www.wfac.ca

[raellerby]

For one who has loved animation for a long time, WFAC 3 was a joy to attend! I saw all but three showings (Mari Iyagi, Utena and the very last one), and am definitely looking forward to next year's lineup.

Some short notes -

I first heard of Corto Maltese in 1979, and first read his stories (albeit in English translation - the French version is definitely superior!). The movie was quite faithful to the book "Corto Maltese en Sibérie", and was an excellent introduction for any newcomer. If anyone would like to catch the full flavour of this character, check out "Une Ballade de la mer salée" or "Mû" from Casterman, to name but two in the series.

Wonderful Days should serve as a wakeup call to anyone who has assumed that the Korean studios only serve as backoffice shops for the major studios.

I didn't mind Laputa being shown twice, but perhaps the second showing should have been in the original Japanese, to show how the soundtrack had been changed?

The shorts collection was wonderful (but the Israeli ones were somewhat disappointing) - bring more on for next year!

The other features were of equally good quality.

Despite the glitches at the Friday night gala, the video about the making of the Sky Kingdom in Zimbabwe was worth the wait.

The range of production techniques on display was admirable. I was never one just to enjoy the storylines - the way in which the stories are presented has always been just as fascinating.

And perhaps an historical perspective would be in order for future editions of the Festival? Just a thought, because there has always been more out there than the Disney/Looney Tunes/Hanna-Barbera menu we were fed when we were growing up.

In all, well done, and the best of good fortune in the future!

[WFAC]

We're glad you liked the Festival!

On Laputa: we were supposed to obtain the subtitled print of the film. The week before the festival, something interesting happened, and a global hunt for the subtitled print (ending at Studio Ghibli) ended up fruitless. Really regrettable; we prefer to show all of the works as close to the way they were originally presented.

On range of presentation: we wanted to demonstrate the gamut, from The Legend of the Sky Kingdom to Wonderful Days. We're glad you liked the contrast.

On historical perspectives: watch for future Retrospectives sections for animation from different countries/geographical locations, animation techniques, particular artists/directors, themes, and time periods. There was a small retrospective section in Tidbits (the Michael Dudok de Wit shorts), which we will expand in the future.