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OTTAWA - Chris Robinson has the best job in the world.
As the artistic director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival he was responsible for paring the 1,900 cartoons submitted from 64 countries down to the 100 that will be screened at the fest, which runs Sept. 21-25.
It's a job the remarkably unanimated Robinson has been doing every two years since joining the biannual event in 1991. But this year he's especially excited. It's the first year since the festival began in 1976 that his orgy of animation is an annual event.
"I'm absolutely stunned by the response to the festival's decision to go annual," exclaimed Robinson. "I didn't expect that we'd come close to breaking last year's record of 1,967 submissions, more than any other animation festival in the world."
The Ottawa fest has a history of introducing films that use cutting-edge technology, making it as popular with industry professionals as the general public.
This year's event includes the Canadian premiere of Henry Selick's (the brains behind James and the Giant Peach) latest MoonGirl; John Canemaker's moving tribute to father-son relations The Moon and the Son; Dutch artist Rosto's sizzling graphic novel Jona/Tomberry; and from Australia, Anthony Lucas' The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello.
Closer to home, 20 Canadian films made the cut, including Ottawa animators Sharon Katz's Slide and Jessica Borutski's I Like Pandas. There's also a retrospective to independent Canadian animation.
"These are films you won't see on Teletoon," said Robinson, who in addition to programming the festival, is a skilled animator, author and columnist for Animation World magazine.
But what makes the event so popular is the hugely entertaining sidebar programming, such as Jerry Beck's The Worst Cartoons Ever at Barrymore's and SAWGallery; a tribute to Pee-wee's Playhouse animation, hosted by the show's set designer Gary Panter a "Meet the Filmmaker" daily Q&A session; and a workshop of Star Wars animatronics with Yoda designer Rob Coleman.
There's also a ton of television-related animation for kids and adults.
More than 20,000 people are expected to attend screenings, workshops and film-related events at the Bytowne Cinema, National Arts Centre, Chateau Laurier, Arts Court and the National Gallery of Canada.
"We treat cutting edge animation as if it were like a regular family night out at the movies," explained the festival's managing director and Robinson's wife Kelly Neall. "We've been successful because we have a good mix of mainstream commercial animation, and wild new shorts you can't see anywhere else."
Full screening information is available at www.animationfestival.ca. Festival passes are available by calling 232-8769 or online. Individual tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids and seniors on site 30 minutes before curtain.