OIAF 2024 announces official selection for young and teen audiences and animated series

The Ottawa International Animation Festival has announced the official selections in the Young Audiences 7+, Teens 13+ and Animated Series competition categories. In addition to the competitions, the event features screenings, exhibitions and workshops, bringing together artists, producers, students and animation fans from around the world to experience world-class animation works. This year’s OIAF will take place from September 25 to 29.

The latest competition category consists of 10 animated works that bridge the gap between adult and child audiences, including the latest from Pixar Animation Studio’s SparkShorts program. This year’s Young Audiences 7+ includes nine selected works, including a film made by Portuguese high school students.

“Every year we try to find a diversity of voices and visions to expose younger viewers to sides of animation that are not otherwise readily available to them,” said Chris Robinson, OIAF artistic director. “These films will hopefully inspire and encourage a new generation of artists to follow their own creative path.”

The Teen Audiences 13+ competition includes:

Cream à ice cream (go to eat ice cream) (Directed by Rachel Samson, Canada)

Crvotočina (Wormhole) (Directed by Tara Klepac, Croatia)

Girls in real life situations (Director: Ofre Sparrow Vaknin, United States)

Hairy legs (Director: Andrea Dorfman, Canada)

I have a chenille (My blackout as a teenager) (Director: Basile Khatir, France)

Nabu (Director: Joanna Rusinek, Poland)

Himself (Director: Searit Huluf, United States)

The All-Nimal (Director: Nick Edwards, United States)

The last drop (Directed by: Constance Braun, Mathilde Zupancie, Lauriane Devaux, Timothée Adens, Charlie Bossuyt, Raphaël Debroize and Baptiste Janusz, France)

Separation (Director: Michelle Ku, Canada)

Teens will judge the Teen Audiences 13+ competition at Teens @ OIAF Day on September 27, 2024.

The Young Audience 7+ category includes:

Beurk! (Yuck!) (Directed by Loïc Espuche, France)

Nature freak (Directed by Alexandra Lermer, Germany)

Canopos and Pačiūžos (Hooves on skates) (Directed by Ignas Meilūnas, Lithuania)

The great annual festival of moon creatures (The great annual festival of moon creatures) (Director: Francis Desharnais, Canada)

Mary (Directed by Jan B. Piskač, Czech Republic)

Cloud (Directed by Diego Alonso Sánchez de la Barquera Estrada and Christian Arredondo Narvaez, France/Mexico/Hungary)

About the country (About a cow) (Directed by Pavla Baštanová, Czech Republic/Switzerland)

What is diabetes? (Only Little Goblins) (Director: Students of the high school Escola Básica Maria Pais Ribeiro, Portugal)

Tuu Tuu Til (Director: Veronica Solomon, Germany)

The 2024 OIAF Children’s Jury, comprised of animation fans ages 8 to 12 from the Ottawa area, will judge the Young Audience 7+ category. The application process for young judges is open and closes on July 29, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

Animation Series Competition (six animation works compete in this category):

Bad Bad Belgium (Directed by Jasper Declercq, Wouter Medaer and Jonas Wellens, Belgium) – North American premiere at OIAF 2024

Pictured: “Portrait of a safety officer at a fire” (Directed by Zach Woods and Brandon Gardner, USA) – Canadian debut at the OIAF 2024

Let’s pretend! (Director: Sam Lane, United States)

Little Edy: Episode 3 (Director Felipe Di Poi, United States)

Reign of the Scavenger: “The Signal” (directed by Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner, USA)

News (Gotchu Catchu) (Directed by Taesik Shin and Kyuri Park, Republic of Korea) – International premiere at OIAF 2024

“We strive to find lesser-known series that the OIAF audience may not be aware of,” Robinson added. “We look not only abroad, but also in alternative streaming sources. This year’s selection includes science fiction, office comedies, historical works and absurdist works that the OIAF has become known for discovering.”

Further information about this year’s edition is available on the OIAF website.

Source: OIAF