Bangalore, its heart beating in time with the latest moves in the IT sector and a fast growing gaming industry, is quite definitely one of the country’s biggest animation hubs. “There are 1,500 animation professionals and over 6,000 students studying animation in the city,” says Aruna Kumar, vice president and zone head, Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC).
The growing number of animation enthusiasts in the city also makes it a potential magnet for international tie-ups and events like the Silver Salt Animation Festival (SSAF).
“Dreamworks Animation, known for producing animation movies like Shrek, Madagascar and the Bee Movie, has an Indian base in this city which is already working on Shrek 4,” says Kumar who adds that fests such as the SSAF will help in providing a more holistic picture of the animation industry to professionals and young enthusiasts in Bangalore.
The SSAF is designed to be as much a competition as it is an artist’s collective with short film entries from at least 25 countries. “SSAF is going to thrill the audience with a rich and wide range of content. There are entries from a small country like Latvia and from the city of Udupi in Karnataka, and we have received an overwhelming response of over 400 entries, which shows how much animation is loved and practised across the globe. It’s animation by everyone and for everyone,” says Jidnyesh Mhatre, founder and festival director, SSAF. But, sadly, the entries received from India make for a very small percentage in the collection. “At least 70% of the entries are from other countries. The Indian participation was not much, but whatever did come was brilliant. For instance, viewers should look forward to watching Samba Mamba by Vaibhav Studios,” says Anvita Thapliyal, festival director.
The festival will be showcasing at least 50 short films, out of which “the youngest entry is an award winning film Immersion Emergence made by 8-year-old students from UK. Along with this, the festival will showcase many multiple award-winning short films such as Joaquin Baldwin’s Papiroflexia and Sebastian’s Voodoo, which have won more than 90 awards. The one-day festival will also include two specialty workshops: How to make a Professional Animation Portfolio by Shri Ram Mohan’s Graphiti School of Animation (Mumbai) and Animation and Visual Effects Trends designed by Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics.
Organised by a bunch of media professionals, the SSAF will be held at Jawahar Bal Bhavan, Kasturba Road, Cubbon Park on March 14 between 10 am and 6 pm. While entry is free, registrations have to be made at www.silversaltanifest.com. Contact: 9833610037, 02265148450
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