Ottawa International Animation Festival’s love for independent film was on full display this year, not shying away from its taboo themes.
The annual Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) welcomed industry and independent artists, as well as eager fans, for five-days of screenings, workshops and festivities. From artist talks with Malcon Pierce, an animator and artistic director at Walt Disney Animation Studios, to the sold-out ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ sing-along screening and Q&A with the directors, OIAF is a staple event to enjoy, connect and celebrate animation in all of its forms.
Being my first year attending OIAF, the sheer amount of activities gave me ample opportunities to indulge myself in the wondrous world of the animation industry. However, what particularly interested me were the feature and short film competitions, screened at the Bytowne Theatre and Alma Duncan Salon at the Ottawa Art Gallery.
These competitions held multiple screenings of 54 short films and six feature films. A majority of those films were made by independent artists or independent production companies, resulting in an uptake of taboo and political motifs.
As of recent, adult animation has been incorporated in the mainstream, giving artists and storytellers alike the ability to portray complex themes for mature audiences. An example is Common Side Effect, an Adult Swim animated series, which also featured its first episode at OIAF, whose major themes revolve around the corruption found in the pharmaceutical industry. However, media centered around controversial topics are not a common occurrence, but rather exceptions.
Western entertainment studios, networks and streaming platforms prefer investing in ventures that guarantee a profit, meaning that the media in question should not delve into divisive themes, as they require a more nuanced approach in their consumption and have a tendency to polarize audiences, regardless of their importance.
Festivals such as OIAF allow independent artists or production companies to delve into sensitive topics head-on. This freedom leads to a burst of creativity, both narratively and visually, diversifying the industry with unique thematic perspectives. Animation at a “conceptual level,” according to The Politics of Animation and the Animation of Politics, allows the artist to blend “realism and distributed agency” to address societal concerns.
Historically, “animated propaganda and political cartoons” were an effective way of spreading information, as they combine universal non-verbal communication, like gestures and expressions, and display common life circumstances, to demonstrate to the audience the nuances within societal norms and to question the status quo. This is the case for the three following films: Death Does Not Exist, Decorado and Sixty-Seven Milliseconds.
Death Does Not Exist is a French animated feature directed by Félix Dufour-Laperrière. Through breathtaking dream-like visuals, blurring the lines between reality and fiction, the film centres on Hélène, as she is given a second chance to complete the plan of killing the “wealthy landowner” in their community or disregard her fallen comrades for a comfortable life within the status quo. Hélène questions the means of violence as a tool for social change in a capitalistic society. The exploration of a subject as taboo as this is improbable, as most individuals would not consider violence as a sane solution and would perceive it as deplorable. However, the use of animation allows audiences to engage with taboo topics and develop a nuanced and more informed opinion.
Decorado, a submission based on the short of the same name directed and co-written by Alberto Vazquez, is a Spanish feature film that heavily centres on existentialism and society’s responsibility in it. Through its anthropomorphized characters, Vazquez raises societal concerns such as the use of police brutality on citizens, the corruption of the government through lobbying, the effects of government surveillance and the origins of mental health, all wrapped in a neat ‘The Truman Show’-esque bow.
Decorado introduces these themes with no filter, using gore and crude humour to convey a satirical take on a capitalistic society. Although irony can be an effective way to criticize the status quo, their approach to irony teetered towards the mockery of the victims of a corrupt environment, as opposed to an informed commentary of said environment. Despite my personal grievances, films like Decorado are necessary to spark conversations about the intersections found within various social issues and their consequences.
Sixty-Seven Milliseconds is a bone-chilling animated short, “loosely inspired” by the case following the arrest of Ismael Halissat and two other journalists, directed by fleuryfontaine. Using a mix of detailed “computer-generated images” and security camera footage, the short recounts the movements of the main character, frame by frame, as he encounters and gets shot by police officers.
The animated short tackled issues found within the justice system, exploring themes of power imbalances between police officers and marginalized citizens, the ethics and efficacy of brutality to enforce justice and the use of surveillance for accountability. This film grabbed audiences with its haunting score and photorealistic animation and demonstrated the gravity of unchecked authority and its consequences on marginalized communities.
Independent films in the animation medium, such as these, are vital to our understanding of our human condition. It allows us to explore various themes that may be labelled as taboo and engage with them with nuance and respect. I appreciate the OIAF for the inclusion of numerous independent films and highly recommend people to attend their 50th edition in Sept. 2026.
