NOVEMBER, 1997FILM ARTS FESTIVAL PRESENTS AN ANIMATION PROGRAM WITH LIVE MUSIC BY NIK PHELPS AND THE SPROCKET ENSEMBLE and special guests Connie Champagne and Wayne Doba. The animation to be shown includes Curtain Call by Drew King, Daggett the Maggett by Jason Shiga, Ephemerality by Miriam Wallace, Manhattan Dinner by Mary Cymbulski and John Tintori, Material Story by Colin Manningh, Paper Theater by Drew King, Passage - Part 1 by David Wan, Wire Work by Michael Rudnick and Vespucciland - The Great and Free by Rock Ross. A non-animated short by David Maichalak is also on the program.
The FAF Festival of Independent Cinema runs Nov. 5-9 at the Roxie, Castro Theaters and other locations. The mostly animated program is called "Best of the Sprocket Ensemble." It is on Thursday, November 6, at the Roxie at 10:15 PM. Advanced tickets can be purchased in person at Film Arts Foundation before Nov. 3, at 236 9th St., SF, 2nd floor or at the Roxie once the festival starts.
PDI DID VISUAL EFFECTS FOR THE PEACEMAKER They provided 55 visual effects shots that range from a nuclear blast to subtle changes in images. PDI's visual effects supervisor working on this high-tech action film for Dream Works Features was Paul Wang. Les Hunter was the visual effects producer.
PDI is especially pleased with the scene where a truck explodes and falls off a bridge. PDI made a 100 foot deep gorge appear to be 500 feet deep so the truck could fall a lot farther. It gave PDI a chance to add lots of stuff falling off from the truck and they made the explosion last longer.
In a scene set in New York City, they removed apartment buildings and added a large Gothic cathedral. The story has actors running toward the new/old building and into it (the interior was a set). Millimeter, a trade magazine, gave PDI a full page article on the making of the New York shots in their September issue. Craig Mullins was the matte artist on the sequence. He worked with PDI on the images telecommuting from his home in Malibu.COLOSSAL PICTURES DOES AD FOR DENNY'S It introduces a new menu item, Breakfast Skillets. The 30 second ad mixes live action footage with traditional cel animation. It opens with an animated bulldog with an iron skillet chasing a cat in a kitchen. George Evelyn, Colossal's master at classical cartoon animation, directed. Stephanie Hornish was the producer. Drew Takahashi directed the live action footage with producer Brian Sullivan and Jon Else DP. Charles Gammage of Charles Gammage Animation, Inc. in Oakvile did the character animation. Western supplied the video post-production, Cha-Pow! did the digital ink and paint.
Another Evelyn-Hornish production is the wonderful "Factory" ad for Coke. It was featured in a half-page article in the Sept. issue of Millimeter. Gammage provided animation service on the Coke ad, as did Little Fluffy Clouds who did the backgrounds.
COLOSSAL PICTURES AND WILD BRAIN WORKED WITH FIVE AT-RISK KIDS LAST SUMMER As part of their training the students created Nun of That, a 2 minute animated short featuring a nun. The pilot internship program was titled MEDIA (Motivating Excellence and Development through Industrial Arts) and was helped along by directors Ed Bell and Cindy Ng at Wild Brain and George Evelyn and Tom Rubalcava at Colossal. Eric Schweickert of Wild Brain also put in a few hours on the project. For information about the internship program call Payson Hays (415) 807-1032.
ACME FILMWORKS OF SAN FRANCISCO DID A STARBUCK'S FRAPPUCINO AD titled "Trout." Gwynn Adik was the animator and Realtime Film and Video provided the post. Sean McLean, a Henry artist with Realtime said, "We wanted to give the spot an older, dated look so we used Quantel's Henry which give the animation a mint green wash and a grainy film look."
WILD BRAIN DOES FOUR ADS FOR TCI @ HOME NETWORK Robin Steele created the new internet provider's animated spokesperson and directed him in the 4 ads. The spots combine traditional cel animation, 3D animation, live action and stock footage. Henry was used for compositing and conforming images. Imagination Plantation of SF did the CG animation. Western provided the post production.
