Bangalore based Anirights Infomedia’s animated short film, The Bad Egg has been selected by the jury of Japanese animation experts as the official Indian entry for DIGICON 6+2. The finals are to be held in Tokyo on July 22.
‘War’ created by Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics received the 2nd position while Chunilal created by Famous Studios for BBC India came in 3rd. NID’s sand animated film Quen Engana No Gana came 4th.
Organized by Japan’s National Broadcaster ‘Tokyo Broadcasting System’ and currently in its eighth edition, DIGICON 6 is one of the premier Digital Content and CG Festivals in Asia. The festival has received a total of over 1000 entries with participation from countries including China, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, India and Japan.
The huge amount of entries (195) that Indian supporter Indiantelevision.com and media partner Animation Xpress.com collected from India for DIGICON 6+2 made selection a really tough task for the jury, quite a few of the films were really good.
Speaking to Animation Xpress.com, Yoshihiro Kasahara, Tokyo Broadcasting System Vice President -Center for Media Development remarked, “We are really impressed to see the creative work and hope that DIGICON 6+2 will contribute to strengthen the mutual relationship between Asian countries as well as in the development of the Asian content market”
Commenting on the Indian entries,DIGICON 6 director Yasuhiro Yamaguchi quipped, “Believe me, choosing the winning entries was really tough!” adding, ” The quality of the entries was very astonishing and some of the entries were representative of the rich Indian culture which appealed to us and we believe that they will appeal to the Asian community”
“The production quality levels were very high and we see a bright future for the Indian digital content industry which we would like to continue to encourage. We see our initiatives in India only growing in the coming years and hope that DIGICON 6+2 is a good starting point for the coming together of the entire Asian digital content industry” he further added.
There is a bounty of prizes for the winners. As the production studio of The Bad Egg Anirights will also receive a cash prize of Rs 20,000. What’s more is that the studio’s CEO Ashish Kulkarni is being flown to Tokyo (4 days, round air fare plus all expenses paid by TBS) to be part of the DIGICON 6+2 finals in Tokyo.
Kulkarni commented, “At Anirights, we wanted to take Flash animation to the next level. Our first short film had to exhibit not only our creative skills but also the technical skills, especially how we use the tools to their fullest and integrate the entire process with cost efficiency. This DIGICON 6 selection of “The Bad Egg” is very important for Anirights particularly at this point in time. At Anirights we always believed, if one has creative skills then one can make use of the technology to any extent”
Accompanying him at the finals will be The Bad Egg director Bala Rajasekar who is ecstatic at winning the India leg of the competition.
There is a chance that The Bad Egg might win further honor as it shares screen with some of the finest short films from all across Asia.
The DIGICON 6+2 bounty further includes cash prizes of Rs 10,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,000 for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th entry respectively.
Besides the four winning entries, DIGICON 6 has selected an additional 10 entries, each of which shall be awarded a certificate of merit.
They are
Crime time – the bank robbery by Future Thought
Trade by 2nz
Chakachak by Animagic
In the air by Epiphany Films
Ark The last sunrise at Konark by Ashwini Satpathy (NID)
Amaron Pandu Mangal by Vaibhav Studios
Diamonds are forever by Famous House of Animation
Canvas by Divyesh Lad
Haptics by Future Thought
Mukand & Riyaz by Nina Sabnani (NID)
Lavishing praise on the entries, DIGICON 6 Deputy Editor-in-Chief Takafumi Yuki remarked, “What’s most interesting is the way in which one can immediately relate to the themes and storylines of the short films and at the same time enjoy the uniquely Indian art and design”
Following is a Synopsis of the top four Indian entries for DIGICON 6+2
The Bad Egg – 1st Prize (Produced by Anirights)
The Bad Egg’ is the story of a newly hatched chick that is welcomed into his family with great warmth. However the chick is greedy and insecure. To avoid sharing his worm, he kills both his siblings, one of which is as yet unhatched. Eventually his mother too is shot down by hunters… This leaves the chick alone to fight hunger and to face danger…. A consequence of his own Actions….
Message: The more you grab, the more you lose. Try sharing instead.
War – 2nd
(Produced by MAAC)
A rock band stages a show in a fictional war torn land that has most of the world in it. A battle is in progress as they perform an anti war song complete with slogans. The soldiers at first are not very happy about the nature of the show that seems to be pointing directly at them. Realization dawns upon them and they give up their weapons, thus ensuring themselves a place in heaven.
Message: If the answer is War, you are asking the wrong question.
Amit Gupta, from MAAC who directed the short film War which was selected as the runner up remarked, “All over the world, there is a notion about “Human Cry”. No country supports Terrorism but Terrorism itself is supported by evil politics. To wake them up and to support the cause of humanity worldwide this animated short film has been created. Coming second in the Digicon India leg is a great thing for us”
Chunilal – 3rd
(Created by Famous House of Animation for BBC India)
Created by Famous House of Animation for BBC India, the objective of the Chunilal film is to increase awareness and to work as a reminder for safe, protected sex as the best deterrent against HIV AIDS. The audience was the middle/lower middle class in the suburbs and hinterland of India.
The humor laced stop motion animated film is outstanding for its art & set design. It speaks to the target audience in a straight, bold language that the audience understands and appreciates. The characters and the environment (house, street) are modeled on the target audience and the surroundings and sights that they are completely familiar and comfortable with. (like the layout, structure and colors of the house, the looks for the characters and their clothes)
Famous Animation’s E Suresh commented, “One’s work getting recognized is always great. We have really worked hard on Chunilal and it has really been effective”
Quen Engana No Gana – 4th
(Produced by National Institute of Design, Ahemadbad)
The video clip with sand animation is a visual interpretation of a Spanish song, “QUEN ENGANA NO GANA” by Ojos De Brujo from the album- “Bari”. In this animation, the characters are shown- casing a strong beam of light, which depicts the materialistic desire of the people. With the help of elements like roads, trees, empty streets, walls, enclosed claustrophobic spaces, skeletons and dust, the animation tries to capture the central idea of the song, “He whoever cheats doesn’t win.”
Visually the use of sand suggests that eventually everything turns into sand dust and fades way.
“If Animation is an art form then aspiring students of same should explore the great animation artist across the globe those who contribute and contributing relentlessly to the kaleidoscope.this sand animation is a tribute to those mad animation folks all over the world. Of course for NID , Quen Engana No Gana winning recognition at DIGICON 6 is like yet another feather in our cap” remarked NID Animation Faculty Head Sekhar Mukerjee.
Saturday July 22 is going to be an exciting day for CG and Animation in Tokyo and while as the saying goes ‘May the best one win’ there are chances that Indian animation may have some more glory.
Will Bala Rajasekar repeat with The Bad Egg in Tokyo, what Gitanjali Rao achieved with Printed Rainbow at Cannes?
Stay tuned to Animation Xpress as we get the news to you live from Tokyo!