Festival Review

Joanna Quinn & Barry Purves

Over 600 delegates and more than 8000 members of the public flocked to the National Media Museum for four days in November to get a taste of the rich smorgasbord of animation Bradford Animation Festival had to offer. Animation lovers congregated to feast their eyes on a plethora of new and classic films, meet some very special guests and get hands-on with a multitude of workshops.

Guests included Oscar nominee Joanna Quinn, BAFTA winners Marc Craste and Chris Shepherd plus contemporary German animator Andreas Hykade and Dreamworks' Dave Burgess. BAF also paid host to a tribute to stop-frame animator Paul Berry, a 30 year birthday bash for Cosgrove Hall, preview screenings of the brand spanking new Channel 4 Animator in Residence and animate! works plus an exclusive Festival Premiere of the new Peter and the Wolf film, due to be aired on terrestrial TV on Christmas Eve.

The Festival drew to a climax with the announcement of the BAF Award Winners. Joanna Quinn's latest brilliant creation, Dreams & Desires – Family Ties, scooped yet another Grand Prix prize whilst Ian Gouldstone's frank and uncompromising graduation film, Guy 101, lifted the Best Student statuette. The Special Jury prize went to the Chris Shepherd and David Shrigley anarchic masterpiece, Who I Am and What I Want, and Run Wrake's romping Rabbit picked up Best Professional Film.

> Full list of BAF06 Award Winners can be viewed below

BAF Game

Our embryonic strand, BAF Game: The Art of Gaming, continued in its mission to explore the overlaps between video games, animation, film and art. Hosted by Guardian jounalist, Keith Stuart, BAF Game featured a series of talks by industry creatives from such reknowned studios as Sony Interactive, Rare, Lionhead, Revolution Software and Introversion. Workshops focused on how motion capture techniques can be enlisted for producing in-game animation, plus Ricard Gras and Eric Call demonstrated how to utilise Machinima to create complex films in a matter of hours.

>  Take a look at one of the Machinima films produced during the 3 hour workshop

Many, many thanks to all who contributed to BAF06 and helped make the Festival a resounding success. BAF07 runs from November 14 – 17 2007 and opens for entries in February.

> View more Festival photos over at Flickr

Winners of the BAF06 Awards

BAF Awards

The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television is delighted to announce the winners of this year’s BAF Awards. The awards were presented at a glittering ceremony hosted by legendary stop-frame animator Barry Purves (King Kong and Mars Attacks!) on Saturday night at the museum in Bradford which culminated the hugely successful four-day festival.

The BAF Awards celebrate the very best new animation from around the world. 2006 has witnessed record highs in film submissions with more than 1,000 submissions whittled down to just 42 films entered into the Official Selection. The winners were selected by an international jury of animation experts chaired by Pat Raine Webb who worked at the renowned Halas & Batchelor Studio from 1977 to 1992 and has been on the Board of Directors of the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA) since 1988. Other jurors are Margot Grimwood (Director of ASIFA UK since 1985); award-winning animator and lecturer Pedro Serrazina from Portugal, Andy Wyatt, formerly of Aardman Animation, and animation author Giannalberto Bendazzi from Italy.

The categories also feature the Audience Award which is voted for by festival goers throughout the festival.

BAF 2006 Award-Winners

Grand Prix (overall winner)
Dreams & Desires – Family Ties – Dir. Joanna Quinn (UK, 2006)
Joanna Quinn’s latest film captures Beryl at her drunken best as she undertakes the role of videoing a chaotic wedding with her beloved new camcorder.
“For the sheer beauty of its cinematic language.”

Special Jury Prize (highly commended)
Who I Am and What I Want – Dir. Chris Shepherd and David Shrigley (UK, 2005)
Pete just wants to live in the woods, not to have to wear clothes and be bothered with other people. A surreal, disturbing and blacky funny adventure from cult illustrator David Shrigley and director Chris Shepherd.
“For its fresh and provocative approach which challenges the boundaries of animation.”

Best Professional Film
Rabbit – Dir. Run Wrake (UK, 2005)
A selection of 1950s educational style stickers provide the ingredients for this adult fairy tale. When a boy and girl find an idol in the stomach of a rabbit, its magical abilities lead to riches, but for how long? A dark, dreamlike story of lost innocence, greed and the random justice of nature.
“For its innovative design values and interpretation of a bizarre subject.”

Marc Craste gives the Best
Student Award to Ian Gouldstone

Best Student Film
Guy 101 – Dir. Ian Gouldstone (UK, 2005)
The world of internet chatrooms is exposed in Ian Gouldstone’s frank and uncompromising graduation film. Stark visuals and intuitive symbology tell the story of Keith, a loner on the other side of the world and his encounter with a hitchhiker.
“For its creative use of contemporary graphics”

Best Independent Film
Tale of How – Dir. Blackheart Gang (Sth Africa, 2006)
In a fantastical underground realm mythical creatures run the world, purify bath water and make soap.
“For daring to be outrageous – both visually and musically”

Best Music Video
New York Dolls – Dance Like a Monkey – Dir. Dano Johnson (USA, 2006)
The video for the single from the New York Dolls first studio album in 30 years is foot stomping rock’n’roll that would get Darwin pogoing in the mosh pit. The point? Just dance like a monkey!
“A brilliant visual interpretation of the spirit of the music.”

Best Commercial
Motorola Classics – Dir. Smith & Foulkes (UK, 2005)
A lightning paced journey through the history of the moving image. Following our hero, a big-eared blue rabbit, we race from the stroboscopic animation of a zoetrope to the screen of a mobile phone via some of the pivotal moments of cinema.
“For its sheer brilliance and professionalism.”

Best TV Series
Charlie & Lola But That Is My Book – Dir. Kitty Taylor (UK, 2005)
You have to be quiet when you’re in a library. But that’s very hard for Lola when she can’t find her absolutely favourite book Beetles, Bugs & Butterflies.
“A delightful series that teaches without preaching.”

Best Film for Children
About A Goat & a Ram – Dir. Sergey Glagolev (Russia, 2005)
Two friends, a goat and a ram, escape from a cruel farmer only to find themselves confronted by a hungry pack of wolves.
“For its design values that are pictorially rich – daring yet traditional.”

Best Film Produced By Children
Rubbish – Dir. Alex Hancocks (UK, 2005)
An old man who loves his small garden is terrorised by two thugs who dump rubbish over his garden wall.
(* SPECIALLY COMMENDED The Wardrobe (Lewi Bolton, UK 2005) and Plant the Movie (Ben Mansfield, UK 2006)
AWARDED AT BAF KIDS: CHILDREN’S AWARDS

Best Machinima Film (UK first)
The Days After – Dir. Andre Pesch (Germany 2006)
A dystopian vision of the near future made using the Grand Theft Auto engine.
AWARDED ON FRIDAY, 17th NOVEMBER 2006 AT BAF GAME

Audience Award
The Lecture - Clint Cure (Australia 2006)
Two animation teachers discuss the attitude of their wayward students. A hilarious observational comedy, reminiscent of the work of Bob Godfrey.
AS VOTED FOR BY THE BAF DELEGATES

For more information or images please contact:
Sarah Crowther - NMPFT Assistant Press Officer
01274 203317 sarah.crowther@nmsi.ac.uk