WILD BRAIN GETS TWO ANNIE NOMINATIONS Their "Super Mom" Coke ad was nominated for the best animated promotional production category (why can't they say TV commercial?). It was directed by Mike Smith and Wes Takahashi. Their Green Eggs and Ham CD-ROM production for Living Books/Broderbund was nominated for the best interactive production. The Annie Awards are produced by ASIFA-Hollywood and the winners will be announced Nov. 16 at the Pasadena Convention Center.Destination Moon, Wild Brain's Silver Clio winner
SPECIAL THANKS TO WILD BRAIN FOR AN IMPRESSIVE EVENING OF WORK FROM THEIR STUDIO On Oct. 2 they presented a really fine program at the Exploratorium. Jeff Fino acted as MC and introduced director John Hays who showed us the Fathead pilot, director Robin Steele who showed us an episode of I.M. Weasel, director Dave Thomas who showed a work-in-progress pencil test from Dog Cartoon, director Dave Marshall who presented several long clips from FernGully II (a direct-to-video feature that is beautifully animated), and Dan McHale, the creator of a personal experimental work titled Sex Pudding. Producer Paul Golden from Wild Brain presented a selection of their TV commercials. Considering this is a very young company and they already have an exceptional body of work, it looks like they are going to be recognized soon as one of the nation's major animation studios that produces outstanding work.
CURIOUS PICTURES IN SF DOES 3 ADS FOR CLOROX AND A SPOT FOR VALLEY CARE HEALTH Garrett Sheldrew directed the 3 ads for Clorox 2 that feature two Clorox bottles holding a conversation with each other about the virtues of their ingredients. Steward Lee assisted Sheldrew and they worked with producer Sandra Kimberly and coordinator Arianne Sutner. Jackson Vereen was the DP for the live action, Pom-e-granit was the
editorial company and post was done at Western.
The health care ad is in two sections. One part is cel animation, the other is stop-motion of cut out paper art. Denis Morella was the director and designer. He worked with executive producer Anne Smith, producer Sandra Kimberly, cel animators Steward Lee and Granger Davis, stop-motion animator Misha Klein, artist Sara Anderson and coordinator Arianne Sutner.
Curious Picture's studio in NYC has now completed six new 4 1/2 minute cartoon episodes of The Off-Beats series for Nickelodeon. The series is the creation of Mo Willems and airs on the show KABLAM!
An informative article about Curious Pictures opening their studio in San Francisco appeared in a recent issue of Me!dea Magazine.
SANTA CRUZ WOMAN DIES - OBITUARY SAYS SHE WAS THE SECOND WOMAN DISNEY HIRED AS AN ARTIST Her name was Pearl F. Rau and she was 80. She died Oct. 1. The Santa Cruz paper said she worked on Dumbo and Bambi and was a prolific artist. Her painting "The Thrown Rider" was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. She had lived in Santa Cruz since 1962 where she worked over 17 years for the Cabrillo College Library. Thanks to Ken Kearney for sending in this news item.KARL COHEN'S FORBIDDEN ANIMATION IS BOTH A NEW BOOK AND A FILM SHOW To introduce his new book Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Animators, Cohen has organized a film program of works that have been censored over the last 60 years for sexual innuendo, racist images, having points-of-view not popular with rednecks, etc. The films include risque pre-code cartoons & clips that star Betty Boop, Bosko, Flip the Frog and other early stars; parodies with sexual gags and racial stereotyping by Bob Clampett and Tex Avery; modern works by Vince Collins, George Griffin and Jeff Hale (including Lenny Bruce's Thank You Mask Man), plus the XXX rated silent era masterpiece Eveready Harton in Buried Treasure. Karl Cohen will be present at screenings to introduce the shows, to answer questions and to sign books. See local events listing for time and date of shows in San Francisco, Berkeley and Larkspur. In late October he taught a course on the content of the book at SF State and presented his film program in Portland at the NW Film Center.
