Animation festivals are an excellent invention for bringing together animation artists and producers from all over the world. They can also be a very humbling experience as well. I remember being on the jury of a children's film festival, where animation was featured, in Gijon in northern Spain. This event is not as well known in the United States, for some reason, as other competitions but the experience taught me a great deal about how people in other parts of the world respond to films.
The filmmaker who thinks that his efforts and hard work must automatically be enjoyed by international audiences might come away from some festivals with an injured ego. Though animation is appreciated, even adored universally, there is no guarantee that audiences in various lands will succumb to the charms of every animated film.
In Zagreb, where a major world festival is held, audiences react vocally or stamp their feet when a film gets too didactic or boring. In the aforementioned Gijon, films from the United States that were too slick received little tolerance from judging adults, yet a thousand school children bussed in from Spain's far flung provinces cheered for sympathetic characters and could care less about a film's production values.
Festivals differ in character and films that get excellent response at one event may not even get a nod at another. There are films however, that do have universal appeal and often these productions are not slick and commercial but contain elements that reflect the human condition. At Gijon, the year I was there, a 16mm live action film with no dialogue concerning the antics of a kitten took a top prize. It was a film that children everywhere could appreciate.
David Ehrlich is a filmmaker and teacher, periodically ventures from his home in the heart of Vermont's farmland distant locales to view the films of others and to see how his own efforts fare at the various international events. Recently he attended two disparate festivals, one in Espinho, Portugal and the other in Lucca Italy. Ehrlich made some notes on the good and bad aspects of these celebrations of animation and comic art and he came up with some interesting insights. Ehrlich's observations and experiences reveal that while festivals may be regular events touted by much publicity, they all don't deliver the same satisfactions to their participants. His comments follow:
"CINANIMA, the International Festival of Animation which took place November 10th-14th, is a young six years old. Its home is Espinho, a charming Portuguese town on the northern seacoast. The festival organizers have little funds available to them, but they work without pay and their perseverance and love of animation makes this festival one to be reckoned with in the future. The festival competition has ten categories including a new one made to order for American Independent animators, Experimental Animation, apparently a first in the history of international animation festivals. Many of the films that have been screened here in recent years have gone on to win wide recognition at the larger more prestigious festivals. With 175 films entered from 25 countries, the all-Portuguese selection committee chose 72 films for competition and 28 for non-competition screenings. Shown were award-winners from Ot-tawa and Zagreb Festivals, as well as many films that are either new or receiving little exposure.
"The shows in the comfortable Casino Theatre were punctual and were well-attended by enthusiastic audiences. Film titles were announced in three languages (Portuguese, French and English). There were retrospectives of Polish animation that occurred a bit late in the evening (11:30) but the festival staff was receptive to suggestions by its guests that late shows begin earlier next year. Another problem was the disproportionate number of films in the 3-12 minute category (37) as opposed to the less than 3 minute (10) and 12-40 minute categories (4). The international jury, with members from Italy, Romania, Spain, Holland and Portugal, tried to solve the numbers problems fairly by awarding two prizes in the 3-12 minute category, and again, the staff was entirely receptive to suggestions concerning changes in next year's categories.
"All guests were given daily bulletins on screenings, meetings and symposiums. The third day featured a wine-tasting party in Porto and lunch in an elegant chateau. The final award ceremony, held in the Casino, was a warm occasion that ended in a buffet, disco-dancing, and the presentation of CINANIMA souvenirs to all foreign guests.
"This festival, as well as NASCENTE, the cultural organization that sponsors it, is serious about animated film. Because of the staff's receptivity to constructive criticism, the festival has grown much in the past six years to the point at which some of the best animators from around the world send their, new films here. CINANIMA promises to continue developing into a highly recognized international event.
"The International Exhibition of Comics, Animated Films and Illustrations was held October 31st through November 7th in Lucca, one of the most beautiful towns in Italy. The festival staff, with apparently large financial resources, managed to get some of the best international animation of the last wo years, in addition to retrospectives of U.S. Last Coast Independents, U.S. serials, Italian productions and the Russian Yuri Norstein's work. The festival catalog is extremely well-designed and the food is superb. All this notwithstanding, it must be said that the primary concern of the organizers is the exhibition and sale of comic art with related meetings and symposiums, and those attending the festival for animation will be disappointed. The animation programming was so difficult to follow that one never was quite certain which show would be screened upon arrival at one of the three theatres. Programs during the daytime were poorly attended and seldom began on time. The most important showings of the International Panorama, scheduled for 10 pm every eyeing, rarely began before 11:30 when the other activities would wind down. Those spectators still there at 11:30 would hardly be in the most receptive mood. The extent of the shabbiness of this festival was best marked by the sense of resignation of the audience when Norstein's last film masterpiece, TALE OF TALES, was screened without its middle section because 'there was not quite enough time left after the comic art presentations.' Many Italians present at the festival expressed the sad view that the festival's administration had not improved in ten years despite frequent criticism. American animators should be forewarned that his festival is simply not serious about animation. The non-competitive International Panorama is chosen by the festival directors 'by invitation only', and a number of works by American independents were screened, including Faith Hubley's THE BIG BANG AND OTHER MYTHS, Will Vinton's CREATION, DINOSAUR, and GREAT COGNITO, Steve Eagle's CURRENT CAPRICE, George Griffin's FLYING FUR, and Jane Aaron's INTERIOR DESIGNS."
Ehrlich's encouragement of participation in the more sympathetic Espinho festival may have some animators wondering how to find out about that event. Any questions should be addressed to, CINANIMA ORGANIZER COMMITTEF Apartado 43 4501 Espinho Codex, Portugal.
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