Although Alyssa Sherwood’s Photography I class’s film “The Darkroom” was not accepted to the Ottawa International Animation Film Festival, it will be screened at the Salon des Refuses or “exhibition of rejects” on Sept. 20, 21.
Thirty-two students animated the film during spare time in class, which will be screened along with some of the other 2,376 films that were not accepted to the festival.
“Needless to say we didn’t get into Ottawa, but I’m very excited that we’ll be a part of the festivities and seen by a huge international animation community at the exhibition,” said Sherwood.
The Salon des Refuses of the Ottawa festival stems from a tradition started in France in the late 1800’s by the Paris Salon which each year held the prestigious Académie des Beaux-Arts. The Académie showcased the greatest works of art in the western world.
When the French impressionists began submitting work to the Académie, they were rejected because they were considered “non-traditional.” They continued to fight for a spot in the Académie and were finally allowed to showcase their work in the Salon dés Refuses or “exhibition of rejects.”
“The Darkroom” was created through stop-motion animation utilizing misprints of photos that the students in Photography I took.
“In Photography I you are still quite new to the idea of printing from film, so there are many very good, but not perfect prints that were set aside to be cut up for animation,” said Arthur Troy ’14.