THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Some of the best known names in animation, including Ram Mohan, ‘the father of Indian animation,’ and Jean-Marie Olivier, the director of ‘Oggy and the Cockroaches’, will come to the capital city this week for the 2016 edition of Animation Masters Summit.
Organised by city-based Toonz Animation, the event - which also features the Flying Elephant Competition - will be held at Technopark on Friday and Saturday. The event is a continuation of ‘Week with the Masters,’ a programme launched by Toonz focusing on youngsters, Toonz Media Group CEO P Jayakumar said.
Big names attending the two-day event include Cedric Petitpas, manager, Content Partnership, Youtube, EMEA; Rajiv Chilaka, the creator of the immensely popular Chhota Bheem; Arnab Chaudhuri, the director of ‘Arjun, the Warrior Prince’; and Don Anderson, head of Youtube Kids, APAC. Ram Mohan, presently chairman and chief creative officer of Mumbai-based Graphiti Multimedia, will be honoured with a lifetime achievement award on the occasion.
The masters will lead panel discussions, workshops and discussions on modern trends in animation. Jean-Marie Olivier will talk about how the ever-harassed Oggy and the impish cockroaches became a household name across the globe. Animator and filmmaker Charuvi Agrawal will speak on the topic ‘Bridging the Gap Between Fine Art and Computer Graphics.’ Greg Harman, CEO, Mechanic Animation, will lead a session on ‘Engineering Digital Worlds.’ Production designer Sabu Cyril, whose best-known works include Yenthiran and Baahubali, will speak about his life as an art director.
Rajiv Chilaka, creator of Chhota Bheem, will speak on ‘Creating India’s Largest Kids’ Brand,’ and Arnab Chaudhuri and lead a session on ‘A Life in Moving Pictures.’ Petitpas of Youtube will speak on ‘Achieving Success on Youtube.’ Around 100 participants from all over India had participated in the prelims of ‘Flying Elephant’ animation contest, and 16 works have been short listed, Jayakumar said. The winners in four categories will be declared at the closing ceremony on Saturday, he said. The entry to the event is free. For registration, call 8138022016 or e-mail ams2016@animationsummit.in.