Fredrikstad Animation Festival

A number of years ago, Biljana Labovic, my producer at the time, visited the animation festival in Fredrikstad, Norway, and came back raving about the fun she had.  So, when CHEATIN' was invited, I decided to check it out.

In general, I had fun - the audiences were great, with packed houses, and the food was great too.  But the mystery to me was the empty streets.  The cinema was right downtown with all the shops, yet the streets were empty.  Strange.

But there were two highlights for me - the seminars featured some very exciting artists - Benjame Renner, the director of "Ernest and Celestine" gave a fantastic presentation that featured pencil tests, character designs, color models and finished animation.  It was a super show for a super film.

Then, Tomm Moore showed backgrounds and animation from his upcoming feature "The Song of the Sea", and the artwork just blew me away. 

If the story can be half as powerful as the artwork, it's going to be a masterpiece.  His previous feature "The Secret of Kells" was also a brilliant film.  So I look forward to seeing his new feature next year.

Bill