th17 ifva Animation Category Jury Meeting Minutes
Jury Member in Attendance: Lo Che-ying (LO), Felix Ip (IP), Eddy Wong(WONG), Yu Ka-ho(YU), Tamas
Waliczky(WALICZKY)
Organizer Representatives: Teresa Kwong (KWONG), Kattie Fan (FAN)KWONG:

Today is the award panel meeting. This year we received about 50 works for the
animation category. We had our first round back in December; three of you reviewed allof the entries and selected the 10 finalists. Today we have one more jury member, Felix,
to join us in choosing the award winners for this category. The emphasis for ourcompetition is independent spirit and creativity. The prize distribution for this category is
as follows, one Gold Award, one Silver Award and one Special Mention. Let’s proceed to
discuss the merits of each individual work and we will begin with Origin.

LO:

Nice work, very artistic. The animation work is very good but the idea is a little bit“traditional”. The performance is very good; especially the drawings are simple but
beautiful.

IP:

I think overall the concept is pretty complete. I like the voice-over, the dialogue and themusic. I am not sure about the drawing style; it could have been done better. The use ofcolor pencil doing the whole animation seems a bit “dirty”.

YU:

I agree with both of you. Overall it is very well done, neatly done, perhaps too neat. I thinkit lacks surprise in terms of its style and story. It is nice but it is a little bit dull.

WALICZKY:

I like it too; it is very nice animation. I like the voice-over and the drawings, but to me thestory is not really original.

KWONG:

We will proceed to discuss Within Within.

LO:

It is very nice work. The idea is very interesting especially for Hong Kong people. It is
talking about the identity of Hong Kong people in the past and in the future from thendrdperspective of a 2 or 3 generation person from Hong Kong. The presentation is very
good both in style and in the animation work. Very simple action but it works very well. It
posed many questions for the audience to think about.

IP:

Actually I am quite impressed by this piece of work. For the content it is talking about
identity of everyone; the style is very simple but very impressive. I think the voice-overhelped a lot in bringing the emotion out.

YU:

I like this piece of work. I think the monotonic voice-over is intentionally tone-down andcreates an interesting tension with the visuals. I really like the point when the music starts;
it starts at the end at exactly where the climax is supposed to be. That is like the orgasm.
It holds up all the emotions until the end then releases and it is beautiful.

WALICZKY:

This was my favorite work from the very beginning. I like it very much. It made a big
impression on me. In terms of the sound and the visual I think it is technically well made. I
also like the animation very much. You keep thinking about this whole issue after seeing
the film and it leaves a deep impression, not in a pathetic way. It is well made.

IP:

I like the mirror in the end with some colors, the goldfish shot and the oil painting towards
the end.

WALICZKY:

I appreciate the use of different techniques and they are used nicely.

KWONG:

We will proceed to discuss Lying in the Sky.

LO:

I think this piece of work is quite ambitious. With the longest playing (close to 30 minutes)
in this category, this entry is very good technically but I am not moved by its storytelling. I
like the combination of colors and certain angles but they do not enhance the storytelling.

IP:

After seeing the first few shots, I had high expectation going in. The color and the tone
are very good. I feel the story can be shorter; the pacing in the middle was difficult tofollow. There were some nice moments when the boy with wings tried to learn how to fly.
The structure was decent but there were some problems with editing as I lost the focus of
the story. I like the use of colors in some scenes and the painting in the backdrop. But I
felt a bit bored in the middle.

WALICZKY:

It was also too long for me; I like the colors as well. But from the drama point of view,
sometimes it was very illogical. Things happened only because of the concept but madelittle sense otherwise. Why did the boy disappear from the hospital and go to the sea?
Somebody has to be more careful with these logical consequences and I would
appreciate more if the artist tries to follow the logic of the character or the story thanassigning a logic to the story. Perhaps the message is too strong and is not told perfectly.

YU:

You actually raised a good point that I did not realize until you mentioned it. Things did
not happen with a very convincing reason and that was why I lost focus while watching it.
I could follow the story but was not very motivated. The combination of colors and thedesign is nice. I think the style stands out but is not unique, for it seems to have manyreferences to other films that I have seen before.

IP:

I have seen that kind of color scheme many times before.

KWONG:

Let’s proceed to discuss Oh! Give Me Strength.

