The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OlAF) is a unique and accessible space that fosters public appreciation for the art and craft of animation. It aims to inspire artistic minds, connect and engage a community and create a transformative experience. It fosters the development and growth of local, regional and national animation talent. While Canada's animators and animation companies are among the most creative and successful in the world, the OlAF has been instrumental in helping these artists achieve commercial success and artistic excellence. It also provides a forum and a conduit through which artistic vibrancy and commercial expertise can be shared and exchanged among these various communities.

The Canadian Film Institute's (CFI) overall mission is to encourage and promote the production, diffusion, study, appreciation and use of moving images for cultural and educational purposes in Canada and abroad. The CFI is a unique Ottawa institution that organizes ongoing public film programming and artist talks, provides educational enhancements on its websites, and publishes books and monographs on various aspects of Canadian cinema.

Within this broader mandate, the CFI is also actively exhibiting, promoting, and developing a critical context for Canadian independent cinema. The overarching objective of these activities is to demonstrate the depth and variety of Canadian cinematic expression that exists outside the dominant commercial models of film production, distribution, and exhibition. Moreover, the CFI's independent film programming affords audiences in the Ottawa-Gatineau region opportunities to view challenging, alternative Canadian and International works to which they would not otherwise have access.