*SCAPE and Cartoons Underground Celebrates International Animation with Five-day Online Festival2 min read

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*SCAPE Co. Ltd, a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting youths, announced that it is the official programme partner of Cartoons Underground, Singapore’s very own, and Southeast Asia’s largest, festival of animation. The event has ditched traditional venues for a special online interactive 360° festival environment, running from 9 to 13 December.

Created by CG lead Enrique Caballero and independent illustrator, Lee Xin Li, festival goers will be able to explore a virtual world filled with films, behind the scenes footage and Q&A with directors. The festival will also feature an artist market dedicated to supporting Singaporean small businesses hosted on website https://cartoonsunderground.com/.

The festival will feature 150 minutes of animated short films as well as Q&A sessions with directors and conversations with Despicable Me series director Kyle Balda and award-winning short film director Patrick Smith, best known for his work on animated series Daria.

This year, 17 works were selected from 1,321 entries submitted from 88 different countries. Films from Europe and America will make its premiere this year. In the spotlight are three programmes of shorts from Singapore, and another from across Asia, as well as CU’s established international programme. The Singapore programme will highlight the work of Singapore’s up and coming young animators and this year will be the first that Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts has taken part with the entry Watermelon Please by Lim Jia Ying.

Among the local films competing against international directors for the Golden Durian Awards for Best Animation, Best SG Student Animation, Audience Choice and Special Mention awards are foto time by Renne Chua and It grows on you by Mok Yuin Peng, both of which use simple and effective stories to tap into people’s common experiences. Another hot entry is Women in Rage from two of Singapore’s most celebrated young fine artists, Chen Yanyun and Sara Chong.

Find out more about the event from its website here.