East Los Angeles College, Cinema Without Borders and the National Film Board of Canada will present the National Film Board of Canada Animation Day on Saturday, May 21 as the second edition of the annual East Los Angeles College International Animation Festival. The event will take place at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, California in the S1 Art History Lecture Hall.
The ELAC International Animation Festival seeks to give an in-depth and entertaining introduction to contemporary international animation through short film screenings, analyses and Q&As with a panel of well-known experts, as well as a tribute to an international animation artist working in the U.S. industry.
The Ma 21 program begins with an appetizer reception at 11:30 a.m. (catered by Polka Restaurant), followed by opening remarks and an introduction from Maral Mohammadian, Producer at the NFB’s English Animation Studio (via Skype). The screenings will comprise Oscar winning NFB films through the decades: Norman McLaren’s Neighbors (1952), Co Hoedeman’s The Sand Castle (1977), Eunice Macaulay & John Weldon’s Special Delivery (1978), Eugene Fedorenko’s Every Child (1979), Chris Landreth’s Ryan (2004) and Torill Kove’s The Danish Poet (2006).
The discussion panel will be moderated by artist Mike Libonati, who runs ELAC’s animation department, and includes Italian-American animator Cinzia Angelini, industry pioneer Sarah Baisley, effects animator and CSUN teacher Lee Crow, Animation Magazine Editor-in-Chief Tom McLean, Maral Mohammadian, and 11-year Disney Feature Animation veteran Bill Recinos.
NFB Canada Animation Day will wind up with “The Making of Mila: Creating a Quality Animated Film via the World Wide Web” presented by Cinzia Angelini, “Return of a Legend: A Tribute to Phil Roman” in honor of the studio founder and Windsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award winner — who will be given a CWB/ELAC Diploma of Honor, and closing remarks including plans for the 2017 and 2018 events to celebrate Latin American and South East European animation.
