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"Animated" is actually the perfect word to describe Canadian filmmaker Stacey Chomiak.

Her rapid-fire enthusiasm while talking about animated films in general; about her film, specifically; and about the children she made it for (or, "kidlets" as she refers to them on her blog, www.staceychomiak.com) is at once as whimsical and free-spirited as her award-winning short "Tah-Dah."

That project — her 2009 thesis film for Sheridan College's acclaimed animation program — details an acquaintance-making jam-session between a farmer-turned-cellist and an unlikely, six-legged collaborator.

Chomiak, who has fielded animation workshops at both the Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival and the inaugural Hawaii International Children's Film Festival, will visit Frederick this weekend to do the same as a guest of the first-ever Maryland International Kids FilmFest.

A&E recently spoke to Chomiak about her upcoming role in the festival and her hopes to perhaps inspire some once and future animators in the crowd.

A&E: On your blog, you say you've known you wanted to be an animator since the age of 6. What was the first film you saw that made you want to pursue that dream?

Chomiak: I've known I've loved animation for a long time. I was really young. I think I was in Kindergarten – maybe 6 years old. I always knew I loved to draw. I think probably one of the earliest films I saw was "Lady & The Tramp." I can remember the teacher asked, ‘What does everyone want to be when they grow up?' and I said I wanted to be an animator. I don't know how I knew that's what the term was, but I did somehow.

A&E: You worked as a graphic designer for five years before studying animation?

Chomiak: Yeah. Growing up [in Canada], there were not a huge amount of schools teaching animation. But I knew I wanted to do something creative, and that's how I got into Graphic Design. We did a little bit here and there with Flash, so it still kept me interested. I got a job right out of college. I worked in graphic design for five years. Animation was always calling me, though. And I loved that job, but it was '04 and I was 25 and I thought ‘Life's too short.'

A&E: How did "Tah-Dah" come about?

Chomiak: Ever since our first year of school, they placed the Fear of God in us. I knew I would have to work crazy hard to stay in this. We knew that in our fourth year, we would have to create a thesis film. That was always in the back of my mind.

Fast-forward and I was at my grandparents' cottage at the lake. A friend of theirs had come over, and he was talking about an acquaintance of his — a farmer — who was [attending] the Julliard School for Music. And I was just really interested in that juxtaposition: A farmer, who is sort of down home, who has this love for something so refined. And the idea just jumped into my mind. I knew I wanted a farmer who played the cello, but I needed some sort of fun, cartoon idea. So I created this little bug who could kind of coexist with this farmer and they could make music together.

I wanted to do this in an old style; hand-drawn. To me, that's the whole point of animation. Not to knock the computer generated films that have come since. I wanted it to have that fifties style, which has always been my favorite era.

A&E: And it absolutely does.

Chomiak: Oh, good! I kind of based the look on an animation studio from that time called UPA. They're no longer around, but they created so many classic, stylized cartoons. So I thought this could be a slight homage to them.

A&E: Were you surprised at the reaction the film received?

Chomiak: I'm still surprised. It's been a whirlwind. I'm just happy to have finished the film. I figured that, hopefully, if I go to work with a studio, I'd be working as part of a team. But this was something I created entirely on my own, so I thought why not enter it into some festivals. And so far it's screened in something like 36, I think. I've been to L.A. twice for it. I've been to Hawaii once.

A&E: How did you become involved with the Maryland International Kids FilmFest?

Chomiak: I wanted to make "Tah-Dah" for kids. I love to see their reactions to it. Out of nowhere, Dan Bennett, who I had worked with as part of the [Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival], and who had invited me down to Hawaii to conduct workshops... shot me an e-mail that there was a Maryland festival opening in its first year, and would I be open to doing that. Well, I was totally all over that. I'm so excited about it, especially with this being the festival's first year.

A&E: What do you hope to impart on the children who participate in the workshops?

Chomiak: I hope to inspire them. For me, that's why I got into animation. I hope to meet kids who are like me back in the day. I feel that I get to do the absolutely coolest thing in the world, and if I can share just a little bit of that inspiration with them, then that's great. I always let them know that no drawing is a bad drawing. Hopefully that's what I can do. Inspire kids to keep pursuing a dream.

A&E: You touched on this earlier, but obviously every other weekend there's a new computer-animated film coming out in 3D. What's your take on the shape of animation today?

Chomiak: It makes sense. Animation is a magical thing, but at the end of the day – it's also a business. And if something proves successful and lucrative, then people want to jump on that bandwagon. I think you can learn from every kind of style of animation. For me, 2D is just a super, great thing to do. You just can't replace the 2D drawing. But I think there's a place for both. I think they can coexist. There have been a lot of great, traditionally animated films released lately, too – like "The Princess and the Frog." The bottom line is that you can't fool kids. If it's a good story, they'll appreciate that. Kids aren't going to sit around admiring texture-effects, you know? As long as the quality is upheld, I think it's something that can keep going on forever and ever. That's what I'm excited about.

If you go

-When: Nov. 20-21

-Where: Weinberg Center for the Arts, 20 W. Patrick St., Frederick

-Tickets: $10 for a one-day pass; $15 for two-day pass

-For information:

301-600-2828

www.MIKFF.com

www.weinberg

center.org

www.cinemarts.org

Schedule

Saturday, Nov. 20

-11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Films – All Ages

-12:45-1:45 p.m. Character Design Animation Workshop – Ages 5 and older

-12:45-1:45 p.m. Films – All Ages

-2-3 p.m. Hands-on Animation Workshop - Teens

-2-3 p.m.

Films – 5 and older

-3:15-4:15 p.m.

Films – 8 and older

-4:30-5:30 p.m.

Films – Teens

-4:30-5:30 p.m. Hands-on Animation Workshop – 5 and older

-6-7:30 p.m.

"The Adventures of Prince Achmed" accompanied by the Mighty Wurlitzer

Sunday, Nov. 21

-11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Films – All

ages

-12:45-1:45 p.m. Character

Design Animation

Workshop – Teens

-12:45-1:45 p.m. Films – All ages

-2-3 p.m.

Hands-on Animation Workshop – Teens

-2-3 p.m.

Films – 8 and older

-3:15-4:15 p.m. Hands-on animation workshop – 5 and older

-3:15-4:45 p.m.

Films – Teens