The book is divided into 5 chapters and tells how animation was subjected to strict censorship from 1934 to 1968; what happened when animators ran amuck in cartoonland after strict censorship ended (uncensored theatrical animation since 1968 and problems people have had trying to show it); the story of the elimination of racist images in animation; the history of television censorship which is far stricter today than what went on under the watchful eye of the Hays Office, and finally the witch hunt in the animation industry for possible communists in the late 1940's and 1950's. The final chapter goes into detail about the strikes at several studios before WWII, the demise of one studio, a major purge at another and stories of how the blacklist effected the lives of other animators.
The book sells for $35 plus shipping from McFarland and Co. (800) 253-2187. Copies will be available at local theatres showing Forbidden Animation.LUCAS ARTS ENTERTAINMENT HAS RELEASED SEVERAL CD-ROM TITLES IN RECENT MONTHS They include "Shadows of The Empire," "The Outlaws, Handful of Missions," and "X-Wings vs. TIE Fighter: Balance of Power."
GARY SCHWARTZ TO TEACH "ART OF ANIMATION: AN INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP" AND "ADVANCED ANIMATION" IN NOVEMBER at Film Arts Foundation. The classes meet Mon. - Friday from 7 - 10 PM and all day Sat. & Sun. The basic class is limited to 20 people and the advanced class to 5. No animation experience is necessary for the basic class. These classes are highly recommended by several high-tech companies who have sent him their cgi dept. members to past classes so they could better understand how other forms of animation are made. Schwartz is also great with kids and runs the Nickelodeon Animation Workshops at the Mill Valley Film Festival each year. The classes are $125 for FAF members or $170 for non-members. Join FAF and enjoy the benefits of being a member. Their membership fee is $45 a year.
INTERNSHIP AVAILABLE FOR INTERNATIONAL FILM FINANCING CONFERENCE IN SAN FRANCISCO JAN. 9 - 11, 1998. They need people to assist in the pre-production and coordination of the conference. Several types of positions need to be filled from registration help to publicity and technical support. They even need a "Hong Kong Cinema Coordinator." Contact Isolina Martinez Peterson at (415) 346-3677 for a flyer about positions open or write IFFCON Internship, 360 Ritch Street, SF CA 94107. College credit may be available.
IF YOU DIDN'T MAKE IT TO THE RECEPTION FOR BILL GRIFFITH AND RICHARD SALA YOU MISSED EATING DING DONGS AND TACO SAUCE The work of these two artists is on display at the Cartoon Art Museum through Feb. 22. Griffith does the Zippy comic strip and is being honored with a large retrospective of his work. The two food items served at the opening are among Zippy's favorites. Sala, whose work is shown here, does comics and
illustrations. The museum is located at 814 Mission Street, SF. (415) 227-8666.
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
BARRY BRILLIANT who did a stop-motion clay film in the early 1970's that was widely distributed in programs of erotic humor, has been doing computer generated business cards in color for the past decade. He has a new web site where you can make your own card for free! Check it out at www.makeacoolcard.com
DAN McHALE SINGS EIGHT SONGS IN 20 MINUTES at better clubs in the Bay Area. He was at the Marsh on Sat. Nov. 1 performing as a one man a-cappella act. His material covers several subjects including jealousy, revolution, ice cream and brunch. By day McHales is a director at Wild Brain.
MARTY McNAMARA PRESENTED A PAPER AT THE SAS CONFERENCE IN HOLLAND His talk at the Society for Animation Studies Conference in Utrecht in October was "Patterns of Social Metaphor in New German Animation." McNamara teaches animation classes at DeAnza College.
GRACIE ARTEMIS IS TEACHING GRAPHIC DESIGN BASICS through Media Alliance at 814 Mission St. Suite 205, SF CA 94103 (down the hall from the Cartoon Art Museum). The course meets on four Tuesdays from 6 - 9 PM starting Nov. 11. For details call (415) 546-6334.
A PHOTO OF HENRY SELICK FILLS THE 11 x 17" COVER OF FILM/TAPE WORLD The article "In the Lair of the Stop-Motion King," goes into considerable detail about the script and artistic development of Dark Town, his present feature project. There is also an informative side-bar that covers major events in his life. It begins with his receiving two student academy award nominations while attending CAL Arts in the mid-1970's (a guy name Lasseter was in the same class and kept winning the awards). The article by Karl Cohen is in the October issue. To find out how to get a copy call (415) 543-6100.
