Canadian Animation : Looking for a Place to Happen

In 2007, writer Chris Robinson travelled across Canada to meet with some of the country's leading independent animation filmmakers.

Along the way, Robinson muses about the animation art form in Canada and his own relationship to the scene and personalities, many of whom are friends and colleagues.

As he travels from place to place he carries along his own private (and sometimes not-so private) struggles with insomnia, depression, identity, cab drivers, hobos and nobos and the shocking murder of animator Helen Hill, whose life and work embody many of the themes that colour these conversations.

With the intimate detail of a diary, "Canadian Animation" weaves together history, memoir and dream into a mesmerizing and candid portrait of Canadian animation, art, doing, drifting and dying.

Lavishly illustrated, the book's cast includes award-winning animators Marv Newland ("Bambi Meets Godzilla"), Chris Landreth ("Ryan"), Chris Hinton ("Nibbles"), David Fine ("Bob and Margaret", "Ricky Sprocket"), Wendy Tilby ("When the Day Breaks"), Anne-Marie Fleming, Torill Kove ("The Danish Poet"), Claude Cloutier ("Sleeping Betty"), Janet Perlman ("Why Me?") and, many more. Chris Robinson is an Ottawa-based author and the Artistic Director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF).

A noted animation commentator, curator, and historian, Robinson is a leading expert on Canadian and international independent animation.

His books include: "Estonian Animation: Between Genius and Utter Illiteracy" (2006), "Unsung Heroes of Animation" (2005), "Stole This From a Hockey Card: A Philosophy of Hockey", "Doug Harvey, Identity & Booze" (2005), and "The Animation Pimp" (2007).