Film selection for Cartoons Underground 2021
13 works are selected from 1,119 entries submitted from 83 different countries. 5 student films from LASALLE College of the Arts and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), will compete for the Best Singapore Student Animation award.
'This year's student directors challenged longer narratives,' says Tan Wei Keong, Programme Director of Cartoons Underground. He mentions the documentary film 'Full Circle' by Yeow Su Xian, that has a runtime of almost 10 minutes. 'Most times, audiences prefer a short and concise story, but in this case, its film length worked extremely well in observing the beautiful relationship between the Moon and the Earth.'
Celebrating the 10th anniversary at Cartoons Underground, the 'Best Of' selection consists of 5 films that our audiences had loved over the last decade.
Awardees
Best Animation
The Visit
Morrie Tan (Singapore)
Jury Statement:
An emotionally moving and poignant film that conveys a heartfelt story beautifully told through its intricate textures, nuanced animation and meaningful editing.
Best Singapore Student Animation
Full Circle
Yeow Su Xian (Singapore)
Jury Statement:
A mesmerizing film that combines poetry, documentary, philosophy into a beautiful, maturely written piece that deserves multiple viewings.
Special Mention
Don't Think About Her
Liza Desyatkova (Canada)
Jury Statement:
A strong and comedic film that brings us along an delightfully entertaining journey with a strong visual style and fresh comedic storytelling.
Special Mention
A Fish For A Friend
Javon Chan Yi Da (Singapore)
Jury Statement:
Well-executed and outstanding animation and production design that captured hearts through its clear storytelling and adorable characters.
Audience Choice
The Visit
Morrie Tan (Singapore)
Audience Choice
Tankboy
Novella Lian (Singapore)
COMPETITION JURY
Song Siqi
Siqi Song is an Oscar-Nominated animation director from China. Her films have screened internationally at many festivals including Sundance, SXSW, Annecy, Ottawa, and more. Song studied Experimental Animation at the California Institute of the Arts and China Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Kyle BALDA
Kyle Balda is a Bafta-nominated feature animation director working in the animation industry for 30 years, most notably with Illumination Entertainment and Pixar Animation Studios. He worked as an animator at Pixar on 'A Bug's Life', 'Monsters Inc' and as directing animator of 'Toy Story 2'. Balda was the head of layout for Illumination’s 'Despicable Me' followed by a co-directing position on 'The Lorax' and directing roles (with directing partner Pierre Coffin) on 'Minions' and 'Despicable Me 3'. Balda’s latest film is 'Minions: The Rise of Gru' set to release in the Summer of 2022.
LIM Jia Ying
Lim Jia Ying is a Malaysian illustrator and animator based in Singapore and graduated from NAFA with a Diploma in Illustration Design with Animation. Her graduation film ‘Watermelon Please’ won Singapore Best Student Animation at Cartoons Underground in 2020. It has screened at festivals including Singapore International Film Festival and Monstra Lisbon Animation Festival. Jia Ying is inspired by daily life and searches for meaning in the mundane through her work. She is passionate in experimenting visual styles of storytelling in film and hopes to create more work related to her culture.
Eric KHOO
Award-winning filmmaker and Cultural Medallion recipient Eric Khoo who helms Zhao Wei Films has been credited for reviving the Singapore film industry and for putting Singapore onto the International film map in 1995. 'Be With Me' opened the Directors Fortnight in Cannes 2005 and 'My Magic' his fourth feature was nominated for the Cannes Palme d’Or in 2008. His first animated feature 'Tatsumi' was invited to the 64th Cannes Film Festival. In 2012 Khoo headed the juries at Asian Film Awards, Rotterdam International Film Festival and in 2013 the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival. He was invited to be on the official Cannes, short film competition jury in 2017.
International Competition 1
Super Human
drawn undrew draw
Angel Wu (Taiwan)
Synopsis:
Q1: Why did you draw?
Q2: How did you begin to draw?
Q3: Why did you stop drawing?
Q4: How did you go back to draw?
Q5: Will you draw on?
Biography:
A drawER, who graduated from Taipei National University of the Arts in 2020. “drawn undrew draw” is her very first time doing drawing during her college life, she was trying to be a drawER. Her works have been selected for Annecy International Animation Film Festival and World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb.
The 7 Kids
Marina Karpova (Russia)
Synopsis:
The funny trick story based on "The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats" fairytale.
