Conversations with filmmakers selected to the festival.
Ewa Smyk’s award-winning film Homebird is a lovely story of a homesick woman who finds solace in her trip home. The film’s personal story is gorgeously brought to life with a painted style of animation that feel wholly traditional but actually mixes a variety of modern techniques to bring it to life.
In this conversation, writer and director Ewa discusses the film’s concept and shares some insights into how the project was made.
SPEAKER
Ewa Smyk
Director // Independent
(Homebird, The Deal)
Ewa is an animation director with a background in graphic design, book design and illustration, who likes to tell bitter-sweet stories that explore cultural identity and memory, using textured, analogue animation techniques.
Her short film, Homebird has been created entirely in a paint-on-cel technique, using thousands of marker pens, paint tubes and sheets of acetate.
MODERATOR
Marina Antunes
Festival Director, Film Critic, Podcaster // Spark CG Society
Marina joined the Spark Computer Graphics Society as Festival Director in 2014. Throughout her tenure, the festival has grown into Western Canada’s premiere animation festival, featuring a number of specialty programming including the “Made in Canada” program celebrating Canadian creators, “Mother of a Medium” featuring works from female filmmakers, and “Spotlight on France” which celebrates the best of French animation. In 2019, the SPARK ANIMATION FESTIVAL became Academy Award ® accredited, the only festival in British Columbia to hold that distinction.
Marina is also a writer and podcaster with over 15 years of experience, first on a personal blog followed by a decade-long tenure on the now-retired Row Three. In 2008 she joined the writing staff at Quiet Earth, becoming Editor-In-Chief in 2014, a role she still holds. Over the years, she has also produced and hosted a number of podcasts including Before the Dawn, a long-running podcast on the Twilight franchise, Girls on Pop, a podcast on film and popular entertainment from women’s perspective and After the Credits, bi-monthly film podcast with nearly 300 episodes.
Marina is a member of the Online Film Critics Society, Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and the Visual Effects Society is the President of the Vancouver SIGGRAPH chapter, and has served on juries for several film festivals including the DOXA, St. Louis International Film Festival, and the Whistler Film Festival.
Conversations with filmmakers selected to the festival.
Ewa Smyk’s award-winning film Homebird is a lovely story of a homesick woman who finds solace in her trip home. The film’s personal story is gorgeously brought to life with a painted style of animation that feel wholly traditional but actually mixes a variety of modern techniques to bring it to life.
In this conversation, writer and director Ewa discusses the film’s concept and shares some insights into how the project was made.
SPEAKER
Ewa Smyk
Director // Independent
(Homebird, The Deal)
Ewa is an animation director with a background in graphic design, book design and illustration, who likes to tell bitter-sweet stories that explore cultural identity and memory, using textured, analogue animation techniques.
Her short film, Homebird has been created entirely in a paint-on-cel technique, using thousands of marker pens, paint tubes and sheets of acetate.
MODERATOR
Marina Antunes
Festival Director, Film Critic, Podcaster // Spark CG Society
Marina joined the Spark Computer Graphics Society as Festival Director in 2014. Throughout her tenure, the festival has grown into Western Canada’s premiere animation festival, featuring a number of specialty programming including the “Made in Canada” program celebrating Canadian creators, “Mother of a Medium” featuring works from female filmmakers, and “Spotlight on France” which celebrates the best of French animation. In 2019, the SPARK ANIMATION FESTIVAL became Academy Award ® accredited, the only festival in British Columbia to hold that distinction.
Marina is also a writer and podcaster with over 15 years of experience, first on a personal blog followed by a decade-long tenure on the now-retired Row Three. In 2008 she joined the writing staff at Quiet Earth, becoming Editor-In-Chief in 2014, a role she still holds. Over the years, she has also produced and hosted a number of podcasts including Before the Dawn, a long-running podcast on the Twilight franchise, Girls on Pop, a podcast on film and popular entertainment from women’s perspective and After the Credits, bi-monthly film podcast with nearly 300 episodes.
Marina is a member of the Online Film Critics Society, Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and the Visual Effects Society is the President of the Vancouver SIGGRAPH chapter, and has served on juries for several film festivals including the DOXA, St. Louis International Film Festival, and the Whistler Film Festival.