A dubious bit of trivia - the former Skellington Studio in the South of Market area is now being used by City Tow. They are the guys who tow cars parked in tow-away zones after the police ticket them. Is this progress?
EMPLOYMENT
PDI OPENS JOB HOTLINE AT 1-800-655-8779 The Palo Alto-based animation and effects studio (located right next to the Cal Train station) is currently looking for outstanding character animators. PDI offers opportunities to work on their first full-length animated feature film, ANTZ, as well as a slew of other animation and effects projects for feature films and commercials.
PDI supports a diverse workplace. Check out their web site at www.pdi.com For immediate employment consideration, please send your resume, reel and detailed credit list to Character Animation Search, Pacific Data Images, 3101 Park Blvd., Palo Alto, CA 94305
LOCAL SCREENINGS
Sunday, Nov. 2, ASIFA presents IGOR KOVALYOV IN-PERSON at De Anza College, 2 PM.
Thursday, Nov. 6, The Film Arts Festival presents BEST OF THE SPROCKET ENSEMBLE (see story on p. 1) at 10:15 PM, Roxie Cinema.
Sat. Nov. 11, THE VERY UNOFFICIAL "GUIDE TO DISNEYLAND" SLIDE SHOW by Rex Everything of Negativland at ADA, 992 Valencia, SF, 8:30 PM, $5 (arrive early - they will sell out)
Friday, Nov. 14, ASIFA-SF event: THE ART OF ILM with David Andrews, Wade Howie and Hal Hickel in-person. The Exploratorium, 7:30 PM (no late seating), free. See back page for details.
Sunday and Monday, Nov. 16 & 17, FORBIDDEN ANIMATION, "a raucous overview of animation that has met with varying degrees of censorship. This is some fun stuff" says the Lark Theatre calendar. "Author Karl Cohen will be present at each show" to introduce the program based on his new book. There will be a Q&A session after each program. Shows Sunday at 2, 4, 7:15 and 9:25 PM and Monday at 7:15 & 9:25. Red Vic Movie House, 1727 Haight Street in SF.
Tuesday, Nov. 18, FORBIDDEN ANIMATION with Karl Cohen in-person at the U.C. Theatre, 2036 University Ave (at Shattuck) in Berkeley at 4:30, 7 and 9:30 PM.
Thursday, Nov. 20, FORBIDDEN ANIMATION with Karl Cohen in-person at the Lark Theatre at 549 Magnolia Ave. in Larkspur at 7 PM
Monday, Nov. 24 IDEAS IN ANIMATION with live music by Nik Phelps and the Sprocket Ensemble. Shows at 7:30 and 9:30 PM. Guests TBA, $10. Minna Street Gallery, 111 Minna off 2nd between Mission & Howard.
NATIONAL NEWS
CONGRESS PRESERVES FUNDING FOR THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS When members of the House wanted to destroy the NEA the story made headlines. When a House-Senate conference committee finally voted unanimously to fund the 1998 budget with only a small $1.5 million cut in their budget, the news was small print in the Chronicle. The story was carried Oct. 1.
BILL PLYMPTON'S I MARRIED A STRANGE PERSON IS BEING SCREENED BY MAJOR FESTIVALS It premiered in Toronto a month or two ago. Now it is set to be screened at festivals in Hamburg, Hawaii, Charleston, Stockholm, Oslo and San Sebastian. He is searching for a distribution deal that will be better than the one he has for The Tune. He says that distributor grossed over a million, but absorbed all the income under "expenses."
I Married A Strange Person is a film you will probably love if you enjoy Plympton's humor. It has an opening sex scene that is quite erotic until strange outrageous things start to happen. Then it gets funny and stays that way for most of the film. I know Plympton's work fairly well and enjoyed seeing how he has returned to some material from the past and has pushed it further and in new directions. It seemed to be a very fresh and funny film full of new and original gags.
