ASIFA-SF NEWSLETTER
Association International du Film d'Animation
(International Animated Film Association)
November 2008
by Karl Cohen

TOO LATE FOR NEWLETTER

THE SF CINEMATEQUE PRESENTS AT ATA
992 VALENCIA
Thurs. Nov. 6, 8 pm
ANN ARBOR FESTIVAL, TOURING PROGRAM #1
Michael Langan's Doxology
Josh Raskin's I Met the Walrus
12 other short films

Fri. Nov. 7, 8 pm
ANN ARBOR FESTIVAL, TOURING PROGRAM #2
Chel White's A Painful Glimpse into My Writing Process
Kelly Sears' The Drift
Jeff Scher's White Out
and 12 more shorts

Benefit for ASIFA-SF

THREE TIME OSCAR WINNER RICHARD WILLIAMS
WILL TALK ABOUT THE PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION AND
ILLUSTRATE THEM WITH EXCERPTS FROM HIS NEW DVD SET

The Animator's Survival Kit – Animated.

A benefit for ASIFA-SF at the Balboa Theatre, Sunday, Nov. 2, 7 PM, $9 ($6.50 seniors/kids)
3630 Balboa at 37th Ave in SF: http://www.BalboaMovies.com
Visit Richard Williams' web site: http://www.theanimatorssurvivalkit.com

THE 2008 “ANIMATION SHOW”
RETURNS NOV. 6-8 AT THE RED VIC ON HAIGHT ST.

Over 2-dozen shorts from around the world are in this quality program. Films range from George Schizgbel’s Jeu to Bill Plympton’s Hot Dog. Other highlighs include This Way Up, Western Spaghetti by Pes and The Life and Times of Tim.

THE 3RD SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL
(NOV. 13 – 16)
AN OUTSTANDING SELECTION OF FILMS AND GUEST ARTISTS

It begins with the triumphant return of Nina Paley to San Francisco on Thursday, Nov. 13 for the California premiere of Sita Sings the Blues. Her animated feature has been winning international awards including the grand prize for features at Annecy 08, animation’s biggest and most prestigious festival. Nina was a local cartoonist and animator until she married an artist and moved to India in 2002. What happened next changed her life and resulted in her creating a remarkable must-see feature. She has interwoven her own story with a retelling of the Ramayana, an Indian legend about the goddess Sita and her separation from Lord Rama. It’s visually spectacular, a comedy/tragedy with extraordinary jazz vocals by Annette Hanshaw recorded in the 1920s. The feature has been called “The Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told.” It will be shown at 7 and 9:15 pm with a reception starting at 8.

Flying here from Prague, Czech Republic is animation legend Gene Deitch, an Oscar winner who has been nominated 5 times. On Saturday Nov. 15 at 11 am he will talk about key moments in his career. His Oscar was for directing the short Munro, based on a Jules Feifer story about a 4-year-old boy who is drafted into the Army. Along the way he was creative director at UPA’s NY office and then creative director at Terrytoons. He created the successful Tom Terrific TV series and comic books (1957), directed Tom and Jerry cartoons for MGM (1962), and created Nudnik cartoons for Paramount Pictures (1964-’66). Since then he has directed over 50 wonderful animated adaptations of children’s books. Among the authors he has worked with are Maurice Sendak, William Steig and Crockett Johnson. His career spans over 62 years and he is still directing films.

Sunday morning at 11 Gene will introduce some of his favorite works. They include Where the Wild Things Are (1973), In the Night Kitchen (1987), Munro (1960), The Three Robbers (1972), A Picture for Harold’s Room (1971) and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1993).

Gene will also discuss Adapting Famous Children’s Books into Award-Winning Animated Films at San Francisco State, Thursday, Nov. 20, 8 pm, Fine Arts building, Coppola Theatre, free and the public is invited.

The festival is showing two more excellent features. Bill Plympton’s Idiots and Angels is a powerful mature work of art that is not at all like his comedies. It is a dark drama about a sinister man with questionable habits and morals who becomes a reluctant hero when he sprouts a set of angel wings. The film is fast paced, full of interesting twists and it kept me interested from start to finish when I saw it in Ottawa. At times I was sitting on the edge of my seat. The hand drawn film contains no dialogue and the palette is mainly grays, black and earth tones. This is a sophisticated work that takes animation in a new direction. It plays Saturday at 9:45 pm and Sunday at 1 pm.

Even more powerful as a film experience is Waltz With Bashir by Ari Folman. This documentary from Israel recreates Folman’s experiences during Israel’s invasion into South Lebanon in 1982. It combines Flash animation with live action footage. The director said, “Maybe I am doing all this for my sons. When they grow up and watch this film, it might help them make the right decisions, meaning not to take part in any war, whatsoever.” Caution: massacre sequences are quite disturbing. It plays Saturday at 7:15 and Sunday at 3.

The impressive lineup includes lots of outstanding shorts that are presently winning awards at festivals. Control Freaks on Saturday at 5:15 pm includes cutting edge films with adult sensibilities. Dennis Tupicoff’s Chainsaw from Australia is full of fascinating twisted elements including bullfighting, Frank Sinatra’s romance with Ava Gardner and a tale of romance (includes cheating, hot steamy sex and revenge). The film has already won three international Grand Prizes (Oberhausen, Ottawa and Huesca in Spain). Signe Baumane’s Teat Beat for Sex (4 episodes selected from a series of 50 one-minute tips for women) is illustrated sexual advice from a female who openly and knowledgeably discusses her considerable experiences. The Control Master by Run Wrake from England is a strange tale that includes a magic ray gun that transforms things into weird forms. Also in the show is Fantasie in Bubblewrap, winner of the grand prize at ASIFA-East’s annual national competition, and two other films.

The Best of Annecy 2008 on Friday at 8:30 pm and on Saturday at 1:45 pm is a tame family show with 9 humorous shorts. Oktapodi is a fast paced comedy about two octopuses that help each other escape from a restaurant cook. It was a major hit at this year’s SIGGRAPH, the international computer conference. My Happy End is a light humorous tale about a dog that chases his tail and… It has a unique look to it created with cut paper and a computer. Skhizein finds a man’s perception of the world altered after a meteor hits him. My favorite short in this program is The House of Small Cubes by Kunio Kato from Japan. It has an old man building houses on top of houses as the sea rises around them.

There are five other programs including a music video program with the world premiere of The Dandy Warhols: Welcome to the Third World, animated by Webster Colcord. It is in the music video program Play it by Eye, Friday, 10:15 pm.

Both Webster Colcord and Corey Rosen work at The Orphanage in SF. They will present SF 360 Live 2 1⁄2-D: New Aesthetics in the 3-D Environment, a discussion about problems they have faced and resolved when combining 2-D and 3-D computer animation (Friday at 3 pm).

All shows are at Landmarks’ Embarcadero Center Cinema. Opening night tickets are $20 and $15 (includes reception for Nina), other programs are $12.50, $11 students and seniors and $10 SF Film Society members. (415) 866-9559 for advance tickets (M-F till 4 pm) http://www.sffs.org

OSCAR WINNING DIRECTOR GENE DEITCH
ON ADAPTING FAMOUS CHILDREN’S BOOKS INTO AWARD-WINNING ANIMATED FILMS
Thursday, November 20, 8 PM

San Francisco State University, Fine Arts Building's Coppola Theatre (room 101), free, public invited
See flyer in newsletter for details (mailed Friday 10/24)