Hisko Hulsing’s Junkyard and Oh Willy… by artisan animators Emma De Swaef and Marc Roels have been added to the Short Films section at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival (4-9 June). In addition, a commercial clip for public transport company De Lijn by digital effects artist Gerrit Bekers was selected for the Commercials competition of the French festival.
Oh Willy... is directed by Emma De Swaef and Marc Roels who developed their distinctive style with Zachte Planten, De Swaef's graduation film from the Sint-Lukas academy in Brussels. The puppets and sets of the film are made of wool, felt and other fabrics, from fine llama fleece to old couch stuffing. This gives the film a soft, tactile atmosphere that complements its strange and touching story. The 17-minute film is produced by Ben Tesseur for Flemish stop- motion studio Beast Animation (A Town Called Panic), in collaboration with France and the Netherlands. Before making the Annecy bill, Oh Willy… premiered internationally at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in January.
Junkyard is a Belgo-Dutch co-production directed and scripted by Hisko Hulsing. The short focuses on two friends from very different backgrounds, who grow up together and then slowly drift apart while all the time keeping in touch. The film was produced by Willem Thijssen for Antwerp-based CinéTé, in partnership with Il Luster Productions from The Netherlands.
In the bus commercial Ants, the benefits of travelling en masse are comically illustrated by a group of ants being attacked by an ant-eater. The 30-second commercial was commissioned by De Lijn in order to get people to use the bus service. Ants was directed by Gerrit Bekkers, who previously collaborated on visual effects for popular projects such as Chickendales and The Kriegel Sisters, and had been invited to Brussels’ Animation Film Festival, Anima. Watch a clip here.
The Annecy International Animated Film Festival takes place annually in the township of Annecy, in the Rhône-Alpes region in south east France. The festival was launched in 1960 and aims to display the latest animated gems, reflect current and future trends, present up and coming talent and track down new associates and partners for animation filmmakers. Last year, the festival featured three Flanders-produced projects: Toon Loenders' Biodiversity, De volgende (The Next One) by Barbara Raedschelders and Dutch-Belgian The Monster of Nix by Rosto.