SRF proud to support children, youth at Ottawa International Animation Festival's Shaw Rocket Fund InGenius Jr. Day; red carpet screening of The Breadwinner

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OTTAWA, Sept. 22, 2017 /CNW/ - Shaw Rocket Fund is proud to partner with the Ottawa International Animation Festival to support kids exploring the world of animation production.

As part of its partnership, the Shaw Rocket Fund is sponsoring the OIAF's InGenius Jr. Day, taking place on Sept. 23 at the National Gallery of Canada where children can learn about animation through art, technology and innovative new software. Events kick off today with a red carpet screening of The Breadwinner, an animated feature film partly funded by Shaw Rocket Fund, and a post-screening Q&A session. Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna will also make remarks.

"We are excited to see The Breadwinner at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. It is a critically inspiring film that shows how young people can make a difference," says Agnes Augustin, Shaw Rocket Fund President and CEO. "The fact that this movie is getting the red carpet treatment shows how important it is to continue to invest in children and youth programming, which allows Canadian talent and culture to be exported globally."

The Breadwinner tells the story of 11-year-old Parvana, who must disguise herself as a boy to help her family in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Internationally co-produced by Aircraft Pictures (Canada), Cartoon Saloon (Ireland) and Melusine Productions (Luxembourg), the animated film is based on award-winning Canadian author Deborah Ellis's book of the same name. It is executively produced by Angelina Jolie, who attended the movie's successful premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in which it was named one of the Top 10 best movies by BlogTO.

"Under the leadership of our director Nora Twomey, an enormous amount of care has gone in to crafting a cinematic journey for children and parents from every walk of life while also striving for authenticity and pushing artistic boundaries," said producer Anthony Leo of Aircraft Pictures. "This timely and relevant work would not have been possible without the support of Shaw Rocket Fund."

The Shaw Rocket Fund InGenius Jr. Day on Saturday, Sept. 23, is dedicated to young audiences between the ages of six and 12 who will have the opportunity to go deeper into animation innovations with workshops, interactive games, virtual reality experiences and talks with industry representatives and hosted by the energetic duo from Rocket Fund's animation character contest, Startoon. It is a day for families, in which a free screening of The Breadwinner will take place at 3 p.m.

"As my colleague Minister Joly has said before, our government knows the media landscape continues to evolve tremendously. That is why we have invested $2.2 billion in arts and culture and are committed to creating opportunities for Canadian trailblazers," said Minster McKenna. "I am proud of the Ottawa International Animation Festival's dedication to bringing creators from around the world to Ottawa Centre to showcase the world's most cutting-edge, thoughtful, provocative animation films."

"Canada is home to unbelievably talented and globally recognized producers of children's content, and the partnership between the Shaw Rocket Fund and the OIAF provides an amazing opportunity to showcase this talent to audiences of all ages," said Chethan Lakshman, VP, External Affairs, Shaw Communications. "We are proud to support InGenius Jr. Day and give the next generation of content creators a chance to immerse themselves in a world of creation and innovation."

About Shaw Rocket Fund
The Shaw Rocket Fund is a forward-thinking, not-for-profit corporation that focuses on stimulating excellence in the Canadian children's production industry in Canada through equity investment and industry initiatives such as the much-celebrated Shaw Rocket Prize, which ran for 11 years to showcase Canada's amazing children's television and digital programs, and Startoon, an online development program for animators. The Rocket Fund is an advocate of the Canadian children's production sector, maintaining an active role with regulators and governments. Contributors to the Fund are Shaw Communications and Shaw Direct.

www.rocketfund.ca
t: @rocketfund
facebook.com/rocketfund

SOURCE Shaw Rocket Fund

Lisa Amato, Shaw Rocket Fund Manager, Strategic Communications, [email protected]