‘Revolting Rhymes’ a must-see at festival

THE sixth Cape Town International Animation Festival (CTIAF), presented by Animation SA, takes place next weekend, from Friday till Sunday at the River Club in Observatory and at the Labia in Gardens.

While there will be plenty for children, animation is for all ages and I am excited to see Revolting Rhymes.

A parody of traditional folk tales in verse, Roald Dahl reinterpreted six well-known fairy tales, featuring surprise endings in place of the traditional happily-ever-after finishes. Hilariously brilliant doesn’t even begin to cover it!

In collaboration with Design Indaba, the CTIAF will present the African premiere of an adaptation of the Dahl poems which premiered on BBC One last Christmas.

Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Dahl’s birth last year, the two films combine five of the poems: Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, The Three Little Pigs, Jack And The Beanstalk and Cinderella. Another screening highlight is My Life as a Courgette, which has Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Feature Film (having already won this category at the European Film Awards) and Best Foreign Language Film (representing Switzerland).

The Oscars take place in Hollywood tomorrow (Monday 3.30am CAT, live on DStv M-Net Movies Premiere).

This film is adapted from Gilles Paris’s book about children and the strength of resilience among a group of friends, advocating empathy, comraderie, sharing and tolerance.

Besides the opportunity to see some of the world’s best animated films, the festival includes a range of masterclasses and workshops with global industry leaders, and the chance to engage with them.

Providing a platform and marketplace for the fast- growing African animation industry, this year the festival received 221 entries for submissions from 40 countries.

The festival also hosts business-to-business sessions, producer events, networking opportunities and government panel discussions in addition to student competitions, outdoor screenings, and an outreach programme which will be hosted at the Isivivana centre in Khayelitsha. There will be movies in the morning, drawing classes with Draw For Life, and workshops to teach the fundamentals of animation.

Nickelodeon issponsoring the opportunity for one student to do an internship at Nickelodeon in the US as part of the student competition.

Screenings cost between R25 and R40. A full festival pass (valid March 3 to 5) costs between R100 and R500. A day pass costs R350 (all events except the masterclasses). Bookings can be made at Webtickets (www.webtickets.co.za), and for the full programme, go to www.ctiaf. com