Biography:
Born in 1972 in Minsk, Belarus.
1992-1997: Studied at the Belorussian Academy of Arts, major: Animated Film Directing (thesis film “White Fang”).
2001-2011: Wrote and Directed over 40 commercials and several television shorts and music videos.
2011: Animation Instructor at European Humanities University in Vilnius, Lithuania.
2005-2013: Director, screenwriter and art director at the “Big Animation Studio Pilot” in Moscow.
2014-2019: Director and screenwriter at Soyuzmultfilm Animation Studio.
Alona
Kea Xie (UK)
Synopsis:
There is only a little boy on the planet, Alona, a lonely planet full of aurora.
Biography:
Kea Xie (Yichia Hsieh) is a Taiwanese animator currently based in London. She has intelligent observation and narrative ability. She has a high quality of rhythmic sense for mastering motion images. This makes her work have a broad vision and borderless creativity when transforming abstract meaning into visual symbols. Skilled in After Effects, TV Paint, Animation, Motion Graphic and Character design.
DON'T THINK ABOUT HER
Liza Desyatkova (Canada)
Synopsis:
The spiraling journey of man who can’t stop thinking about his ex-girlfriend.
Biography:
Liza Desya is an artist who experiments with different styles, technologies and absurd humour. You can expect her to always bring the unexpected to every project she works on. Currently residing in Vancouver, she works professionally as a Technical Director for an animation studio.
International Competition 2
Impossible Dreams
DING (Thing)
Malte Stein (Germany)
Synopsis:
Haunted by a lithe thing, a man gets driven to the edge.
Biography:
Born 1981
2007-2013: Studies of Animation in University of Film and Television "Konrad Wolf" Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany
2005-2006: Studies of Filmscenario and Dramaturgy in filmschool "Filmarche" Berlin
The Visit
Morrie Tan (Singapore)
Synopsis:
A young girl visits her father in prison. The glass in-between would never separate them anyways.
Biography:
Director/Writer Morrie Tan (b. 1994) graduated with a BA (Hons) in Animation Art from LASALLE College of the Arts in 2019. She has a passion for creating and producing stories that are genuine, often drawing inspiration from her own experiences. “The Visit” is her directorial debut, and a story that is close to her heart. Her film was awarded 'Best Animation' and 'Best Art Direction' at National Youth Film Awards 2021 (Open Youth Category), and has been selected for various international film festivals such as Encounters Film Festival and Taichung International Animation Festival.
manman
Chia Wei Lin (Taiwan)
Synopsis:
The bug terrarium was knocked over.
Biography:
21 year-old female. Born in Taiwan. Major in animation at Taipei National University of the Arts.
I Wish
Nadia Goldman (Russia)
Synopsis:
Marina really wants to sleep, but it's not that simple.
Biography:
1992, Moscow. VGIK Olschwang workshop "BALL"
Singapore Student Competition
Young Ones
Boyz Will Be Boyz
Nur Abdul Rashid and Christabelle Chi (Singapore)
Synopsis:
The school studs, aka. Xiao Ming and his gang of brutes, disrupt a peaceful school afternoon by wreaking havoc and chaos in the classroom.
Biography:
Hello! My name is Nur Abdul Rashid. I am an undergraduate bachelors student from Lasalle College of the Arts. I specialise in 2D animation and digital painting, incorporating elements from my childhood into my art. My hobbies include filmmaking, storywriting and making fan art of films and musicians. I wish to contribute my skills as an animator/illustrator in a team and to get some work experience in my field of study.
A Fish For A Friend
Javon Chan Yi Da (Singapore)
Synopsis:
A boy is fishing at a lake with his father. He tosses a fish over to a bear cub struggling to catch its own, then it keeps coming back for more...
Biography:
Javon is an illustrator and animator based in Singapore. He enjoys using vibrant colours and strong dynamic lighting to bring his characters and scenes to life. His works are mostly inspired by the vast world of nature, as well as animals, especially small fluffy animals, actually, just small fluffy animals.
You Were Like The Moon
Eiris Lu (Singapore)
Synopsis:
A poetic recount of a nameless girl's experience with grief and loss as she come to terms with the passing of her mother, to her mother.
Biography:
Eiris is a fresh graduate from Lasalle College of the Arts who chose animation as a medium to tell stories. Having a great interest in the human psyche, she loves to observe the world around her to gain an understanding on why things are as they are. She aspire to create films that tackle difficult topics in an honest but gentle way that can resonate with people, no matter who you are.
Tankboy
Novella Lian (Singapore)
Synopsis:
When Kevin’s tears become never-ending, he decides to put a tank on his head.
Biography:
Novella is an Indonesian filmmaker, animator and illustrator. She loves to make cartoons that explore human emotions, empathy, and magic. In the future, she wishes to make films in her cozy home-studio.
Full Circle
Su Xian Yeow (Singapore)
Synopsis:
The Moon and Earth’s relationship encountered through a sleepless night. Stories of 20 experts and enthusiasts in the field construct the narrative.
Biography:
Yeow Su Xian (Shu) is an illustrator and designer from Singapore who works in various traditional and digital media. Her animations are often passion projects that extend from her still drawings and personal interests. She absolutely loves cats.
Best Of 10 years Cartoons Underground
Retrospective
A Brief History of Time
Davier Yoon and Joshua Tan (Singapore)
Synopsis:
A modern take on Zbigniew Rybczyński’s “Tango”.
Biography:
Way back in 2013, CraveFX was created to realise a dream of creating vibrant animated videos with memorable, entertaining characters. Today, that same dream is shared across talented, versatile teams in two cities and remains as lucid as ever. Crave’s passion for quality motion has spurred the studio’s exploration into diverse mediums like motion graphics, visual effects, and most recently - interactives in the online space. The studio approaches each new project with a mindset of play, learning and exploration, and is always looking out for the next great story to tell.
NightHawke
Spela Cadez (Slovenia)
Synopsis:
A badger lies motionless on a local road. A police patrol approaches the body in the dark. They soon realize that the animal is not dead; the badger is dead drunk! When the police attempt to drag the creature off the road, he wakes up and things take a strange turn.
Biography:
Spela Cadez was born in Slovenia 1977. After graduating in Graphic Design in 2002, she continued her studies at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, Germany. During her studies she made two puppet animations that gained international recognition: “Mate to Measure” (2004) and “Lovesick” (2007). Since 2008 Spela Cadez has been working as an independent animation director and producer. Her previous film “Boles” has been screened worldwide, receiving 50 awards, distinctions and nominations.
A Fly in the Restaurant
Chen Xi (China)
Synopsis:
In a restaurant in China, the waiter tries to swat flies while a number of diners eat their food.
Biography:
Chen Xi once worked as a TV animation director and an independent director. He is currently a lecturer in Beijing Film Academy. In 2010, he is awarded the Special International Jury Prize in Hiroshima International Animation Festival. He is the international jury member of NCAIAF 2016.
Awesome Beetle's Colours
Indra Sproge (Latvia)
Synopsis:
Awesome Beetles Color Dirty Elephant. Five Gorgeous Hippopotamuses Inspire the Jaguar. Kangaroos Like Marmalade. Naughty Octopuses Photograph the Queen. The Royal Spider Teaches an Unhappy Vampire. Warriors X-ray a Yellow Zebra.
Biography:
Indra Sproge writes, illustrates and directs her works like “Teach me, Rhinobear” and “Awesome Beetle’s Colors”.
The Growth
Sarah Cheok (Singapore)
Synopsis:
An ambitious young boy is eager to grow up so he can experience the world outside of his kelong in the middle of the ocean. Eventually, he musters up the courage to persuade the old man but was faced with disapproval. Being young and ambitious, the boy decides to go anyway.
Biography:
Sarah Cheok is an animation filmmaker who is passionate about all things animation. She loves designing and creating imaginary worlds while constantly striving for more opportunities to learn and experiment with the art form. Sarah is a graduate of the BA (Hons) Animation Art programme at LASALLE College of the Arts. Her film The Growth has been showcased locally at Cartoons Underground and Digicon6, winning the Best Singapore Student Animation, and the Next Generation Award respectively. The Growth has also been screened at various international festivals including Indie-AniFest, International Animation Film Festival of Catalonia, and the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film. Sarah is currently art directing an upcoming animated series with Finding Pictures.
Viewing Advisory
International Competition 1: Super Human | 18 mins | General
International Competition 2: Impossible Dreams | 21 mins | General
Singapore Student Animation: Young Ones | 33 mins | General
Best of 10 Years: Retrospective | 28 mins | General
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