a successful product range including best-selling toys, the number one selling kids magazine in the UK, best-selling DS video games, books, membership cards, apps and trading cards. The talented animators from Mind Candy will talk about character creation and animation for games, there will be a hands-on ‘Make A Moshling’ workshop, a special festival screening of the new ‘Moshi Monsters: The Movie’ and a rare chance for children to see and comment to the producers on how their exciting brand new TV series will be created.
Movies, movies, movies
Animated Exeter will be screening over 100 animated films from the UK’s young animators, UK graduates and stunning selection of independent talent from around the world in addition to screenings of big movies: from Studio Ghibli’s ‘From Up Poppy Hill’ to ‘Frozen’ and ‘The Wolf Children’. Our international competition ‘Wide World’ to find the best animation for children had an enormous response the results of which audiences of all ages will enjoy.
Masterclasses
Helen Brunsdon will talk with Karrot Animation’s Jamie Badminton about their popular BAFTA nominated children’s series, Sarah and Duck, and provides a host of other vital hints and tips on following a successful career in the animation industry. Scripts out of shape? Films feeling flabby? Stretch your writing muscle with Alan Gilbey, one of the UK’s most successful cartoon screenwriters. Or learn how to work your way through a tricky script with one of the UK’s finest storyboard artists, Chris Drew. Chris produces storyboards for some of the country’s most popular animated children’s series, from Charlie and Lola to Tree Fu Tom. Bring a pad and pencil to participate in this invaluable masterclass.
The Art of Animation
Thelma Hulbert Gallery in Honiton will be showing Degrees of Animation, celebrating a new collaboration of the South West’s animation courses, the gallery is focusing on the most exciting new graduate talent. This exhibition gives an insight to the work involved to produce even the shortest animation, with original models and drawings alongside the films. Back in Exeter, return to your childhood at Gloss Gallery with a charming, colourful exhibition of affordable collectable works of David McKee’s Mr Benn series, or make a short animation of your own at the Spacex Gallery Breakfast.
Schools Week
For the week before half-term, Devon school children get an amazing opportunity to see some great animation, for free, at Exeter’s Vue, courtesy of FilmClub, an education charity that helps schools set up clubs, providing young people with the opportunity to watch films from across the world providing education and social impact www.filmclub.org.
For more details of many other exciting events in our packed programme look online www.animatedexeter.co.uk/programme.
The programme, information and highlights are also available as a download on our FREE app created for Animated Exeter by Rokk Media.
www.animatedexeter.co.uk
Animated Exeter receives funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England for Animated Exeter 2014. Along with generous funding from Exeter City Council, this will enable a fantastic public event in Exeter city centre next February.
ABOUT TAL ROSNER
Tal Rosner’s work on multi-disciplinary collaborations, from orchestral music and contemporary dance to television graphics, has been described as ‘most astounding’ (The Times) ‘ingenious’ (Variety) and ‘heralding a new genre’ (The New Yorker). With a unique style of digital craftsmanship, he stands out at the forefront of international moving image practice, both on screen and on stage. His work ranges from creating the title sequences for C4’s popular series ‘Skins’ to ‘Chronograph’, on Miami’s New World Centre. Tal has been recently commissioned to create a new video interpretation of Britten’s Four Sea Interludes by four leading American orchestras.
LIGHTSTREAM is produced by Animated Exeter with funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England as a collaborative work between artist/filmmaker Tal Rosner and students from the Arts University Bournemouth, Weston College, Plymouth College of Art, Exeter College and Plymouth University. This collaboration is prompted by a new initiative, the South West Animation Network, SWAN, comprising the animation and digital moving image/media arts courses at: Plymouth University; Plymouth College of Art; Falmouth University; Weston College; The University of the West of England; Exeter College; Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth.