TEEN ANIMATED TO MAKE FILMS – "THE DEPOSE OF BOLSKIVOI HOVHANNES"
By Shane Ross
The Ottawa Sun
September 10, 2008 Wednesday
Canada
A 17-year-old Canterbury High School graduate will compete among
the top animators in the world at the annual Ottawa International
Animation Festival.
Will Inrig’s 5 1/2-minute short The Depose of Bolskivoi Hovhannes will
take on competitors from Canada, the U.S. South Korea and Sweden in
the High School Animation category.
Not bad for somebody who doesn’t even aspire to be an animator,
but only made the film because it was a class requirement.
"I don’t think I’ll ever be an animator, I don’t have the patience
for it, unfortunately," said Inrig, who describes himself as an
"atrocious artist."
He would rather become a filmmaker, and has already produced and
directed a documentary that chronicled his eccentric, lifelong
neighbours.
"Documentaries are my big passion, I’m working on a movie about autism
right now," said Inrig, whose brother is autistic.
The Depose of Bolskivoi Hovhannes, which will be shown Sept. 18. at
1 p.m. and Sept. 20 at 9 p.m. at ByTowne Cinema, "tells the story of
an Armenian shepherd on a windswept heath and one day he discovers
an enormous hole in the centre of his field and he suspects his sheep
are plotting against him and he turns out to be right."
The idea is "rooted in the pastoral tales of Anatolia, all these
shepherds doing very very heroic things," but after pausing to reflect,
Inrig admitted the inspiration came "maybe from dreams, I think."
While Inrig is the only Ottawan in the competition, 104 other
filmmakers representing 70 countries will have their work shown. There
will also be workshops, retrospectives and appearances by famous
animators such as Richard Williams, who won an Academy Award 20 years
ago for Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
There will be something for everyone, from children’s cartoons judged
by kids to what is being billed as "Blue Toons: A Night of Naughty
Animation."
The first porn cartoon, Buried Treasure, was made in 1928, and since
then, erotic animation has been a feature at many animation festivals,
said artistic director Chris Robinson.
"However, most of these screenings were often rather tepid and
conservative, appealing to giggly nerds who have never seen, let
alone touched, the flesh of a woman," he said. "With this in mind,
we asked maverick Ottawa filmmaker Lee Demarbre to go into his massive
collection of films and pull out some of the raunchiest and filthiest
animation that he could find by unknown and known animators around
the world."
It screens Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. at Barrymore’s. Trenchcoats
optional.
DRAWN TOGETHER
– The annual Ottawa International Animation Festival takes place
Sept. 17-21.
– A record 2,148 entries were received, 105 were chosen representing
70 countries, making it the largest animation festival in North
America. There will be 97 short films, four feature films and four
from schools.
– Film presentations — $10 for adults, $6 for children under 12 and
seniors — will be shown at nine locations.
– For a list of movies, times and locations, visit