I showed a few minutes of the film to a small group of students at S.F. State and they were laughing out loud. While it will be too weird for people who think Disney is where it is at, it should develop a large following for people who like work that is on the cutting edge. KC
KLASKY CSUPO REPRESENTS TWO TOP INDEPENDENT ANIMATORS FOR COMMERCIAL WORK The L.A. company recently hired Rachel Finn to rep their commercial and promo film division. The announcement said she will represent director Danny Antonucci. He did Lupo the Butcher and runs a production company in Vancouver. She will also represent George Griffin who lives in New York. His recent independent work includes Ko-ko, A Little Routine and New Fangled. Other animators that are represented by Klasky Csupo for commercial work are Miles Flanagan and Bonita Versch.
IN TOON MAGAZINE IS EITHER DEAD OR IN A SERIOUS COMA In June the editor of another magazine said there was a rumor that the issue of In Toon that was at the printer was put on hold after the partners who ran the magazine had a fight. Since it was supposed to feature my 4000 word interview on Maurice Noble, I tried to contact the editor several times. No luck and no issue. KC
JOHN KRICFALUSI IS DOING AN ANIMATED SERIES FOR HIS OWN INTERNET SITE A New York Times article on Oct. 6 said he had a deal with the Microsoft Network to do a series for them, but the deal died. Now he is set to do "The Goddamn George Liquor American" show from his studio in L.A. with 90 seconds to 3 minutes of new footage added to the project each week until a full 1/2 hour program is developed. He plans to sell advertising on his web site to pay for the project. The first episode is "Baby-sitting the Idiot" and it may be seen on the Spumco Network Web site at www.spumco.com You will need a Shockwave Flash plug-in to see his work. One ASIFA member who has seen the web site says it is really well designed and the animation isn't full screen, but it looks great.
TOM SITO INTERVIEWED MARK KAUSLER BEFORE A LIVE AUDIENCE AS AN ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD EVENT Among Kausler's many credits are work on the Yellow Submarine, Ralph Bakshi's Heavy Traffic, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, "Ren and Stimpy" and Disney's Beauty and the Beast. He also has a remarkable knowledge of animation history and a world class archive of films and documents. He read my manuscript for errors before it went to the printer and provided a good deal of new information for Forbidden Animation. Having talked with Kausler many times I'd say the Oct. event must have been an outstanding education for those who attended it. KC
ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD ANNOUNCES THE ANNIE AWARD NOMINATIONS Over 500 entries were received for 27 categories. Cats Don't Dance was the most nominated feature while King of the Hill and The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa tied for the most nominated TV productions. Disney TV and Film Roman were the most popular production studios.
They also announced that Fleischer animator Myron Waldman and Paul Winchell who was a noted ventriloquist and later became a voice actor will be given lifetime achievement awards. Awards will also be given to the late Phyllis Craig and the late Willis O'Brien.
The awards ceremony will take place Nov. 16 in Pasadena at the Convention Center. For more information call (818) 842-8330.
HANNA-BARBERA STUDIO TO CLOSE according to the ASIFA-Hollywood quarterly journal which is looking great now that John Cawley is the editor. The H-B staff that is left is being moved to Warner Brothers TV studio in Sherman Oaks. A lot of people left the studio after Time-Warner purchased Turner, knowing Time-Warner didn't really need the old H-B studio. The building may eventually be torn down as the value of the land...
The issue also reports that Don Messick has remained ill since suffering a stroke last year. He did a great number of voices for H-B and is no longer able to work.
Another news item from Cawley is Duckman has been canceled by the USA Network, but the series may be picked up by the United Paramount Network. Klasky Csupo has done 70 episodes and would like to do 100.
PUBLICATIONS
McBOING BOING'S #11 This is a fine little magazine (16 pages) that contains well thought out reviews of several recent books, a long article on a The Great Cheese Mystery, a cartoon written by Frank Tashlin at Columbia just before his historic Fox and Grapes was released; plus several other articles including a strange one about the similarities between Daffy Duck and Jerry Lewis.
Dewey McGuire is a serious book reader and reviewer. He wrote a rave review of Canemaker's Before the Animation Begins. He says, "I literally could not put it down... Canemaker certainly doesn't paper over the crippling effect of studio politics... these stories lend a touching vulnerability to the art... I have to say that John Canemaker is a terrific writer who somehow keeps topping himself..."
