12 Sketches on the Impossibility of Being Still
dir. Magali Charrier, UK, 2010, digital video, 8 mins, color

12 Sketches on the Impossibility of Being Still is a collection of experiments in animation and editing exploring the spaces where nothing happens: the threshold that exists between you and me, between here and there, sound and silence, movement and stillness.

Haru no shikumi (The Mechanism of Spring)
dir. Atsushi Wada, Japan, 2011, digital video, 4 mins, color

Everybody is excited to see the arrival of spring. This film tries to depict the thrill spring brings.

The Renter – Grand Prize for Best Student Animation
dir. Jason Carpenter, US, 2011, digital video, 10 mins, color

In this painterly 2D computer animation by CalArts grad Jason Carpenter, a young boy in the care of an elderly woman during the day is unsettled by the strange man who rents a room in her house.

Joyz ‘Electropia’ – Best Music Video
dir. Noriko Okaku, UK/Japan, 2011, digital video, 5 mins, color

In a music video for Japanese band JOYZ, a girl journeys into a chaotic world of Electropia in this mix of cut-out and 2D computer animation.

Blanche Fraise
dir. Frédérick Tremblay, Canada, 2011, digital video, 17 mins, color

A couple tries to survive in a forest that kills in this puppet-animation film from award-winning Quebec animator Frédérick Tremblay.

I’m Fine Thanks – Best Graduation Animation
dir. Eamonn O’Neill, UK, 2011, digital video, 5 mins, color

Cited at Ottawa for its “strong visuals, brutal honesty, and unique voice,” this short was produced at the Royal College of Art in London.

Det Siste Norske Trollet (The Last Norwegian Troll) – Honorable Mention/Narrative Short
dir. Pjotr Sapegin, Norway, 2010, digital video, 13 mins, color

Puppet animation and poignant storytelling relate the tale of Norway’s very last Troll, the sole survivor of his once-common species.

Moxie – Grand Prize for Best Independent Short
dir. Stephen Irwin, UK, 2011, digital video, 5 mins, color

Ottawa’s top prize went to Brit animator Stephen Irwin, a rising international talent, for this film noir-like tale of a pyromaniac bear who misses his mother.

The Goat and the Well
dir. Ben Cady, UK, 2010, digital video, 5 mins, color

The determination of a little goat causes endless problems for a grumpy milkmaid. A comic minimalist exploration of the strained relationships between man and beast. Ben Cady makes visually minimal, performance-based short films.