LO:

Nice little work for a stop motion animation. At the climax, she does not work muchanimation and does not put much effort on the eating of the animals. At first he eats theturtle but later on the food just disappears in front of his mouth. Why does she waste thetransformation? It is not so difficult to do so since the food is made of clay. Of course weknow the idea but it is a little bit incomplete.

IP:

I agree with that. I like the setup, the background, the tone and the green. But it feels like
a commercial for saving animals. When the character eats something, I expect somethingshould come up like his muscle would get bigger. Maybe this is a way to save time. Someof the scenes in the end were pretty funny with animal baker and strange animal. I
expected the character to change once he eats more but it never happened. I like thevisuals but there is a lack of change in the tone and the lighting.

YU:

I actually have no problem with the jump cut of the eating part as it was kind of fun, but I
agree with you that there was lack of fulfillment to my anticipation. I was expecting to seesome transformation in the end. Come to think of it, perhaps it was done intentionally. Ilike the overall design and the mood but what really put me off was the message in theend, it was like an educational video.
WALICZKY:

I was very impressed when it started; it was really beautiful, enlightened and the puppets,
it was really a professional work. Maybe that was the problem; the expectation was built
very high in the beginning. Maybe the director did not have enough time or enoughpatience to finish it at the same level. This educational message could be the secret way
to say this is my reason to make this film. The puppets were very well-made. I agree withall of you that the end was not as good as expected based on the beginning, somehow
the standard just dropped. But I think this director definitely has talent in stop motion
image.

YU:

Looking at the images, not only are they very designed, they are almost atmospheric. I
wonder how she did the visuals.

KWONG:

Let’s proceed to discuss MR. WORK.

LO:

It is interesting and very Hong Kong. The script is very complicated and the dialogue isinteresting. Technically it works but it lacks something in creativity. The focus is on the
dialogue and the characters are good but I expect more; it does not feel like a complete
work, more like a segment. I am not very interested in the content even though it is very
Hong Kong.

IP:

Visual-wise I like this one a lot, the character design is nice. The background has adistinct Hong Kong flavor with the café restaurant. When I heard the first dialogue, theCantonese does not quite match the character. I would rather have less dialogue. The
message is very simple, strong and straightforward but does not give the audience muchroom for imagination.

YU:

As a Cantonese speaker, I think the director tries to be funny but it was not that funny tome. There was a contrived feeling and what really put me off were the dialogue and thecontent. I just did not find it funny.

WALICZKY:

I like the background very much and it is a realistic portrait of Hong Kong. Usually I likesomeone who can speak about his or her environment. The animation is professional but
I did not find the story funny either and that was my problem. I do appreciate the local
elements in this film.

KWONG:

Let’s proceed to discuss Run Island Run.

LO:

I like this one, it is very nice work. I like the design, the animation, the characters andthe colors. The mood of the story is changing sometimes but there are some moving
moments. I like this piece of work.

WALICZKY:

I like the idea and sometimes I like the animation/visual idea. Again my problem was withthe sometimes illogical nature of the story. I had the impression that things happened thisway only because the director wanted it that way.

YU:

My first impression was that it looked like something that I had seen before, perhaps thestory from the bible about Jonah being swallowed by a whale. Visually it was well done
and there were a few shots that I remembered well, such as the underwater shot with thewhale approaching the protagonist. Other than that it did not leave a strong impression
on me.
LO:

Some of the similarities with other works that we just talked about, such as a person
being stranded in a deserted island, come across as a parody to me.

IP:

After reading the synopsis, I could sense what the story would be about before seeing it
and hence I was not very motivated. I like the first wide shot in the opening scene andmost of the wide shots. For some reasons the level of animation seems somewhat
inconsistent. I did not really enjoy the ending, for I was expecting something bigger ormore touching to happen.

KWONG:

Let’s proceed to discuss Sub-Zero.

YU:

It is a very nice music video. It is nicely done but like many other works, it did not leave astrong impression on me.

LO:

Actually it is not a MTV but it works like a MTV with one song that goes on throughout
the entire film. Since the story is all imaginary, the director could do whatever he wants; it
is not so difficult to do and it is just visually interesting. It did not leave a deep impression
on me.

WALICZKY:

I like this work. I find the story of traveling in the MTR with strange dreams and big
monsters interesting. The way how the story moved into these dreams was quite strong.
These were nice logical movements that brought you into the crazy dreams of monsters.
The monster thing was not my cup of tea but overall it was well made. The music works
well and the animation sometimes is quite well made as well. The directors put a lot ofenergy into this piece of work.

