9 November 2009

Happy Duckling scoops BAFTA

'The Happy Duckling', an enchanting animation short produced by students from the universities of Dundee and Abertay, last night scooped a prestigious BAFTA Scotland Award.

The nine-minute film which, in a unique and innovative 'pop-up book' style shows a young boy and a very unordinary duck learning that sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind won the Best Animation prize at the glittering ceremony at Glasgow Science Centre.

The film was written and directed by Israeli animator Gili Dolev, who studied and taught at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, part of the University of Dundee.

He approached animation students at both universities with the idea of involving them in the project at the beginning of the 2007/08 term. Eight students became involved in the project, which required them to give up much of their free time to work alongside Gili, a renowned animator and director with several credits and awards to his name.

Gili (35) has now returned to Israel with his wife and child and works as a Content Development manager with Primus Design and Animation. He made the trip back to Scotland for last night’s ceremony and said he was 'absolutely delighted' with the award.

'This is a wonderful honour, and I's like to thank everyone who helped make this film,' he said. 'The students really deserve a huge amount of credit. It was great to work alongside them, and their enthusiasm for the project was fantastic.'

'For them, it was their first experience of working on a real film project and they proved incredibly hard-working and dedicated, working way beyond the end of the semester when their peers were enjoying their summer holidays.'

The Happy Duckling has already been shown in almost 50 countries worldwide, and won several awards at film festivals around the globe.

Production of the film took place at Duncan of Jordanstone’s media labs and Abertay's White Space studios, and the film premiered at Dundee Contemporary Arts during last year’s Discovery Film Festival for children and young people. It proved an instant hit with both children and adults.

The animated adventure follows the antics of a young boy who finds himself the reluctant travelling companion of a relentlessly happy duck. Despite his best efforts to shake the duck off, it trails him all the way through the delightful and surprising pop-up book world where anything can, and does happen.

The film's original score was provided by Dundee-born composer Mick Cooke of Belle and Sebastian.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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