Graduate Film at Edinburgh Film Festival
A Screen Academy Wales graduate with a passion for drawing will achieve a lifelong goal earlier than expected when his film screens at the Edinburgh International Film Festival later this month. Todd Setter, aged 23, graduated from the University of Glamorgan BA Animation course last year after completing his final film, the skilfully-crafted 2D animation Sky-Caper.
The graduate piece is a collaboration between Todd and old school-friend Dean Wright, an animation student from the Bournemouth Screen Academy. Todd explained: “Dean and I have always loved animation, and our collaboration was mostly inspired by the 1999 Warner Bros animation ‘Iron Giant’. Our skills compliment each other perfectly.”
The short film, described by Todd as ‘a sky-high comedic caper’, highlights the duo’s slick illustration skills and comic timing, both of which captured the attention of the Edinburgh Film Festival programmers.
The prestigious Edinburgh International Film Festival is the longest continually running film festival in the UK attracting over 55,000 visitors every year, with a programme of 100 feature films and 150 short films shown in
four venues across Edinburgh. Sky-Caper will screen three times during the ten-day festival, and, if successful, could scoop the McLaren Award in Partnership with the BBC Film Network.
“It’s exhilarating to think that our film will be part of the Edinburgh Film Festival”, said Todd. “Thanks to funding from Screen Academy Wales, I will be attending the festival myself which is incredibly exciting. Of course it would be amazing if our film won the McLaren Award but I’m just looking forward to being part of the festival and seeing the other films in competition.”
Screen Academy Wales project manager, Hannah Raybould commented: “The University of Glamorgan is one of our lead partners and we are delighted that a student from its animation course has been recognised by the EIFF. The film shows real promise from two exciting young animators, and proves that collaborative working between the UK’s finest animation courses can produce great results.
“The Edinburgh screening is one of the first results of a new campaign being run by Academy staff to promote the best graduate work to an international audience by submitting films to high profile festivals across the world. We are hopeful that this will be the first of many international screenings for Sky Caper.”
One of only nine animation courses in the UK to carry the prestigious Skillset tick, the University of Glamorgan BA Animation degree is well-established and has produced a succession of highly talented animators. Professor Peter Robertson, Dean of the Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries commented: “Congratulations to Todd! This is a fantastic success both for him and for the animation course here in the Faculty. The Edinburgh International Film Festival will provide Todd with a unique platform from which he can showcase his work, and we wish him every success in his future career.”
The Skillset Screen Academy Wales will be merging with the recently-established Media Academy Wales in September 2010, which will increase the areas currently covered from film, animation and performance to include interactive media, radio, journalism and games.