McGuire also reviewed Mouse Under Glass and Serious Business. He does an excellent job explaining what is wrong with them.
The issue also has negative reviews by John Hayes (not Wild Brain's Hays) of Chuck Reducks and The Art of Hanna-Barbera. He explains why you should leave both of them on the shelf of your favorite bookstore.
There is also a rave review of the artwork in R.O. Blechman's The Life of Saint Nicholas. Linda Simensky of Cartoon Network and ASIFA-East (their president) also speaks highly of this book.
To get the next to the last and/or final issue of McBoing Boing's send $3.50 each to Dewey McGuire, 134 Cardiff Circle, Iowa City, IA 52246 (319) 337-3233.
ASIFA NEWS, #3/1997 is our international newsletter. There is an article on short fiction films at Annecy '97, information on the ASIFA board's meeting at Annecy, articles on copyright law, student films, web sites of interest to animation fans, a list of animation magazines in the US & Canada, a review of Drawing Insight, a page of artwork by animators, and more. Issues are free when you join ASIFA-International.
FESTIVALS
See last months newsletter for details about Berlin (Nov. 21 deadline), National Educational Media Network (Dec. 1 deadline for films and videos), International Monitor Awards (Jan. 20 deadline), Golden Gate Awards (Dec. 12 deadline), Black Maria (Nov. 21 deadline), Second World Animation Celebration (Nov. 15 deadline), 9th Stuttgart (deadline not known), Hiroshima (March 21 deadline), Zagreb (Feb. 1 deadline for forms).
NOTE: GOLDEN GATE AWARDS COMPETITION HAS LOWERED THEIR FEES IN ALL CATEGORIES and raised the amount of prize money awarded to make the event more attractive to enter. Call Brian Gordon at (415) 929-5014 for entry information.
TORONTO WORLDWIDE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL has a March 1 deadline, no entry fee and winners qualify for Oscar nominations. The producers say this is the largest independent short film festival in North America. Work must be in 16mm or 35mm. Contact Brenda Sherwood, Executive Director, Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival, 60 Atlantic Ave. Suite #110, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6K 1X9 or call (416) 535-8506.
SLAMDANCE deadline is Nov. 12. This is an alternative event to Sundance. Both are held in Park City, Utah at the same time. For details call (310) 204-7977 (Sundance deadline was in Oct.).
MAD CAT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL will be in March and has a Dec. 22 deadline. $10-30 entry fee. Contact Ariella Ben-Dov, WiseGirl Productions, 937 Fell Street, SF CA 94117 (415) 436-9523.
ARTWORK CONTEST, 20 prizes (up to $300), deadline Dec. 31, 1997. They want images on white paper with black ink. They can be line drawings or prescreened drawings (smaller than 8.5" x 14"). The images can be high quality photocopies. No entry fee. Two categories. Limit 1 work per category. Winners will be published in Fandata's Fandom Directory #18. For details contact Mariane Hopkins, FD Artwork Contest, 7761 Asterella Court, Springfield, VA 22152-3133 (703) 913-5575.
LATE LISTING: Sat. Nov. 29, Sun. Nov. 30. TEDDY BEARS & FRIENDS PARADE AND FILM FESTIVAL, Pacific Film Archive, 1 & 3 PM, $3.50ASIFA-INTERNATIONAL NEEDS YOUR THOUGHTS ON AN IMPORTANT ISSUE CONCERNING INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS International board member David Ehrlich wrote the following and would like to hear your responses as to what ASIFA should do. It concerns Annecy becoming an annual rather than bi-annual event. Some board members believe this will have a negative impact on the Zagreb festival. The latter was held every other year so as not to conflict with Annecy. This year Zagreb will happen a few weeks after the new annual event at Annecy. While this may appear to be a trivial matter of little concern to you, especially if you have never attended an international animation festival, it is an important problem for ASIFA. We established rules years ago about how festivals should be run and how they should related to other festivals.