IP:

I like the style of this work, namely the use of colors in the beginning. The buildup ispretty good going into the crazy imaginary world. The ending, however, did not live up to
my expectation. I really appreciate the loop animation in the imaginary world. Yet I did not
really understand the ending.

YU:

I like a lot of short moments. I actually like the ending not because it has anything to dowith the story but I appreciate its style and mood, especially when the person is sinking
into the deep sea. That is a nice shot. There are some really nice shots by themselves
but they do not seem to make too much sense when being put together in a sequence. I
think the directors have great potentials but this is not really a narrative piece, so I cannot
say much about the storytelling. It works well as a music video. The only thing I would
pick on is the sound as it seems abrupt. The treatment of the sound is a bit crude.

LO:

No sound effect at all, just one song flowing throughout the film.

KWONG:

Let’s proceed to discuss The-Zoo-Walk-CAT n FISH.

IP:

The music, the content and the visuals do not seem to fit well together. They all seem tobe done separately and lack cohesion together. It did not really impress me.

WALICZKY:

I was not impressed either. My impression of this piece was that the director did not want
any more and did not put in the efforts to do something original or interesting. The

director merely just put things together; the visual style is not bad but there is nothing thatreally stands out.
YU:

I agree with most of what you said. One thing that really bugged me was the color; it was
all shifted to one tone. I have no problem with color like that but this seems like an
accident. Everything was too yellow. The music was interesting. I do not have a strong
impression of this work but I like its illustration of the buildings. Unfortunately it was shotin such bad lighting and the color being shifted; that made the work a lot less impressive.

KWONG:

Let’s proceed to discuss GALAMAN.

IP:

It is the most entertaining piece of work by far. It is very professional; it gives you punchlines, jokes and puns with local elements. It also has many references to Japanesesuperhero animation. I find it very fun to watch.

YU:

You may not understand it; this work plays a lot on the puns. For instance the word
“Gala” sounds like armpit in Cantonese. It was fun. I find many references toperverseness in Japanese comic as well. I find it entertaining but I also have thiscontradicted feeling while watching it. I find it a bit too calculated and strategic to makeyou laugh. It does not come off naturally and that put me off a bit.

LO:

The pattern is the same. It begins with the characters and their names are some verbal
gags. There is a certain formula with the intention to make you laugh. If you like theformula, you would find it funny. If you do not like the formula, it can be a problem.

IP:We can see there is a certain formula. The first part was funny, the second part I was not
so impressed with but the final part was hilarious as well.

WALICZKY:

It is funny and well made. But my problem is that it is strictly professional; in most of theworks we can see a person behind them, but in GALAMAN, we see no one behind it, but
only a strategy to make you laugh. This is not really sympathetic to me. The repetitive
formula seems to provide a very narrow range.

KWONG:

Let’s proceed to discuss Demon Kills.

YU:

I really like it. I like the visual style, its pacing and almost everything except the voiceover seems a bit amateurish.

LO:

The style and the animation work very well. Not so difficult to do. I have seen this kind ofstyle in comic books and independent films a lot recently. More or less the same.

IP:

The style is familiar and is widely used lately. I like the animation, the treatment of thecharacters and the use of loose lines. Story-wise I could not gather all the symbolic
meanings when the teachers and classmates became the demons and the protagonist
began fighting them.

YU:

My interpretation is that this is a story told through a disillusioned mind or a mentally ill
person who killed himself. The story is told backward from his point of view.

WALICZKY:

I like the animation and the storytelling but not the sound as it seems amateurish. To me
it is not so original for I have seen something similar before. It is well made but not an
exceptional piece.

KWONG:

We have just managed to get a hold of another jury member, Eddy Wong, on the phone
and he is going to comment briefly on the 10 finalists and his top 3 picks for awards.
Meanwhile please take some time and come up with your top 3 picks for this category.

WONG:

I will begin with Origin; the drawings are decent but a bit raw. The story is interesting but
not exceptional. Within Within has great drawing techniques. Lying in the Sky needs toimprove its storytelling but the story is interesting with decent drawings. Oh! Give Me
Strength has an interesting story but overall it seems a bit raw. MR. WORK has decent
drawings but the story is not as interesting. Run Island Run is just so so. Sub-Zeroreminds of Japanese animations. The-Zoo-Walk-CAT n FISH has a distinct MTV flavor
and I am sure the producers really enjoy making it. My favorite is GALAMAN since it ishighly creative and humorous. Demon Kills is an expression of personal feelings that I
have seen before. My pick for Gold Award is GALAMAN since it is a product of its times
and it is humorous. My pick for Silver Award goes to Lying in the Sky and my picks forSpecial Mention go to Origin and Sub-zero.

