AnimationWorld Magazine — September 4, 2018
OIAF 2018: A Chat with Artistic Director Chris Robinson
Running September 26-30, the 2018 edition of the Ottawa International Animation Festival — North America’s largest independent animation festival — is nearly upon us.
In addition to this year’s international competition — which includes 22 narrative and 15 non-narrative short films, 13 student projects, 18 commissioned films, and seven animated features — OIAF 2018 offers a wide array of screenings, retrospectives, talks, parties and exhibits, as well as seminars, keynote addresses and pitch sessions presented by The Animation Conference, the Ottawa Festival’s three-day industry-driven event running September 26-28.
Ahead of OIAF 2018, AWN had a chance to catch up with the festival’s Artistic Director, Chris Robinson, to discuss this year’s program. A well-known figure in the world of independent animation (and here at Animation World Network), Robinson has worked with the Ottawa Festival in one capacity or another since 1991. He was named Executive Director in 1995, and later, in 2000, changed his title to Artistic Director in order to focus solely on the creative side of OIAF’s operations.
Robinson’s knowledge of independent animation verges on the encyclopedic, much of it obtained first-hand, as is backed by his several books on the subject, including “Unsung Heroes of Animation“ (2006), “Estonian Animation: Between Genius and Utter Illiteracy“ (2007), “The Animation Pimp“ (2007), “Animators Unearthed“ (2010), and “Japanese Animation: Time out of Mind” (2010), among others. (He is currently working with German animator and artist Andreas Hykade on a magical realist graphic novel about his experiences with testicular cancer and its aftermath called “My Balls are Killing Me.”)
As the recipient of nearly 2,500 short films submissions this year alone, Robinson is in a unique position from which to view the international independent animation scene. He brings to the job an equally distinctive artistic sensibility informed not only by his 27+ years of experience, but also an uncompromising drive to avoid bowing to fashion or fads.
He can be taciturn and garrulous by turns, eschewing polite patter but pouncing meatily upon a topic when it appeals to him. While his remarks are frequently off-the-cuff, they also demonstrate a depth of consideration and thought. Chris is a thinker. He ruminates.