Eat your heart out, animation enthusiasts in Seoul. The 2007 Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival (SICAF) will hype up the local cartoon craze as it opens tomorrow until May 27 in theaters in uptown Seoul.
Forget the old stereotype that cartoons are for children. This is one serious festival, featuring a selectively chosen batch of 169 films from 41 countries, and rated general viewing to 18 and over.
The official competition program includes four categories - full-length films, shorts by professionals and students, television and commissioned pieces, and works created for Internet broadcasting.
An international jury consisting of experts from Korea, France, Canada and Switzerland will oversee the competition. A lineup of other noteworthy films will be screened in the special out of competition programs.
"5 Centimeters Per Second" ("Byousoku 5 Centimeters") (2007) by award-winning director Shinkai Makoto will inaugurate the festival. Shinkai won acclaim for his piece "She and Her Cat", and leads the new generation of master filmmakers in Japan.
The opening film tells the story of two childhood friends, who part without a chance to express their mutual affection for each other. Years later, they reunite.
All the Internet reservation tickets for "5" sold out within seconds when sales became available last week. It will be screened three times throughout the festival and then open in theaters across Korea in late June.
Featured as one of the five full-length films in competition, Thailand's first 3-D animated piece "Khan Kluay" (2006) is noteworthy. Created by American-educated Thai animator Kompin Kemgumnird, the film's drawing style is suggestive of that of Disney classics.
"Khan" recounts the tale of a young elephant that goes on an adventurous search for his father, after being separated from him. Along his journey, the elephant encounters humans and learns to live with them, and eventually embraces self-sacrifice as he engages in warfare on their behalf.
Festival participants can also look forward to viewing "Oh! Mickey-Night" (2006), a unique film that features mannequins sporting a full range of facial expressions. The puppet show-esque film traces an American family's wild, comical experience living in Japan.
The film festival aims to focus on animation not only as a type of visual medium but also as an important sector of the digital contents industry.
In addition to screening various animation films, the festival will hold special programs that are both educational and entertaining. Through "SICAF Perspective", viewers can learn about exciting new trends in 3-D computer animation.
"Inspiration of Asia" focuses on the potential and vision of the animation industry in Asia. Families can also enjoy films geared for family audiences in the "Family Square" program.
Officially recognized by the worldwide animated film organization Association Internationale du Film d'Animation (ASIFA) in 2005, the Seoul festival aims to continue its growth as a major event celebrating cartoon and animation.
Films will be available in a combination of dialogues in Korean, English or other languages (or none at all), with Korean, English or no subtitles.
Tickets can be purchased in advance online (www.cgv.co.kr, www.maxmovie.com), or at the site, starting 10 a.m. each day of the festival at CGV Yong-san theater and Seoul Animation Center's Anicinema, both located in northern Seoul.
Animated works created for the Internet will be screened online, free of charge. Internet users are welcome to view films and vote for their favorite among the 17 films from nine different countries.
For more information, visit the festival's Web site www.sicaf.or.kr
In addition to Seoul's animated film festival, "Anicommunication: Volume 1 for Family" will soon open in various parts of Korea. Children and parents can participate in the event that will be both entertaining and educational.
Anicommunication is the first of a series of family-oriented animation events to come, and will focus on "Communication". The festival will present 19 films from all over the world under four categories, laughter, love, courage, and dreams.
Animated pieces include "Z Command" (2004, United States), "Pat & Stanley" (2006, France), and "The God" (2003, Russia).
The festival will take place from May 23 to 25 at Jeju Cineisland on Jeju Island; from June 1 to 3 at Cineodyssey in Cheongju; from June 7 to 10 at Daegu Cinematheque; and mid-June at Cinematheque Daejeon.
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