Animation Lockdown: FLASHBACKS Edition Awards!

A look at the films that gave us genuine Flashbacks to the wonderful years of Lockdowns, all made throughout the May Long weekend this year.

Image of four Hamish D. Rats as the Beatles. 
Text reads: June 29, 2024 5-9pm
Quickdraw 40th Anniversary

Lockdown Screening

On June 29th as a part of the Quickdraw Animation Society's 40th Anniversary Reunion event, we also screened the results of the 17th annual Animation Lockdown: Flashbacks Edition and handed out the awards! The key involved being able to make a film that included the theme (flashbacks), some chosen audio from Quickdraw members past, and flashback-inducing animation and editing effects such as a morph and a J-cut.

Take a look at who won! We're always so proud to be a part of such an amazing community, including 20 of the participants who stayed overnight on the third day, you are all insane!

Message from the Jury:
Wow! Did we ever have a blast watching these vibrant, authentic, BONKERS shorts. The whole collection absolutely oozes everything that’s kept the QAS spirit alive and well for 40 years: teamwork, chaos, heart, artistry, humour, raunch, energy, diversity, personality, risk, elbow grease and, of course, close-quarters nerd sweat. The Lockdown pressure cooker yielded some deliberate, well-directed results, and we’re so happy to have been invited to judge this year’s awards. Well done to all!

By Keltie Duncan on behalf of the 2024 QAS Animation Lockdown Jury

JURY SPECIAL AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING FILM + AUDIENCE CHOICE WINNER

instagram post of the Lockdown 2024 Jury special award for outstanding film and Audience Choice winner, Loo and Behold by Team Broskis.

Team Broskis: Barbara Peters, Nina Patafi, Vinson Chan, Len Kurosaki. @bpeters_art @ninapatafi @heckinweens @lenmenade

Congratulations to the team behind Loo and Behold for winning the Jury Special Award for Outstanding Film! This chaotically beautiful and hilarious film embodies the spirit of Quickdraw Animation Society. The film had exceptional sound mixing and effects that enhanced the experience. The collaboration among the creators is evident, with stellar vocal performances and a memorable payoff and mic drop ending.

By Guillermo Barraza on behalf of the 2024 QAS Animation Lockdown Jury

DAVE RATZLAFF BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM AWARD (SPONSORED BY CAOS)

Instagram post of The Lockdown 2024 Dave Ratzlaff Best Experimental Film Award (Sponsored by CAOS) - Whelm Over/Under by Carla Pelkey

In his time, Dave Ratzlaff was the backbone of experimental animation at Quickdraw. He was a mainstay at the space who worked diligently to keep every weird and wacky tool prepped and ready for the next new idea. He was at once the ultimate collaborator, contributing all kinds of skills to a long list of friends’ projects, and also a lone wolf, working privately on his own cameraless practice. He was unassumingly quiet; a kind, funny, creative, supportive and gentle guy whose films betrayed a bold artist deeply in love with the process of animating, and one who valued experimentation as a key cornerstone of Canadian animation.

The film that best encapsulated the Dave of it all is also gentle, artful, resourceful, tactile, cohesive and unapologetically experimental in form. Weaving many techniques seamlessly together with its soundtrack, our pick for the Dave Ratzlaff Best Experimental Film Award is Whelm OverUnder by Carla Pelkey.

By Keltie Duncan on behalf of the 2024 QAS Animation Lockdown Jury

JURY BEST USE OF TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AWARD

Instagram post of Lockdown 2024 Jury best Use of technical requirements - Final Girl by Team Grease Pencil

Team Grease Pencil: Toby Duska and Gabi Norcross

Stop motion animation is a technical feat under even the most generous of circumstances, so to create a complete stop-mo short in less than 48 hours is deserving of some recognition. With its fantastic production value, successful use of multiple techniques, killer morph, disgusting gore factor and, of course, a knitting puppet (!), we are pleased to award Final Girl the Best Use of Technical Requirements Award.

By Keltie Duncan on behalf of the 2024 QAS Animation Lockdown Jury

JURY SPECIAL MENTION + AUDIENCE CHOICE RUNNER UP

Instagram post of Lockdown 2024 Jury Special Mention + Audience Choice Runner up - Goblinheritance by Tyler Klein Longmire

Tyler Klein Longmire (@tklongmire )

Kudos to Tyler Klein Longmire for Goblinheritance, awarded the Jury Special Mention! This sophisticated film, with its clever use of found objects and references to fantasy games, stands out as festival-ready and certainly the most personal story. The narration and script are top-notch, creating a reality that pulls the audience in and holds them there with the heartfelt narrative. We believe this film deserves further support to bring its full vision to life!

By Guillermo Barraza on behalf of the 2024 QAS Animation Lockdown Jury @we.are.homegrown

JURY SPECIAL MENTION

instagram post of Lockdown 2024 Jury Special Mention - Breathless by Richie Nguyen

by Richie Nguyen (@richienguyen98 )

We also want to acknowledge Breathless by Richie Nguyen for its successful use of the morph criteria, and for the powerful narrative it achieved with a few simple but effective drawings. Richie got the absolute most out of the short timeframe, creating an expertly balanced mix of realistic and abstract imagery that came together to convey a strong inner struggle against fear and anxiety.

By Keltie Duncan on behalf of the 2024 QAS Animation Lockdown Jury

And new to the Lockdown Awards...

KING REDCASTLE Will Walton Award: 

The film that reflects the artists view of reality with a strange and strong use of colour. Dark and dry humour is expected. The animation should include at least ONE of the following: 
long neck

distorted arms and legs

a creature that has no reference to reality

a striped shirt

expressive eyes

a banana

Really big teeth, feet, or nose

A slug

AWARDED TO:

Instagram Post for Lockdown 2024 King Redcastle Will Walton Award and Audience Special Mention - Rear Ended by Team Wega Boyz

Team Wega Boyz: Dylon Klemen-Hurrell, Hartley Fiala, Trevor Mac @uniteddivisions @thyhartleyfiala @trevormacxx

Congratulations to the creators of Rear Ended for winning the King Redcastle - Will Walton Award! This darkly humorous film was nuanced and layered with satire but with a heaping spoonful of personality. A great use of shifting from simple to hyper-detailed animation, reminiscent of Ren and Stimpy, it achieves a lot within its short timeframe.

By Guillermo Barraza on behalf of the 2024 QAS Animation Lockdown Jury @we.are.homegrown

Lockdown 2024 awards jury - Brandon Blommaert, Keltie Duncan and Guillermo Barraza

Congratulations to all of the winners, we can't wait to see what the next 40 years will bring to the animation studios of Quickdraw!