In a sense, the Supernova Digital Animation Festival was a pandemic-era festival long before the pandemic hit. For half a decade, the event has been staging outdoor screenings of experimental and motion-based animation across Denver, Colorado. Last year, it introduced a complementary online platform to host screenings.
For its fifth edition, to be held in September, Supernova has had to change relatively little about its setup. Outdoor screenings are going ahead on its network of vast LED screens, making this probably the only U.S. animation festival to have taken place safely in real life since the virus hit. Events will adhere “to all Colorado guidelines and mandates for outdoor social distancing and safety protocols.” Oh, and they’re free.
The festival will kick off at 7 p.m. on September 3, when commissioned works will be beamed in a loop onto the Daniels & Fisher Clocktower. Screenings on the tower will recur throughout the month. Meanwhile, competitive and other programs will be gradually rolled out on the Supernova.video online platform (which costs $1.99 per month). The festival and platform are run by digital motion-art platform Denver Digerati.
