The Animate Materials project returned to the Ottawa International Animation Festival for a third time, joining a phenomenal lineup celebrating the festival’s 50th anniversary. After curating programs devoted to animating ink (2023) and fabric (2024), this year’s screening turned to the luminous world of pastel animation.

From the dusty brilliance of chalk pastels to the creamy textures of oil and wax pastels, the ten films in Pastel Dreams use the medium’s tactile responsiveness to transport viewers into dreamlike atmospheric realms. The program spans 75 years of pastel animation, from Norman McLaren’s pastel lullaby to the crayon-fuelled exuberance of contemporary independent work. I introduced the program with a brief public lecture at two screenings on Friday, September 25 and Saturday, September 26. Workshop collaborator Alisi Telengut was also in attendance, serving on the festival’s jury. Three current and former student research assistants also travelled to the festival to present work, meet animators whose work we’ve researched, and make professional connections.

TitleArtist(s)YearCountry of Origin
La poulette griseNorman McLaren1947Canada
L’uccello di fuocoGiulio Gianini & Emanuele Luzzati1981Italy
The FourfoldAlisi Telengut2020Canada
Surface DiveJoanna Priestley2000USA
Fruit FruitPeter Millard2013UK
FuriesSara Petty1977USA
HammamFlorence Miailhe1991France
My DadMarcus Armitage2014UK
In the Big Yard Inside the Teeny-Weeny PocketYoko Yuki2022Japan
Mond und TigerBärbel Neubauer1984Germany

With support from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) research-creation funding, Joanna Priestley’s Surface Dive was newly digitized, Bärbel Neubauer’s Mond und Tiger was newly digitized and restored, and Gianini and Luzzati’s L’uccello di fuoco was captioned in English for the first time.

My curatorial essay was published in the festival catalogue, and can be read in full here: “Pastel Dreams”.