We at Canterbury Anifest are already beginning to plan for this year's festival. With the competition open, entries are beginning to pile up; and this year we're keener than ever to inspire a larger representation of Kent based student's work.
While Anifest is now an International festival, it is still proud of being the only annual animation festival in the South East, and being a source of inspiration to and a platform for young animators.
Last year's winner of the "Best British Up and Coming Talent" award went to Joseph Wallace, a recent graduate of Newport Film School. He has now gone onto working in both film and theatre, with clients including the BBC, Bristol Old Vic and Real Design and Media. We interviewed Joseph about his experience of Anifest last year and the importance of animation festivals for animators trying make headway into the animation industry.
1. Why do you think animation festivals are important to animators such as yourselves?
The festival circuit is an invaluable platform for any animation filmmaker or young director. It’s a great way of getting work seen by the right people and to meet fellow creatives as well as a source of inspiration. I felt that Anifest had an interesting mix of events that catered to industry and the general public. There were some really big names present and the festival did a great job of exposing animation to the masses in an informative and non-patronising way.
2. What has your film, The Man Who Was Afraid of Falling, gone on to do since Anifest?
The film has been screened at festivals internationally including Bradford Animation Festival, Encounters, BanjaLuka in Bosnia and Animated Dreams in Estonia. It’s recently been selected to be shown on outdoor screens in cities across the UK as part of BBC Big Screens scheme and it’s also been shortlisted for the British Animation Awards 2012. There are more screenings coming up in the New Year and I’m hoping the film will continue to be seen by audiences in 2012.
3. Why would you recommended Canterbury Anifest to up and coming animators?
The atmosphere at Anifest was great. It’s a fairly compact festival in one location so meeting people is easy and the screenings were full of people; young and old alike. I think the Up and Coming Talent award is a really important one for young animators. Often, with the way festivals are programmed, student work is put in competitions alongside professional films so it’s harder for them to get a look in. An award like this highlights work by artists who are taking their first steps in the industry and is a valuable accolade.
4. What projects are you currently working on?
I’ve recently finished some animation work on a short film for the BBC as well as some live-action commissions. I’m in talks with a colleague about creating a film that combines live-action and stop-motion animation as well as developing a piece of live-performance that integrates projected film and animation.
If you’d like to find out more about Joseph Wallace and his work, check out his website at: http://www.joseph-wallace.co.uk
With competition entries for Anifest 2012 already turning up on our doorstep, the buzz around this year’s festival is just beginning. If you have a film you’d like to submit, head over to our competition entry page at: http://www.canterburyanifest.com/main-competition/
Keep your eyes on our blog at: canterburyanifest.blogspot.com for news on speakers, tickets and events!
If you have any questions or queries or are interested in volunteering at this year’s Anifest, please get in touch at: info@animateandcreate.com
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