KWONG:

Eddy has just given us his picks. Now we can proceed to discuss your picks.

Eddy:

GALAMAN (Gold), Lying in the Sky (Silver), Origin and Sub-zero (Special Mention)

WALICZKY:

My picks are as follows, Within Within (Gold), Origin (Silver), “GALAMAN (Special
Mention).

YU:

My picks are as follows, Within Within (Gold), Demon Kills (Silver), Oh! Give Me
Strength (Special Mention).

LO:

My picks are as follows, Within Within (Gold), Demon Kills (Silver), Lying in the Sky
and GALAMAN (Special Mention).

IP:

My picks are as follows, Within Within (Gold), GALAMAN, Oh! Give Me Strength (in no
specific order).

KWONG:

So we have nominated 7 works for award considerations, does that mean we could leaveout MR. WORK, Run Island Run and The-Zoo-Walk-Cat n FISH for consideration?

WALICZKY:

Yes, for award consideration.

KWONG:

Within Within receives 4 votes and will receive the Gold Award. What about the SilverAward?

LO:

Demon Kills seems a better fit with the independent spirit that we celebrate for thisfestival whereas GALAMAN seems more commercial and more fitting for the Special
Mention.

WALICZKY:

As I said before GALAMAN is very professional and funny; my experience is that it is noteasy to make a film that make the public laugh. Whereas Demon Kills is a more serious
film but not that original. So I will vote for GALAMAN for Silver.

IP:

GALAMAN is unique and special to me whereas Demon Kills is more artistic. I have to
say I prefer GALAMAN.

YU:

GALAMAN is not my favorite even though I enjoy watching it. The only thing that put me
off was its calculated intention whereas Demon Kills feels more authentic even though it
seems familiar in terms of style, I could sense something that comes from within.

WALICZKY:

Despite its calculated professionalism, I appreciate the certain knowledge behind
GALAMAN. It is not just the animation is good or the knowledge of how to make funny
sequence. But there is a defined connection to the older Japanese animation. The
director clearly knows what he wants to achieve. This is quite rare and I like it very much.
I appreciate this kind of cleverness and professionalism and again it is very difficult tomake humorous animation. This is why I find GALAMAN superior to Demon Kills.

YU:

If you weigh between personal authenticity and the things that you just mentioned, theclear direction and professionalism that are found in GALAMAN, I would have no troublein accepting the outcome. I put a lot of focus on authenticity and whether it comes fromwithin the director, but I did not pay much attention to the professionalism, references toother cultures and the vision that the director had. I would agree with you that the director
has a clear vision in what he wants to achieve in GALAMAN even though its style is not
my cup of tea.

IP:

Sometimes the impression is that film festival always favors artistic films. Perhaps we
can change that impression if we pick GALAMAN and show that our festival canembrace local culture and diversity.

WALICZKY:

Usually I would agree with you and value personal message over everything else. For
these festivals, we should embrace something that is not seen in commercial films. But inthis case, the knowledge and professionalism of GALAMAN appears to have somethingheavier than Demon Kills.

KWONG:

So the Silver Award goes to GALAMAN, now we proceed to discuss the Special Mention
award.

WALICZKY:

I think it should go to “Demon Kills” since it nearly misses out on the Silver Award.

IP:

Do we have any other works worthy of consideration or other message that we would liketo send out?

LO:

What about Lying in the sky? The director can do better if we can give him someencouragement.

YU:

Perhaps we should look at the potential of the director. The director can do a better job
next time if we can give the director some encouragement.

IP:

It is a difficult decision. Lying in the sky can be done better in my view. But I think I willgo with Demon Kills since it is a more complete work.

YU:

I have no problem with that as well.

KWONG:

That concludes our discussion for this category. Gold Award goes to Within Within,
Silver Award goes to GALAMAN and Special Mention goes to Demon Kills.

Animation Category
Gold Award
Within Within
Sharon LIU
Silver AwardGALAMANLAU Kwun-yiu, Johnee
Special Mention
Demon Kills
MAK Ying-ping