The Ottawa International Animation Festival unveils its 2024 poster designed by animator, filmmaker and musician, Lei Lei.

The Ottawa International Animation Festival unveils its 2024 poster designed by animator, filmmaker and musician, Lei Lei.͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 

The OIAF 2024 poster is a playful jaunt through animation

 The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) reveals its 2024 poster designed by Chinese experimental animator Lei Lei. This year’s poster is an ode to the wild creative process of an animator. Each year a different animator is selected to design the OIAF poster resulting in a unique piece of art that reflects that animator’s craft. 

“When I was a kid, I loved playing video games. I remember the Nintendo games of the 1990s, specifically two very popular games: Donkey Kong and Snow Bros. On the poster for the 2024 Ottawa International Animation Festival, the owl standing at the top of the poster replaces Donkey Kong. A young girl (possibly a filmmaker) must travel across the city to catch the owl, having many amazing experiences along the way,” says Lei Lei. “The cinema theatre will be the end of her journey, so take a seat on a comfortable couch and wait for the show.”

An experimental animation artist exploring the mediums of video arts, painting, installation and music, Lei Lei received his Master's Degree in Animation from Tsinghua University in 2009. In 2010, his short film This is LOVE was screened at the OIAF and won the award for Best Narrative Short.

“Lei Lei has a longstanding connection with the OIAF — we were among the first festivals to recognize his utterly original body of work,” says OIAF Artistic Director Chris Robinson. “Since then, Lei Lei has become a festival favourite, not just for his electric and upbeat films, but for his impromptu rap performances during the OIAF award ceremonies. Today his films remain as unique and popular as ever with OIAF audiences.” 
 

Robinson continues, “This year we brought Lei Lei on board as the poster and signal film creator. We are ecstatic with his artwork which displays the engaging and playful style we’ve come to love from this astonishing Chinese artist.”

Lei Lei’s OIAF design will join the works of past artists Matthew Rankin (2023), Angela Stempel and Amanda Bonaiuto (2021), Koji Yamamura (2012), Gary Panter (2005), and Dave Cooper (2001), among others.