Kathmandu: The “One Film 3D Animation Challenge” was an animated short movie competition conducted by Maya Animation Studios, a 3D animation school and authorized AutoDesk training center.

The Challenge, announced in December 2010, saw more than 36 animations by Nepali artists, either in Nepal or aboard.

Out of the submitted shorts, seven movies were selected as finalists. These seven were screened on Wednesday, December 22, at Kumari Hall, Kamal Pokhari.

The winners of the challenge, bagging the cash prize of Rs. 250,000 (2.5 lakhs) each, were SERU by Escape Animation and “No Light” by Quiren Animation Studios.

SERU is about a young man and his pet, Seru. Off on a treasure hunt together on an airship, Seru poses to be more of a problem to the protagonist.

Wreaking havoc on the airship, the protagonist throws Seru off the ship, only to be saved by him when the airship’s fuel runs low.

With beautifully rendered bright colored graphics with post-modernist vector-influence art, the animation has a creative spin to the art.

The other winner, “No Light,” was a definite winner as well. The 3D modeling was superb with beautifully rendered animation.

With the use of more advanced features like reflection and lighting, “No Light” competed with a realism no other movie provided.

With a story that portrays the little problems that befall the young, the protagonist goes through a day full of these little nuisances.

“It was all teamwork,” said beaming Sandesh Pradhan, director of “No Light.”

“Without the right team and the right chemistry among the team members, we could never have won. I feel really happy to have won after a year of hard work and I would like to thank my team members,” he added.

The other movies were “Knowledge” by Ankit KC, a story of a boy’s thirst for knowledge and education; “Sweet 16” by Creative Factory told the story about the growing hours of load shedding; “The Tall Tail” by Grafi Offshore told the story about a clever turtle outsmarting a thieving rat; “Bad Day” by Big Foot portrayed the love that young people are subject to; and the final film, “Apotheosis” by Alex Gee and Pujesh Joshi, painted a different picture of death and the afterlife.

The judges of the evening were journalist and critic Bijay Ratna Tuladhar, sound engineer Pradeep Upadhyay; senior film engineer Rabindra Pandey; animator Sorgiya Man Tuladhar; and senior animator Karun Thapa.

Special guest, Raina Kuffaslega, an animator from Germany, was also at the event.

“I’ve been in Nepal since 1983,” said Raina Kuffaslega. “And something that I’ve never seen change is the creativity that people have here. Animators here have grown a lot, and although their skills need some polishing, they’re not very far from competing internationally,” he addd.

source: republica, 24 Dec 2011