The Animation Pimp

So, to get to this question before it’s asked. Why is the OIAF not showing Suzie Templeton’s new (acclaimed) film, Peter and The Wolf? It’s interesting that you should ask because the film was submitted by it’s distributor/co-producer Breakthru films in England. The film was viewed, selected and programmed for festival competition. The letter confirming the film’s acceptance was sent to Breakthru Films (the entrant).

That’s when things got strange.

We were told that in 2007 they were only doing orchestral screenings for a price of between 5,000-10,000 pounds (which is, I dunno, between 10-20k in canadian dollars). Festival screenings we were told wouldnt begin until 2008.

Well, this is a bit of a surprise because not only had I just seen the film at Annecy but the producers had completed the entry form, signed the rules and sent Peter and the Wolf to Ottawa.

When we mentioned this they eventually determined that they had indeed submitted the film, but apparently it was the mistake of a temp employee. Because of this, they were willing to offer us a one time deal. They’d let us show the film for a discounted rate of 500euros.
500euros is about 600-700 Canadian dollars. That’s a pretty sizeable chunk of change for a short film rental. Now, we do pay artist fees (among other perks), but nowhere near this kind of money. So, you know, it’s an excessive amount of money and really, would it be fair to other competitors if we said, sure, we’ll give you this wad of green? No, no it wouldnt (Hey, i’d love to give animators that kind of green all the time…but t’aint possible).

In the end, we couldn’t find common ground and that’s why you won’t be seeing Peter and The Wolf at the OIAF this year or next year (it will be ineligible because it’s been submitted this year).

I don’t think anyone is really to blame, but I do think it’s important that people know that we did accept the film for competition.

A shame really - for everyone.

Chris Robinson