BATON ROUGE – The Red Stick International Animation Festival, the largest animation festival in the United States, recently announced the beginning line-up of events for the Sixth Annual Animation Festival, scheduled for Nov. 10-13 in downtown Baton Rouge.
While this year’s event focuses more closely on films and filmmakers, there is a greater effort this year to show independent films that are animated or that have a significant amount of animation. This is part of an overall effort to build on the reputation of the festival and increase the festival’s draw and interaction with filmmakers and directors.
This year, the festival has reached out to more filmmakers than ever. Several filmmakers and producers are scheduled to give question-and-answer sessions in conjunction with screenings. Filmmakers have been invited from several short films entered in the festival competition, with ore announcements expected. There are seven hours of short film competition for the public. Competitions screenings are available for Red and Gold Pass holders.
During the festival, Disney fans will have a chance to see the latest Disney short, “Tick Tock Tale,” a story about a funny little clock who is picked on by the more refined time keepers in a London store, only to find a chance at redemption when a thief breaks in one night. The whimsical CG short, directed by Dean Wellins (“Rapunzel,” “Bolt,” “The Iron Giant”) and produced by Dorothy McKim (“Prep & Landing”), has been making the festival circuit. A screening, talk and Q&A session with director Dean Wellins will be highlighted as one of Red Stick’s Gold Pass events.
Special feature screenings scheduled to take place during the festival include:
• “Waking Sleeping Beauty” is an unprecedented eye-opening look at the conflict, drama and tension that ushered in the second chapter of Disney’s animation legacy – a decade of unparalleled creativity that included “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King.” Producer Connie Nortanis Thompson will be in attendance to screen the film and discuss. This film is the only one not airing in the primary downtown venues of the festival, and will be shown Thursday, Nov. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at United Artists Citiplace 11 Theatre, 2610 Citiplace Court.
• “Howl,” a film exploring the Alan Ginsberg Obscenity trial in 1957, covers the public controversy that brought the beat generation to nation-wide attention. The poem that caused the stir appears as an animated sequence throughout the film. Co-directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Freidman’s film relies on Erik Drooker’s graphic novel adaptation of the story of the poem and the obscenity trial for inspiration. Epstein and Freidman won an Oscar in 1998 for their documentary: “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt,” about the AIDS memorial quilt. The film will be presented Thursday, Nov. 11, 8:30 p.m. at the Manship Theatre.
• New Yorker Films’ “My Dog Tulip,” focuses on the eponymous female German shepherd, Tulip who so captures the heart of memoirist J.R. Ackerley. The film stars the voice talent of Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave and Isabella Rossellini. It will be shown Friday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. in the Manship Theatre.
• A new sci-fi feature titled “Legends of Nethia” will have a sneak preview with star Robert Picardo as part of Red Stick’s new addition FANDEMONIUM Comic-Con. The film will be shown Friday, Nov. 12, at 8 p.m. Manship Theatre.
Red and Gold Pass holders may purchase a special screenings ticket for $10 to attend the special screenings.
LSU’s Center for Computation & Technology sponsors the Red Stick International Animation Festival in partnership with the East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President’s Office, Louisiana Technology Park, Baton Rouge Area Chamber and Baton Rouge Area Digital Industries Consortium.
For more information on the festival, please visit www.redstickfestival.org, or call 225-366-8473.
Publish Date:
10-25-2010
