Oscar winner and living legend Co Hoedeman presents his memoir about a life in animation.
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"When I first opened my eyes to the light on August 1st, 1940, the country of my birth was in the midst of war." The first lines of legendary animator Co Hoedeman's sprawling memoirs read like a war novel. And in many ways Hoedeman's life is about conquering it all, despite uncertainties. In Frame by Frame: An Animator's Journey the Dutch-Canadian master of puppet and stop-motion animation traces his own steps, all the way back to when he was born during the German occupation of the Netherlands. Surviving the Hunger Winter during WWII, leaving school at 15, taking courses when he could at the School of Fine Arts and learning the craft of (animation) film, experimenting with new techniques and materials, immigrating to Canada at the age of 25 with a film reel under his arm and a dream to work for the National Film Board of Canada's renowned animation unit, mastering stop-motion, studying puppet animation in Czechoslovakia, winning an Academy Award(!) for Best Animated Short, ... Co Hoedeman has seen and conquered it all.
Hoedeman will present his memoirs, published by At Bay Press, live via Zoom at Kaboom Animation Festival. We will discuss life and work with the myth himself. And you'll even get to see a few of the man's iconic shorts. Chances are that you'll go home thinking frame by frame about Hoedeman's journey as an animator.
During the cold winter of hunger in 1944-45 a mother and her daughter hide two Jewish girls in their house. There is little or nothing left to eat and the women look for ways to survive. They decide to unravel a woollen bedspread and knit socks from the wool, 55 in total. On her bicycle without tyres, the mother sets out to barter the socks for food. Oscar-winning director Co Hoedeman (Amsterdam, 1940) reached back into his childhood memories to make this beautiful, poetic film.
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A touching story of the friendship between a grandfather and his grandson, this is a film about aging and death. Award-winning animator Co Hoedeman combines 3-D and cut-out animation techniques to create a very dramatic and moving film. The story follows Charles and François through the different stages of their lives. With time, they become closer, common experiences having diminished the difference in age. By the end of the film, time appears to stand still; both are over one hundred years old and they are almost indistinguishable.
In this animated short, Ludovic the bear learns the meaning of friendship while evoking our memories of cherished childhood toys. Often left out of the winter fun because his parents deem him too young, Ludovic finally finds a playmate when a giant snowstorm strands a doll on his front lawn. He spends all his time with his new doll, which miraculously comes to life and provides him with the companionship he’d been longing for.
Using life-like seal fur puppets, this animated short by Co Hoedeman tells the traditional Inuit tale of the owl and the raven. Why did the raven’s feathers turn jet-black? And what did the owl have to do with it?
The plot of the film follows a humanoid sand person who creates living creatures from sand in a desert of some unknown location. He then initiates a plan: that they create a sand castle for them to reside in. With each other's help, the sand castle is eventually completed and the sand characters celebrate. The celebration is cut shortly when wind begins to blow and covers up the sand castle, with the sand characters retreating inside for safety. The viewer may possibly assume that, once the wind dies down, the characters would eventually resurface and start over again and that this cycle could continue endlessly.
The film was created with sand animation and sand-covered foam rubber puppets.
Kaboom Animation Festival is the one-stop-shop for the latest and greatest in all things animated. Ranging from cutting-edge experimental arthouse to colorful stories for families and kids, Kaboom will cater to the animation needs of all. Yes, even yours, my amazing weirdo friend!
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