An animated film by artist Ivan Li (BMA 2019) is an official selection at the 2024 edition of the prestigious Annecy International Animation Festival in France.

Drizzle in Johnson is a 20-minute short animated, directed and independently produced by Ivan.

“I am deeply grateful and humbled to have Drizzle in Johnson chosen for such a renowned festival,” said Ivan Li, noting fellow Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECU) alum Cameron Kletke will also be showing at Annecy 2024. “I am excited to showcase my work alongside Cameron. I owe this opportunity to the support of my community and experience at Emily Carr University.”

Billed as the largest animation festival in the world, Annecy is often referred to as the Oscars of the animation industry. The festival is a qualifying event for both the Academy Awards and the Canadian Screen Awards, making it a vital platform for animation artists.



Ivan is one of six Canadian animators selected for this year’s main competition. According to Ivan, this highlights “the growing recognition of Canadian talent on the international stage.”

Drizzle in Johnson spotlights Ivan’s talent for psychedelic worlds infused with salty humour. Described as a “mind-blowing acid trip,” the film is simultaneously disturbing, lusty, brutal and daffy.

“For anyone looking for something different, destabilizing and powerful, Drizzle in Johnson is a balm for a cinematic universe that is often too homogeneous,” writes Le Petit Septième.

Drizzle in Johnson has shown MOTEL/X (Lisbon), Fantastic Fest (Austin), Imagine Film Festival (Amsterdam), the London Short Film Festival, Courts Mais Trash (Brussels) and Les Sommets du cinéma d’animation (Montreal). It has also been selected for competition at Animafest Zagreb in early June.

Visit Ivan’s website to learn more about his work.

Visit ECU online to learn more about studying 2D + Experimental Animation and 3D Computer Animation at Emily Carr.