Dublin Animation Film Festival, (DAFF) Ireland’s only film festival that is dedicated solely to animation has announced its programme of Guest Speakers. Dublin Animation Film Festival is an annual event designed to celebrate both national and international animators and is celebrating its fifth year.
The festival will take place this year on the 16th and 17th October 2015 at IADT (Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology) and the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire. The first day of the festival will focus on guest lectures at IADT and screenings and the DAFF2015 Awards ceremony will take place at the Pavilion Theatre on the 17th October.
16th October 2015 – Lectures at IADT
The following speakers include:
Nelson Lowry
– Laika Studios, Portland, Oregan, USA.
Emmy Winning Production Designer Nelson Lowry will give the National Film School Lecture at IADT on the 16th October.
Nelson Lowry’s lengthy credits include LAIKA’s current production Kubo and the Two Strings as well as The Boxtrolls and ParaNorman. He also contributed his creativity to Corpse Bride, the Christmas comedy Fred Claus and Danny Boyle’s Sunshine. Winner of the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Production Design for his work on Fantastic Mr. Fox, he has also been nominated for several Annie Awards. Nelson spent seven years working in London where, fittingly, a selection of his Fantastic Mr. Fox sets is on display at the Roald Dahl Museum.
Damien O’Connor
– Brown Bag Films, Dublin
Damien will give a lecture entitled ‘From Script To Screen’ which will examine the steps needed to hone that inkling of an idea into a fully-fledged film. Using ANYA, his recent short film, as a template, Damien will cover all aspects of production, from idea generation, scripting, storyboarding to animatic building.
Damien currently works at Brown Bag Films as an Episodic Director on the number one US preschool show ‘Doc McStuffins’ for Disney Junior and has previously written and directed four award winning Irish Film Board funded shorts (Mutt, Ledog, Dick Terrapin, After You). His most recent short film ANYA was a unique collaboration between Brown Bag Films and Irish NGO ‘To Russia With Love’ to help highlight the plight of Russian orphans: https://vimeo.com/92952699. Since its online release last year Anya has picked up numerous awards including the Social Recognition Award at Dublin Animation Film Festival in 2014.
Ian Mackinnon
– Mackinnon and Saunders, UK
Creative Director and co-founder Ian Mackinnon will look back at the studios development from character development of stop motion puppets to becoming a producer of high quality animation.
Mackinnon & Saunders is a world leader in visual character development and stop motion puppet fabrication. Over the last 20 odd years the talented team at Mackinnon & Saunders have brought some of the world’s best known animated characters to life – for children’s TV shows including Postman Pat, Bob the Builder, Pingu, Rastamouse, and for features from Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr Fox to Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie.
Michele Chiappa
– Karrot Animation, UK
Michele Chiappa, the Lead Editor on the BAFTA winning pre-school animated show Sarah & Duck for BBC Worldwide will be giving a lecture entitled Complete Control which will focus on the role of the editor in animation. Michele’s lecture will cover the difference between editing animation and live action films, and the importance of the editor’s role in the collaborative experience that is filmmaking.
Karrot was founded in 2008, and since then have been creating, developing and animating to the delight of many and more! The birthplace of the BAFTA award winning ‘Sarah & Duck’, airing on the CBeebies and in over 80 countries worldwide, Karrot has an experienced commercial and development team, always ready to use our talents in character, storytelling and design to bring magical, out there worlds to life.
17th October 2015
Tomm Moore
– Cartoon Saloon, Kilkenny
A screening of Academy Award nominated ‘Song of the Sea’ followed by a Q & A with Tomm Moore takes place on Saturday 17th October 2015 at the Pavilion Theatre. Tomm will be delighted to answer questions about the film! This screening is nearly sold out – so book now!
Screenings of Shortlisted Films
There will also be free screenings of the shortlisted films for the DAFF2015 awards. There is no ticket charge for the screening of the shortlisted films or the awards ceremony on 17th October, but pre-booking at the Pavilion Box Office is essential. To book contact the Pavilion Theatre at www.paviliontheatre.ie – Tickets are nearly gone!
Screenings of Retrospective Films
A screening of Retrospective Films will take place on from 2.30pm at the DLR LexIcon – it will include classics ‘Give Up Yer Aul Sins’ by Cartoon Saloon, ‘Cuilin Dualach’ by Cartoon Saloon and ‘The Rooster, the Crocodile and the Night Sky’. These screenings are Club rated and free to attend – pre-booking is advised. To book places in advance, email dublinanimationfilmfestival@gmail.com
Dublin Animation Film Festival is sponsored by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, The National Film School, IADT, Diep at Home, Dún Laoghaire Business Improvement District and Blackrock Cellar. Festival updates will be available on www.dublinanimationfilmfestival.com and on Twitter @dublinanimation.