Veljko Popović and Milivoj Popović’s project Dislocation will have its world premiere in the official Virtual Reality Competition of the 42nd edition of Ottawa IAFF, this year exceptionally held in digital format.

“This is very important to us since the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is a highly prestigious festival, but also given the meticulously curated selection of films created by the festival’s Artistic Director Chris Robinson. The fact that our film is part of the official competition at OIAF is the perfect beginning of its festival life, following the presentation in the Preview programme at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival,” said the film’s authors Veljko and Milivoj Popović on the occasion.  

Dislocation deals with the state of fear and disbelief. It is a study of the inner processes of someone who finds themselves in an extreme situation – a situation of dislocation. The film follows the protagonist around different locations – a beach on the coast of Greece, a desert on the border between Mexico and the USA and a forest somewhere in the Balkans, but it is also an inward journey, travelling into the protagonist’s mind, exploring the memories of a life lost, which are beginning to fade.  

The film was directed, edited and designed by duo Veljko Popović and Milivoj Popović, who is also the 3D modelling lead. Animation and 3D modelling were done by Božo Balov and Gordan Mihalec. Boris Stanić created the sound design, while Thomas Cappeau composed the music. Alen Čelić portrays the role of the main protagonist.  

Dislocation is produced by Croatian production studio Prime Render, in co-production with French production house Bagan Films. Veljko Popović and Milivoj Popović produced the film, with Patrick Hernandez and Veronique Siegel as co-producers.  

The film is distributed by Bonobostudio, which also acts as the film’s sales representative, while the VR project was created with support from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and the City of Split.   

The other Croatian title in the programme is Kata Gugić’s animated short Cockperka, screening in the student film competition.  

Kata Gugić is credited with directing the film, writing the script, as well as creating the animation, design and backgrounds. She also shot and edited the entire film. Compositing was done by Matea Kovač, while music and sound design were created by Vjeran Šalamon. David Šeb, Max Hozić and Lucija Jelušić lend voices to the characters.    

The film is a Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Art production, co-produced by Zagreb Film, with Tomislav Buntak as producer and Vinko Brešan acting as co-producer.

Cockpera, a humorous animated opera inspired by one of Aesop’s fables, has already screened at the Flipbook Film Festival in Skopje, Macedonia, where it won the Best Animated Student Film award, at the Ljubljana Short Film Festival FeKK, returning home with a jury special mention, the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, the Supertoon International Animation Festival, and a host of others, including the World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb (appearing in the Student Film and Croatian Film competitions).    

The different competition programmes of this year’s Ottawa International Animation Festival’s will feature 92 short films, including VR projects and animated series, and six feature animated films, selected among 1950 submissions from 84 countries. A full list of selected films is available here.  

During the festival, the films will be available via a live stream and a VOD platform. After the screenings, the viewers will be able to participate in Q&A sessions with authors of the films.  

For more details about the Ottawa International Animation Festival, visit the festival’s official website. 

Cover photographs: Ottawa International Animation Festival visuals; scenes from Dislocation and Cockpera