Trailer for Up In A Plane by Rachel Moore: This is scheduled to screen at the 10th annual ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival in Paris on April 10th through 12th. Rachel Moore, a graduate of Emily Carr, made it as a unique tribute to the lives of her grandparents, and the animation has the feel of vintage film with an added touch of bright colour. You can read more about Ms. Moore and her work at Canadian Animation, which interviewed her last October, here. In that interview, she makes some suggestions that gave us the idea to curate a few animations for you. But first:
Tune In! Rachel Moore recommended checking out the work of animator Elisa Chee, which includes this wordless (though not at all silent) short. Ms. Chee and the Access to Media Education Society worked together to create this discussion starter on bullying for elementary classes. Without getting into differences of race, language, or other factors, it simply conveys the feeling of what happens when a happy child turns into a silenced victim — and asks students if they really want a world like that, and what the alternative is.
Les Autres: And finally, also mentioned by Rachel Moore in the Canadian Animation interview was the Quickdraw Animation Society of Calgary. Each May long weekend they hold an animation lockdown, where anyone is welcome to spend 48 hours, well, animating. Here’s something that came out of that, by Neal Moignard and Carl Spencer: Les Autres (The Others), “A science fiction fable built from cut-out animation” that asks what could bring together creatures from different dimension. Read more about it here, and don’t let the French scare you, it’s subtitled.