19 February 2010

Happy Duckling to discover BAFTA fate

A team of animators, who formed whilst studying at the universities of Dundee and Abertay, face an anxious wait to find out whether they have won one of the UK’s most prestigious film awards.

‘The Happy Duckling’, a nine-minute film created using a unique and innovative 'pop-up book' style, is one of the nominees for the Short Animation prize at the 2010 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards.

The enchanting short animation has already picked up several gongs, including Best Animation at the BAFTA Scotland Awards and the team behind The Happy Duckling, led by Israeli animator Gili Dolev, will be hoping to continue their run of success when they attend the glittering red carpet ceremony at London’s Royal Opera House on Sunday, February 21st

The film stars a young boy and a very unordinary duck, who learn that sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. It was written and directed by Gili, 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 on the film.

Gili, a renowned animator and director with several credits and awards to his name, said the team faced incredibly stiff competition in the guise of ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘Mother of Mary’, the other films competing for the Short Animation BAFTA. However, he added that everyone involved in the film was simply delighted to be nominated.

'It's a privilege to be nominated alongside such great films, and The Grufflo is my four-year-old’s favourite book at the moment,' he said. 'Nomination in itself is the real reward and we're thrilled.

'The students, now graduates, who worked on the film had done a terrific job and have already settled confidently into the animation industry in the UK and abroad. With such a promising start to their careers, I'm sure we'll see great things from them in the future.

'This is an absolutely tremendous honour for all of us on the team as there are only a few awards around the world of this magnitude, and I'm completely over the moon.

'I’d like to thank the fantastic and talented people who made this project a reality, DJCAD and Abertay University for their support, and everyone else who supported us along the way.'

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 was flying back to the UK for the BAFTA ceremony, and said he was looking forward to be reunited with the team he put together.

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 the 2008 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
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University of Dundee
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