The Filipino animator must be one of the most overlooked artists in
the Philippines. As diligent and creative as the Pinoy independent
filmmaker but not as recognized, the local animators have, for the
longest time, been looking for a chance (and in some cases, a venue)
to finally showcase their originality and talent. Strangely enough, it
is the foreign animation companies that have been recognizing the
local animators by giving them steady work for the many years now.
Indeed, it has been an open secret that some of the cartoons produced
by foreign production houses employ Pinoy animators. No doubt about
it, Filipino animators are talented but the question is: when will
they be given the spotlight they so rightfully deserve?
Enter ANIMAHENASYON 2007, Pinoy Animation Festival slated on November
21 to 25 at Robinsons Galleria’s Indie Cine. The festival aims to
finally give professional and amateur Filipino animators a venue where
they could screen their original works. “I think it is about time to
give these animators a chance to show their own works,” says Ricky
Orellana, festival director of ANIMAHENASYON. “After all, they have
been working on other’s people’s materials for the longest time.” He
says that viewers might be surprised to discover that Pinoy animators
are not just copycats of American or Japanese animation. “We have our
own style,” he says.
Indeed, if the entries this year prove anything, it’s that Filipino
animators are hard to pigeonhole. “Some are in 2-D and 3-D and some
used cell animation but what is really surprising is that we received
entries from all over the Philippines: from Baguio to Iloilo, from
Lapu Lapu to Marinduque,” Orellana said. Suffice to say that the
topics are also diverse. Some are interpretation of local folklore and
some are original stories by the animators themselves. “Even now, I
expect our judges to have a hard time picking which entries to include
in the final list,” the festival director said, “because some of the
entries are really good.”
And since ANIMAHENASYON’s goal is to spotlight Pinoy animators, what
better way to do that than to have two very successful Filipino
animators from PIXAR (Toy Story, Finding Nemo) and Dreamworks (Shrek,
Madagascar) to give a talk during the festival. “Aside from the
original Pinoy works, we are also inviting two Pinoy animators who
have done significant work in mainstream Hollywood,” says Orellana.
“Hopefully, the forum will give animators a chance to discuss
pertinent issues concerning not only the local industry but the
international animation industry as well.”
And like any other festival, ANIMAHENASYON will hand out various
awards for deserving entries. Up for grabs are the GRAND PRIZE AWARD,
AWARD for BEST REGIONAL ENTRY, JURY’S SPECIAL AWARD, and AUDIENCE’S
SPECIAL AWARD, among others. But of course, as the festival organizers
never fail to point out, the real prize is that finally Pinoy
animators are not just anonymous workers toiling on some cartoon
series but, through ANIMAHENASYON, artists in the real sense of the
word.
ANIMAHENASYON 2007 is spearheaded by the Animation Council of the
Philippines Inc. (ACPI), a non-stock and non-profit organization. The
members of ACPI specialize mainly in—but not limited to— 2D or 3D
animation. The organization, which is recognized and supported by the
Philippine government, aims to create an identity for the Philippines
to be considered among the preferred countries that service the
animation industry.
Animation by some of the members of Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc.
Contact Persons: Mario Banzon
Laisa Gonzales
Animation Council of the Philippines
T: 4382983 local 150-151