OTTAWA TEEN’S SHEEP SHORT WINS INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION PRIZE
CBC.ca
September 22, 2008 | 4:04 PM ET
Canada
Will Inrig produced the film for a class project at Canterbury
High School last spring. (CBC)A hometown boy beat out filmmakers
from around the world to take a prize at the Ottawa International
Animation Festival with a five-minute short about a man and his flock
of malevolent sheep.
The Depose of Bolskivoi Hovhannes, a narrative film about an Armenian
shepherd whose livestock turn against him, was judged best high school
film by a jury at the five-day festival that wrapped up Sunday.
The black-and-white, stop-motion animated short was created by Will
Inrig for a class project last spring at Canterbury High School.
Inrig said he didn’t expect to win, especially since his film was
up against an entry from a South Korean high school that specializes
in animation.
"I thought, ‘Certainly, they’re so polished — they’ve got to win,’"
he said. "So when they said my name I didn’t quite know … if I
should go up."
Inrig’s film was the only entry in the festival from Ottawa.
He said he can’t believe the film has received so much attention.
"Everybody starts talking about the symbolism of this little tiny
animation movie," he said. "People always assume it’s some sort of
political coup…. And it’s not."
Inrig, who has graduated since making the film, is now working at
the National Film Board on a documentary about autism