Chinese animator, filmmaker, and musician, Lei Lei (This is LOVE, Missing One Player) is the artist behind the Ottawa International Animation Festival 2024 visual identity. The international Canadian festival (25-29 September 2024, Ottawa, Canada) has selected the Chinese artist (also a professor at CalArts Experimental Animation programme) to design its 2024 visual identity.

Lei Lei received his Master's Degree in Animation from Tsinghua University in 2009. In 2010, his short film 'This is LOVE' was screened at the OIAF and won the award for Best Narrative Short. 

When I was a kid, I loved playing video games. I remember the Nintendo games of the 1990s, specifically two very popular games: Donkey Kong and Snow Bros. On the poster for the 2024 Ottawa International Animation Festival, the owl standing at the top of the poster replaces Donkey Kong. A young girl (possibly a filmmaker) must travel across the city to catch the owl, having many amazing experiences along the way. The cinema theatre will be the end of her journey, so take a seat on a comfortable couch and wait for the show - Lei Lei

OIAF artistic director Chris Robinson comments on the decision: Lei Lei has become a festival favourite, not just for his electric and upbeat films, but for his impromptu rap performances during the OIAF award ceremonies. Today his films remain as unique and popular as ever with OIAF audiences.”

The 2024 OIAF Poster:

Lei Lei’s OIAF design will join the works of past artists Matthew Rankin (2023), Angela Stempel and Amanda Bonaiuto (2021), Koji Yamamura (2012), Gary Panter (2005), and Dave Cooper (2001), among others.