11-year-old animation prodigy wins award for short film

11-year-old animation prodigy wins major award From CTV Kitchener’s Tyler Calver: Robbie McCartney’s animated film won gold at the International Children’s Exhibition of Fine Arts.

The first time he could hold a pencil, Robbie Macartney discovered his passion for drawing.

“He’s been drawing since before he could even talk,” Macartney’s mother told CTV News.

At only 11 years old, the young filmmaker has lived out one of his dreams and created an animated film, which has gained attention at film festivals internationally.

With only a year of animation school education, Macartney’s short film, The Water Bottle’s Adventure, recently won a gold medal at the International Children’s Exhibition of Fine Arts in Lidice, Czech Republic.

His film, created at SheepDog Animation in Waterloo, Ont., was one of 30,000 entries from 79 countries.

The animated film has also won him awards for Best Student Film at the Elements Film Festival in Vancouver, and Best Young Film Maker at the Spring Cinefest India.

While he’s happy he won, the film, not the prizes, is the top priority.

“I just cared that I got it done, and I proved myself I could animate,” Macartney said.

His short film has an environmental message, showing the importance of preserving clean drinking water.

While his mom hopes that he pursues animation as a career when he grows up, Macartney isn’t so sure.

“I really love animation and it’s one of my hobbies,” Macartney said. “I don’t know if I’ll pursue it professionally.”

With files from CTV News Waterloo’s Tyler Calver