News reports: Bristol Festival ’89 – ASIFA UK Board election

Animation Festival Bristol ’89

The world of animation will focus on Bristol for one week this year when The International Animation Festival takes place in the historic English shipping port from 31 October to 5 November 1989.

The biennial Festival is Britain’s most prestigious showcase and the only major non-competitive event on the world-wide animation calendar. The Festival provides an exciting and unique opportunity for viewing, discussion, and practical involvement, with a programme featuring over 300 films and videos of the best and latest of British and world animation, rarities from the archives, and UK premieres; an extensive programme of art exhibitions, lectures, workshops and demonstrations; and an active social itinerary of receptions and parties.

The Bristol Animation Festival is based at Britain’s pioneering Watershed Media Centre and the renowned contemporary arts centre, Arnolfini Gallery, with events also happening at other venues around the city.

The Festival theme is a look at the technology behind the art of animation, from Tom and Jerry through to Harry, with particular emphasis on the work of the following guests: John Lasseter, one of the world’s foremost computer animators and winner of this year’s animation Oscar for Tin Toy, will deliver the Festival’s keynote lecture on technology and his own work, and offer a master-class for students.

The award-winning Kihachiro Kawamoto will present a retrospective of his work, technical masterpieces based on the art of classic Japanese puppetry.

Traditional cel technology will be represented by the films and special guest appearance of Frederick Back, winner of last year’s Oscar for The Man Who Planted Trees; Alison de Vere, one of Britain’s leading independent animators and directors of the celebrated Black Dog; and the films of Animation City, the London studio celebrating 10 years of prize winning work.

Other programmes to be featured will include: experimental animation by Jane Aaron; satire and social criticism from Priit Pam, an exponent of the recent Estonian cultural renaissance, and from Bruce Petty, Australia’s Oscar-winning pre-eminent political cartoonist; a retrospective of the work of the special effects master, Ray Harryhausen; and the history of live-action/animation combination films.

The Festival’s main exhibition will focus on three principal animation techniques, exemplified by the work of three major British production companies who will create a working studio in Watershed Media Centre.

Aardman Animations, the Bristol based makers of puppet and plasticine animation, will exhibit sets and models from new films currently in production for Channel 4.

Snapper at MGMM, makers of the multi award-winning Wired title sequence, will recreate the stages of production from model making to computerisation featured in their new commercial for Smarties.
Cel Animation will focus on the work of a prominent cel animator (still to be announced), as well as featuring a special exhibit on the history of live-action used in combination with animation from Out of the Inkwell to Roger Rabbit.

ASIFA UK Board election

Following a vote by members at the March meeting of ASIFA UK the existing board remained unchanged; Richard Taylor, Pat Webb, Claire Kitson, Margot Grimwood, David Jefferson, Peter Cargin, and Sean Lenihan who would like to express their thanks for members confidence in re-electing them for another term.

During the meeting Richard Taylor gave a short report to the members on ASIFA UK’s activities and Irene Kotlarz also reported on the latest situation with the European Animation Association.

Printed in Animator Issue 25 (Summer 1989)