Take Saturday Morning to the Big Screen with MIAFF
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The Montreal International Animation Film Festival (MIAFF) kicks off Thursday, April 16 at 7:00 at Concordia University. Presented by Animaze, a non-profit organization, and in association with www.filmfestivals.com and Animation World Network, the MIAFF promises to bring all sorts of animated goodness. From feature-length films to shorts to workshops, the animation-lover in your life (because everyone knows at least one) will not want to miss this one!
Opening night will start off at 7:00 with The Magic Flute, a contemporary re-imagining of Mozart’s 200-year-old classic Die Zauberflöte. The film was produced by the German Interactive Media Foundation and will feature live music from Montreal’s very own Philippe Lambert. Following The Magic Flute, there will be a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle, the English-language version of the original French/Belgian animation Tarzoon, la honte de la jungle by Pincha and Boris Szulzinger, which features the voices of Bill Murray (!) and John Belushi (!) in their pre-Saturday Night Live days. After the films, the big MIAFF kick-off party starts at Rosalie’s! This is truly an evening that should not be missed.
Other highlights throughout the festival include the world premiere of Bird in a Cage, which is a short documentary about UK suffragette society pioneer Margaret Mackworth. Don Hertzfeldt’s World of Tomorrow, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for Best Animated Short as well as SXSW’s Best Animated Short, will also be featured. There will also be conferences held throughout the festival with some of the biggest names in animation. These will include Gerald Potterton, the three-time Oscar winner, director of cult-classic Heavy Metal and animator of the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine (he has also worked with Buster Keaton!!!), musician and filmmaker Christopher Nutter and the Oscar-winning stop-motion artist Co Hoedeman.
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But wait! There’s more! Throughout the festival, there will be an awesome competition going on throughout the festival! An audience member during each screening will be wired up with SENSUM’s wearable technology to monitor and measure their subconscious and emotional response as well as their engagement throughout the film. The film with the most positive responses wins! Also, each night after the screenings have been shown and the conferences have ended, there will be a party at Rosalie’s which will last into the wee hours.
There is truly something for everybody at this year’s MIAFF, from the little kiddies to the grown-ups. The festival will be taking place at Concordia University (SGW campus) from Thursday, April 16 to Sunday, April 19. For screening information or tickets, check out their website.
