STEPHENVILLE, NL – For the very first time, first-year Digital Animation students from College of the North Atlantic (CNA) will have work showcased at the Kerry Film Festival in Ireland with their short film The Special.
The film, which runs nearly four minutes, was the collaborative work of the 2015-2016 Digital Animation class located at the college’s Bay St. George campus.
The Special tells the tale of two chefs and their disagreement over cooking styles in the kitchen.
Digital Animation instructor Jim Grace says while it is normal for second-year Digital Animation students’ work to be shown on an internationally recognized stage, this is the first time that an intersession film created by first-year students will be screened outside of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL).
“We generally send intersession projects to the Nickel Independent Film Festival,” Grace said, and is always happy about the screening opportunity. “For the past number of years, they have had a travelling show, so those intersession projects have been screened across the island; however, this is the first time one has gotten off the island.”
The work was submitted to the Kerry Film Festival by the Nickel Independent Film Festival. In addition to featuring national work, the Kerry festival brings exceptional short films to Ireland from around the world – and now CNA can be added to those ranks.
“What is interesting is this is first-year student work as opposed to a professional studio, and this was the students’ first attempt at animation,” Grace said. “Up to that point, they hadn’t really done 3D animation, so it’s kind of cool that our first-year student project wound up being screened at an international film festival.”
Ruth Lawrence, Nickel Independent Film Festival director, says they have sent a wide range of short films to the Kerry Film Festival over the past 12 years. She feels
The Special was a great fit to be screened alongside Nickel award winners
Crocuses by Wanda Nolan, and
Flight of the Fisherman by Lian Morrison. Jenina MacGillivray's
The Tour will also be part of other NL works to be screened on Thursday.
“We are so thrilled to include
The Special as one of the four Newfoundland and Labrador films we submitted in our ongoing film exchange with the Kerry Film Festival in Ireland,” Lawrence said. “Our relationship with CNA's Digital Animation program goes back many years. Our festival usually opens with their latest production, and this year we screened both
The Special and
Slice of Life. The films are always a hit with our Newfoundland and Labrador audiences, and we expect that the audience in Kerry will be delighted with the wit and humour that makes the CNA shorts so popular.”
To view
The Special, and how the chefs resolve their disagreement, visit https://vimeo.com/166843922.
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Media Contact:
Glenda McCarthy
Public Relations Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
709.643.6408
glenda.mccarthy@cna.nl.ca