Signed in Ink is a special programme I curated for the 2026 Kaboom Animation Festival in Amsterdam, in response to the festival’s theme of Human Touch. The programme presented eleven animated films that use ink to set words into motion. My introduction discussed ink’s ability to cross borders, slip beyond language, and remind us of the pleasures of writing.
Continue reading ““Signed in Ink” Screening and Talk at Kaboom 2026″
After years of giving interviews on animation-related journalism stories, I finally made it to primetime ☺️. I was recently featured on CBC News — The National broadcast (11-01-26) and online article — on the occasion of Toy Story‘s 30th anniversary. The story asks whether Pixar can recapture its early magic, and I weigh in on what made the studio’s first films so technically and culturally groundbreaking, how the barriers to entry in 3D animation have fundamentally shifted, and what that means for the future of the form. Read the story on CBC News.
Lotte Reiniger’s Adventures of Prince Achmed turns one hundred this year, and I was grateful to introduce this astonishing film at a special screening at VIFF (03-01-26). Musicians Gordon Grdina and Hamin Honari provided live musical accompaniment to a packed theatre. Honari, an Iranian percussionist now based in Montreal, spoke with feeling about the role of art in sustaining a common human spirit and imagination against the violence of war.
Continue reading “Public Talk: “Adventures of Prince Achmed” (1926)”
Organized in my current role as Chair of the ECU-Research Ethics Board, this event is a conversation with Dr. Charlotte Schallié, co-director of the Survivor-Centred Visual Narratives project. The conversation focuses on ethical considerations and protocols of arts-based research with trauma survivors. This hybrid event takes place 02-09-2026 at Emily Carr University (main Boardroom) and online
My review of the luscious exhibition Heart On: Joyce Wieland was published over the holidays in PUBLIC Journal online here. Below is a version of the review that includes my documentation of the exhibition.
Continue reading ““Ohhh, Canada… Joyce Wieland’s Erotic Citizenship” (exhibition review)”
I’m introducing this matinee screening of Walt Disney studio’s Fantasia (1940) at VIFF Theatre (Dec-14-2025) and moderating a post-screening discussion of the film. Looking forward to discussing this film in the context of Visual Music cinema, colour on screen, and feminized labour in the studio’s ink-and-paint department and animation at large .
Nic Sammond, founder of Rarebit Early Animation Wiki, invited me to curate this month’s issue of new entries. The spotlight theme is a celebration of direct animation innovator Len Lye, whose birthday is in July. Rarebit now has a biographical entry on Len Lye and an entry on his film 𝘒𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘦. The topical link of the month spotlights the Len Lye Centre, which is also celebrating its tenth anniversary this month. The chosen resource of the month is a catalogue for Zelluloid, a landmark 2010 exhibition devoted to cameraless film that preceded the recent wave of interest in celluloid film. All entries were cowritten with Beatrice Moldoveneau, an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto holding a work-study position with Rarebit.
I’m introducing this matinee screening of 𝘈𝘭𝘪: 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘌𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘭 (1974) at VIFF Vancity Theatre (June-15-2025) and moderating a post-screening discussion of the film. Looking forward to discussing its portrait of tenderness and human connection against a backdrop of social isolation and xenophobia. Since the screening takes place on Father’s Day, it’s fitting to acknowledge (a content warning, of sorts) its historic place in the German New Wave, popularized at the time under the slogan “Papa’s cinema is dead.” Tickets can be purchased here.
I presented this research-in-progress at the annual conference of the Film and Media Studies Association of Canada (FMSAC) at Queen’s University (May 28, 2025). My presentation discussed the adaptation of Inuit stories for contemporary animation, identifying the opportunities and challenges of interpreting oral storytelling through this media form.
Continue reading “Conference Paper: “Inuit Storytelling in Contemporary Animation””
Alla Gadassik: Media Scholar and Animation Curator 