NFB animators compete in Sichuan festival
Last Updated: Friday, November 6, 2009 | 11:22 AM ET
CBC News
Image from The Spine, directed by Chris Landreth. (National Film Board/Copper Heart) The National Film Board productions The Spine and Runaway will compete for the Golden Panda Award at the Sichuan TV Festival in Chengdu, China, this weekend.
The screenings are part of a slate of activities designed to present the work of the NFB to Chinese audiences in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the pioneering film studio.
NFB chair Tom Perlmutter is scheduled to speak at the festival about digital-media initiatives and there will be an exhibition of still images captured by NFB cameras.
The exhibition will showcase animation work, films about the environment and films by aboriginal and other minority filmmakers created through the NFB.
The Spine and Runaway will be screened Friday in competition for the Golden Panda, the top award at the festival.
The Spine is an animated work that examines a dysfunctional marriage, created by Chris Landreth, winner of an Academy Award for best animated short for Ryan.
Runaway, an amusing short about a runaway train, is the latest from two-time Oscar nominee Cordell Barker, creator of The Cat Came Back.
The Sichuan TV Festival, in its 10th year, runs Nov. 6-8.
