Animation: Keeping the heart in creative art

I attended the animation film festival hosted by TAAFI the past few days in Toronto. What consistently blew me away is the fact that 2300+ films were submitted from all over the world. The selection committee that had to screen and categorize them all and the judges that had to select that top 100 or so to be screened over a 3 day event.

I was on the TAAFI board several years ago and was always humbled at the army of people it takes behind the scenes to pull these events off; For fun, for glory, for a greater community and for the greater love of a distinct true art form. Each film tackled it's subject matter from different points of view. Some were extremely colourful and painterly, others more linear and mechanical, but all were works of the proverbial blood, sweat and tears. The credit lists alone after each short illustrated the huge groups of people needed to build each mini film.

The board of directors has broad shoulders and often sacrifices considerable personal time to pull these events off. The volunteer army, in this case the "staafi" dig in with smiles and carry the day each time, helping to coordinate and manage the crowds.

We sat in the renovated HOT DOCs theatre at Bloor and Bathurst in Toronto as well as the Corus facility by the lakefront for 3 long days and nights watching animated shorts. In the lobby, or in the pub nearby you might meet people from Columbia, Spain, Japan, America or any number of countries, as many had flown in for the festival.

What amazed me time and time again during the 3 days was how rich storytelling can be without words.

Music and action on the screen often says all that is needed to tell humorous or dramatic tales and carry the viewer through the film. The subject matter in the 100+ films ran the gamut from hilarious to dark and cynical; Childish to adult. The variety of art styles was incredible. No 2 films looked or sounded alike.

I left each day, after a marathon of films, a bit tired but also inspired. I haven't made a film myself in a few decades but I went home and started storyboarding some ideas for a short. The festival had that kind of effect on me and I'm sure many other people.

In a time when making content has become a bigger challenge than usual, it was heartening to see so many films and to know thousands were submitted. This community of artists truly works both from the heart and the imagination.

Congratulations to the prize winners of the festival and again to all those who helped make it a reality. Job well done, once again.