Flavourcel is a new local animation collective consisting of a dozen members “brought together by their enthusiasm for the fun, the weird, but most of all for the art of animation.” They are Alia Hijaab, Anna Firth, Chhaya Naran, Chris Strickler, Gil Goletski, Josh Neu, Kat Morris, Julia Song, David Gorodetsky, Lana Connors, Laurel Pucker and Rowen Rinaldi. This past summer the creative bunch served up their gif-y goods at a buffet-style event at Lucky’s Comics, and they’ve been on our radar ever since. We recently caught up with them to find out what’s next…

Besides the collective, is there an animation community in Vancouver? There was an existing presence before the Genesis of Flavourcel (™), but nothing that was accessible to new and emerging artists. Most animation communities are limited to institutions.

How did you all find each other? Between a rock & a hard place ;^)

Your inaugural event was a food and animation “buffet” at Lucky’s – what inspired the food and art crossover? We are all interested in bite-sized art; looping animated gifs, super short animation. We like to make visual snacks. Loops are infinite & bite-sized.

What sort of events do you hope on putting together in the future? Keep an eye out for our Sloppy Seconds ;^)

What has been the biggest hurdle for Flavourcel so far? The biggest hurdle will be our final event–The Last Supper of Flavourcel — when we dissolve the collective due to internal drama and libel.

What has been the most rewarding or reconfirming experience so far? Proof that complete strangers are interested in what we are doing and want to see more.

What is the best snack to accompany a Flavourcel screening? Flamin’ Hot Cheetos to open the sinuses, Capri-Suns to lubricate the mouth, carrots to hone the eyes.

What sort of impact do you guys hope to make on your audiences? We make art through our various diverse perspectives–the fact that we as members of various minority groups have gathered in this collective is in itself a radical act. We hope we can add to that representation and be an inspiration to others.

What is the biggest misconception about animation? One of the biggest misconceptions of animation is that it can’t be active in radical or experimental art spaces.

Proportion-wise, how much of animation is technical and how much is creative? It’s all relative, baby!

Who are your favourite animators? Neil Sanders, Norman McLaren, Good Bad Habits (a local animation team!), Jan Svankmajer, Sally Cruikshank, Amy Lockhart, Chad Vangaalen, Dr. Alla Gadassik (animation scholar), Graeme Patterson, Emma Hafford, each other ;^)

Your favourite Vancouver theatre? Cineplex at International Village, where I saw Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again.

Your favourite non-theatre for a screening? Lucky’s Comics, Red Gate, people’s basements and garages.

Tell me about these drawings! (Below) So, instead of doing a group photo, I thought I would submit to you our “court drawings”. During every Flavourcel meeting, one person does a drawing of the group, and I’ve attached a few of those pictures.