Report Aniyug – 2009

The Two day Cartoon Animation Festival was conducted by Kerala Cartoon Academy in Association with I & B Ministry, Government of India on 5th & 6th February 2009 at E.M.S.Library, Kakkanad, Ernakulam. It was a film festival coupled with seminars on the trend and future of the animation industry with the support from E.M.S.Library, Toon Arts India, Malayala Manorama Multimedia, AAT-Chennai, Toons Animation and In creation.

The festival was inaugurated by Sri.Mammootty, the megastar of South India in a crowded function, consisting of more than the hundred students from different parts of the state. Another feature of the inaugural function was the presence of almost all the well known cartoonists from various parts of India. Sri.Mammootty expressed his happiness in conducting such a festival of Animation films and he debated the importance of animation films in the field of education and entertainment. He has expressed his gratitude to I & B Ministry, Government of India in organising such a festival in Kochi and expressed his desire to have a permanent platform for animation festival in Kochi and requested the I & B Ministry to make Kochi as a permanent venue.

Adv.M.M.Monaye, Chairman, Cartoon Academy presided over the function and Mr.Sudheer Nath, Secretary Kerala Cartoon Academy, introduced the various cartoonists who had attended the function. Mr.E.N.Sajith from I & B Ministry has also made a felicitation speech.

The morning session commenced with the film by Cartoonist late Abu Abraham (no arks), Shri.Unni (Hitler), Shri.Nathan (Political Cartoons), Shri Toms (Boban & Molly), Shri.Sudheer Nath (1857). The films were exhibited in E.M.S.Library theatre and the Seminars & discussion were conducted simultaneously at the seminar Hall. It was inspiring to see that both the theatre and seminar hall were over crowded by the participants who were not only silent spectators but vibrant participators in the discussion as well as interaction with the cartoonists and animators.

The morning session of discussion was initiated by Shri.Ramakrishnan S. of In creation. He had made a one hour discussion about the production of 2 D Animation film with demonstration of the animated film ‘Manikantan’. He has made a comprehensive lecture about the animation production spanning from the pre-production, production and post production techniques. Unlike normal film making, the sound recording techniques in Animation film was meticulously explained by him.

In the afternoon session short animation film from India and Illustrated animation films from Japan, Thailand and China were shown at the Library theatre. The geographical differences as well as the technical variation in each country in the making could be realized by the audience after viewing the variety of films from various countries.

Another feature of the day was the discussion of Shri.Binuraj & Vinod A.S. of Toons Animation regarding the Current Trends & Opportunities in the Animation world. They had focused their speech and demonstration on 2 D and 3D production with the help of a variety of films produced by them. They had also exhibited films produced by their students with the technical support of Toon Animation.

Presentation of Animated Multimedia CD roms by the Malayala Manorama Multimedia Team led by Shri. Biju Mathai, with the demonstration of ‘Ente Malayalam’, a recital of rhymes intended for children was well received by the audience.

The 2nd day of the festival was significant with the exhibition of about 20 films from different countries. The following films were shown in the library theatre. The Princess of Diamonds, The Fig Boy, The Witch, The Old Lady’s Coat, The Cruel Queen, Prince & Princess, Girls Night Out, Body Beautiful, Famous Fred, Britannia, Car Boot Sale, Divertimenti .Cartoonist Anuraj shared his experiences with the audience and the students had the opportunity to express their genuine queries.

The open forum organized in the 2nd day was memorable with the presence of famous cartoonists like Nathan,Seeri,Thomas,Prashanth Kulkarni,Kaak,Uday Shankar, Chandar, Prof Shivaprasad, Thrayampak Sharma, Vinoj, Peter, Prasannan, Sajjive, M M Monayi, Sudheernath, Anoop Radakrishnan, Rathish, Surendran Varachal,

The Cartoonists made caricatures of the celebrities including cine artist Mukesh, Seema Nair and like others.The two day festival of animation film with the presence of animators and cartoonist was a rare experience for the animation film lovers as well as the aspiring students. All the participants had expressed their anxiety for Aniyug – 2010.

We express our gratitude to the E.M.S.Library, for providing their facilities for the success of the festival. This festival had attained great momentum in Kochi through the print and visual media.

However this Aniyug – 09 would not become a grand success for the sincere support and assistance provided by I & B Ministry and we express our sincere thanks to Shri.Pyaralal, Joint Secretary, I & B Ministry for his kind gesture to our earnest efforts for Aniyug – 2009.

Sasi Paravoor
Aniyug Director
Sudheernath
Secretary
Kerala Cartoon Academy