Director Claude Cloutier’s Sleeping Betty was named Best Animation at the 23rd Int’l Berlin Short Film Festival. Held Nov. 6-11 at the Interfilm Cinemas, the event saw a record number of film submissions and attendance as more than 13,000 people came out for screening, parties and special events. A total of 550 films from 55 countries were screened in 16 competition programs and 50 special programs on eight different screens.
Produced with the aid of the National Film Board of Canada, Sleeping Betty is crowd-pleasing 2D fairytale spoof that recently won the NFB Public Prize and the award for Best Canadian Animation at the Ottawa Int’l Festival of Animation. When the royal court has tried everything to wake a sleeping princess, a call is made to a prince-for-hire service, and Prince Charles himself is dispatched to deliver the rousing kiss. However, getting there proves to be quite the ordeal. There’s a scene where Charles’ horse mugs for the camera and starts show-boating, and that captures the entire spirit of this film. Cloutier tells a simple story that allows him to show off his talent for absurd humor, non-sequitors, extreme poses and expertly timed gags reminiscent of Monty Python with touches of Bill Plympton and early Warner Bros. cartoons.
The winning shorts were selected by an international jury and prizes totaling $66,000 were awarded at the end of the six-day fest. For a full list of winners and additional information on the 23rd Int’l Berlin Short Film Festival, go to www.interfilm.de/festival2007.
