The latest round of Rosie Awards highlights the animation of a former St. Albert resident, Wendy Tilby and her creative partner Amanda Forbis.
Hosted by the non-profit Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA) at River Cree Casino, The Flying Sailor took home four trophies in the Scripted Under 30 Minutes categories. They included Best Scripted Production, Best Director, Best Screenwriter and Best Animator/Motion Graphic Artists.
The eight-minute film was produced by David Christensen at the National Film Board's Northwest Studio in Edmonton. The animation explores a real-life event from the catastrophic 1917 Halifax port explosion that obliterated all structures within an 800-metre radius.
The Flying Sailor recounts the story of the miraculous survival of Charles Mayers, a sailor standing on the docks during the explosion. Two ships collied in the harbour. One was carrying explosive material. A fire detonated the cargo and the subsequent explosion killed more than 1,700 and injured 9,000.
Charles Mayers was blown skyward and flew two kilometres. When found, he was butt naked wearing only one boot and was soaking wet. Originally from England, he returned to Liverpool, but was never able to recall the event.
The eight-minute short reveals a 30-second prologue of the explosion before focusing on the sailor’s catastrophic slow-motion flight across space and time. Hypnotic, comic, suspenseful and full of wonder, it contemplates both life’s profound and insignificant moments as the sailor floats across space before plunging back to Earth.
The 2022 film received more than a dozen nominations and awards including an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film. It also scooped a trophy at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Calgary International Film Festival, Countryside Animafest Cyprus, 11th Annual Canadian Screen Awards and Sundance Film Festival.
