Yellow Sticky Notes wins Animasian Award at the 2007 Reel Asian International Film Festival!

ANIMASIAN ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AT THE REEL ASIAN:

“Being awarded the first annual Animasian Award means a great deal to me and it was completely unexpected, due in part, to the fact that I world premiered my film Yellow Sticky Notes at the Toronto Reel Asian this year. I had no idea before I screened the film to an audience for the first time, if people would even like it. I was extremely happy to find out that the audience and judges responded very well to the film. Personally, the film was such a personal extension of who I am and who I’ve grown to be, that I didn’t even care if anyone liked the film or not. By animating on over 2300 yellow sticky notes, it was a great way to express my hectic lifestyle as an animation filmmaker and reflect on past world events and environmental issues. Although, I must say, I am relieved to know that people enjoyed the film at the festival this year!

I really want to thank the Reel Asian for all their support and believing in my projects. In 2005, my film, “What Are You Anyways?” screened at the festival and was invited to attend my screening. During the festival, I was blown away by the hospitality of all the staff, volunteers, delegates, and fellow filmmakers. So when I came to submitting my new film off to festival again, it meant a lot have the film selected to premiere at the Reel Asian this year. I can’t thank the directors, programmers, and staff enough and especially all the board members for the hospitable nature of treating all the filmmakers with so much respect, showing us a great time, and just the celebration of Asian-made films in general. They have created a festival that celebrates the filmmaker just as much as the films and is one of the few film festivals that still focuses on recognizing and rewarding the hard work filmmakers put into making films.

I also want to thank all the jury for their insight and critique and I especially want to thank Ann Marie Flemming for creating the Animasian award this year as a celebration of animated films at the Reel Asian. I think this is definitely something that all the animators in the room can share, that passion and drive to create something as repetitive and crazy as animation. Animation is an imaginative and beautiful artform unto itself and should definitely be recognized on its own separate from live action and documentary. The Animasian Award is a great step forward to supporting all the brilliant animated films showcased at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival for years to come!” – Jeff Chiba Stearns

PRESS RELEASE:

After a three-year tour promoting his award-winning animated film, “What Are You Anyways?” around the world, filmmaker and Kelowna resident Jeff Chiba Stearns returns home with a new classically animated film, Yellow Sticky Notes. After a world premiere of the film at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival on November 16th, Jeff will screen the film for the first time to a Kelowna audience as part of The Ryan Donn’s CD Release Party at the KLO Campus Theatre on Saturday, November 24th at 7pm. The event will also be a DVD release for Yellow Sticky Notes. The film screened to great reception in Toronto and took home the Animasian Award for Best Animated Film at the festival. Created on a budget of $100, Yellow Sticky Notes competed with animated films with budgets as high as $150,000.

The film was created by animating directly on over 2300 yellow sticky notes with nothing more than a black ink pen. After realizing that yellow sticky note “to do” lists were consuming his life, Chiba Stearns finally decided to visually self-reflect on his filmmaking journey by animating on the same sticky notes that caused him to ignore major world events for the last nine years. Animation meditation is blended with image, text, and an original musical score by Genevieve Vincent through the creation of a classically animated experimental film. The entire process of animating on these sticky notes took Chiba Stearns over nine months and was created through an animated stream of consciousness.

“Yellow Sticky Notes, a funny, lively and insightful look at the life of a working artist and activist – all told through thousands of yellow sticky notes. An original idea, impeccably executed, and all those years and pieces of paper were well spent.”
– Glenn Sumi, Now Magazine - Toronto Reel Asian International Jury statement

“2300 drawings, 4x6 inch yellow sticky notes and a black ink pen – A small internal reflection on one’s role as an artist manifests into a discussion about major political and environmental crises.” – Heather Keung, Programming Manager of the Reel Asian International Film Festival

“I’m excited to have the Kelowna premiere and the DVD release of my new film Yellow Sticky Notes along side my good friend Ryan Donn’s CD Release Party. This will be a great evening celebrating the arts through the collaboration of music and film! Yellow Sticky Notes is one of the first animations to be created entirely with only post-it notes and I can’t wait to have a chance to share it with my hometown community. After the success in Toronto, I can’t wait to see how the film’s success continues on the international film festival circuit.” – Jeff Chiba Stearns