The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) held its Best of Ottawa 2024 screening and award ceremony in September, where CalArts alums Ofre Sparrow Vaknin (Film/Video BFA 24) and Sean Buckelew (Film/Video MFA 14) were honored with awards in the Teen Audiences and Best Series categories, respectively.
Vaknin’s CalArts thesis film “Girls in Real Life Situations” won the festival’s award for Teen Audiences (13+). In May 2024, the film premiered at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles during the CalArts Producers’ show, and has received nominations from a half-dozen festivals internationally. The film follows three middle school girls and their absurd quest for domination over the playground social hierarchy; it showcases Vankin’s fun and distinctive voice as a 2D animator and story artist. Post-graduation, Vaknin is continuing their work in the Story & Development department at Illumination studios.
Buckelew’s Best Series win for Scavenger’s Reign (Netflix), which he co-produced, has received recognition since its release in October 2023 for pushing boundaries in visual development in animation. At the 51st Annie Awards held earlier this year, the series earned two wins and five nominations, including a nomination for Bucklew for Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television/Media Production for his work on season 1, episode 12: “The Reunion.” The OIAF award marks Buckelew’s second from the festival. In 2022, his 15-minute short film Drone won a craft prize for Best Script.
The Best of Ottawa 2024 award ceremony was one of several events held during the five-day celebration of animation, screening films selected by the Ottawa Animation Festival programming team from more than 2,000 submissions.
Started by the Canadian Film Institute in 1976, OIAF has become the largest and longest running animation festival in North America. The half-dozen jurors are chosen by the festival’s board members from all areas of the animation community across the world. “We strive to find a good mix of diverse voices, cultures and tastes to ensure that jury deliberations are lively and balanced,” said OIAF Artistic Director Chris Robinson.
—Audrey Tucker
