Flickerpix all set to blow their own trumpet!

Not content with winning the Best Animated Short at FRAMES 2006, the FICCI BAF Awards convention that took place in Mumbai/Bombay March 22nd to 24th, and the Best Animation and Best Editing Awards at the inaugural European Independent Film Festival (held on March 25th & 26th in Paris), local company Flickerpix have had their production HORN OK PLEASE selected for the world's most prestigious animation festival, to be held in Annecy in south-eastern France.

Note: FICCI - Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
BAF - Best Animated Frames

HORN OK PLEASE is a 9 minute animated film depicting a frantic day in the life of a Bombay taxi driver and was financed by the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission (NIFTC) and the British Council.

This stop motion animation was shot in Northern Ireland and presents a unique creative collaboration between Belfast-based director Joel Simon (currently working on a new BBC NI animation series featuring Gerry Anderson) and three animators/designers from India.

You can catch HORN OK PLEASE at the Belfast Film Festival, this Saturday 1 April at 1pm (at the Warner Village Cinema), and later the same day at 8pm, HORN OK PLEASE will be screened in the Main Hall of the North Down and Ards College, Castle Park Road, Bangor. The film’s jazzy soundtrack will be performed live by a 15-piece ensemble conducted by the film’s composer Brian Irvine. This screening is a part of the BANG! 2006 festival.

Synopsis of HORN OK PLEASE

HORN OK PLEASE is the story of a momentous day in the life of a Bombay taxi driver named Karma. Karma’s dream is to earn enough rupees to buy his own taxi and be free of the hefty taxi rental fee he must pay every day. After collecting a multitude of curious fares, Karma’s dream is within reach…However, the exasperated passengers, the heat and the traffic are taking their toll. Karma, who relieves his stress by honking his horn, is showing signs of weakness. He begins to hallucinate at the wheel; his customers metamorphose into animals and his dream car appears to him in a vision. Just then, Karma’s taxi crashes into the back of a lorry bearing the sign HORN OK PLEASE. The fine and damage caused cost him almost all of his day’s earnings. With the few remaining rupees, he buys some sweets for his little friend Arun. Undeterred they wake up the next morning to pursue the dream once more.

Producer: Villi Ragnarsson

Director: Joel Simon

(Note: *HORN OK PLEASE gets its unusual title from a caption which traditionally adorns the back of buses and lorries in India.)

Annecy International Animated Film Festival (5 - 10 June)

Annecy is the number one international competitive animation festival and for over 45 years has showcased the very best of animated films. This year the festival runs from 5-10 June.

The competition is open to the following 5 categories for films using different animation techniques:
- short and feature films,
- commissioned films,
- TV films,
- graduation films,
- internet films.

The Festival also includes:

- film premieres,
- retrospectives,
- exhibitions,
- screenings from 10.30 am to 11 pm, in 6 theatres around the town,
- evening screenings by the lake on a giant screen.

This year the creativity and humour of Italian animation will be showcased.

The capacity to present and promote animation in all its different forms has made Annecy a world-wide point of reference for the animation industry.

http://www.annecy.org/home/

Fore more information about the MEDIA presence at Annecy, see the link