Ehrlich writes, "In 1960, when ASIFA was founded in France, one of its primary functions was to come up with rules for animation festivals, the first of which was to be held in Annecy. The rules have been moderately revised several times since 1960, always with the suggestions and mutual agreement of all the festivals involved. The latest version of the rules, revised at Zagreb in June of 1996, states that the rules 'are set to protect the rights and interests of the filmmaker, to support the continuous development of the art of animation, and to help festivals be worthwhile events.'"
"ASIFA's responsibilities include: publicizing of these festivals through its media, encouraging national groups and individual members to send their productions to festivals patronized by ASIFA; helping to organize additional activities such as retrospectives, seminars, meetings and other events; providing those festivals with a mailing list of ASIFA members if requested, making comments, presenting reviews and discussions of these festivals in ASIFA publications, and at the end of the festival making comments and providing a confidential report on the event to the festival's director."
The most valuable advantage of ASIFA patronage is the added credibility festivals have gained with sponsors, governmental organizations and filmmakers around the world. In return for these benefits, the patronized festival must adhere to rules which are mutually agreed upon. These rules were set up to protect filmmakers against exploitation and unfair practices and to assure those filmamkers of the best possible venue for their work. I'll discuss more of these rules and their practical manifestation in future articles. Here I'll cover the three rules most relevant to a problem now under discussion:"
"ASIFA will not patronize more than two festivals each year on one continent. The calendar adopted by ASIFA will firstly take into account the periodicity and the dates on which the traditionally existing festivals are held (Annecy, Zagreb, Hiroshima, Ottawa, Krok).There will be an interval of at least four months between each festival except in the case of festivals held on different continents and except if two festivals agree to closer dates."
"All of this was requested by the festivals so that they would not be in direct competition with one another, so that each could thrive in its own identity and, more importantly for you, so that filmmakers who could afford only a few prints would be able to send a print to any ASIFA-patronized festival and still have time to receive it back before sending it on to the next. The first ASIFA festival at Annecy insisted on these rules from the very first, and as each new festival emerged and requested ASIFA patronage, it had to abide by this structure of time and geography. That is why, for many years, two festivals, held in June on the same continent, Annecy and Zagreb, have alternated odd and even years. And when a short-lived festivals was begun in Varna, Bulgaria in the early '80's, they agreed to hold it in the late autumn, a full five months after the Annecy Festival in June."
"All was in relative balance until the Annecy Festival unilaterally decided last month to hold their International Animation Festival every year. Their festival will be held in late May of '98, less than two weeks before the Zagreb Animation Festival and consequently will threaten to diminish the attendance, the number of films sent, and the chances of sponsorship of the Zagreb Festival which has struggled so valiantly to survive all through the war years as a serious festival committed to the art of animation. Those of you who attended Annecy '97 can readily understand that the festival has grown far beyond the capacity of the theaters and the available hotel rooms, and that the great number of films submitted meant that only 1 out of 10 could be selected for screening. It seemed logical to the festival organizers that they become an annual event, making each event a bit more manageable. They were apparently not willing to modify Annecy '98 so that this "off-year" might be a different event, specializing in TV films and the MIFA (market). This kind of modification would have lessened the negative impact on Zagreb."
"Annecy has made their decision, based upon their own needs. We have asked the other ASIFA festival directors to send us their opinion now as to whether the festivals should still have a patronage relationship with ASIFA, if so whether it should change and whether our rules should change to adapt to changing (more commercial) circumstances, and what action ASIFA is advised to take on Annecy's decision. The Executive Board will study those opinions, hold fax discussions and will decide on the action that best protects and furthers the interests of the filmmakers and that best helps ALL animation festivals. Hopefully I'll be able to give you those results in the next column."
"Even with this rather limited background, do you have a strong reaction one way or another? Do you feel, 'the more Annecy festivals, the better the chance of my film being selected! ASIFA should adapt to a new world and patronize ALL animation festivals," or do you feel that "I want to increase the chance of survival for a less commercial festival like Zagreb and think you should maintain the rules." Will you send your film to Annecy '98, even if the festival is not patronized by ASIFA and may not offer you the same protection? Will you have enough prints to send to Annecy, Zagreb, Hiroshima and Ottawa? As I have no budget to return phone calls, please fax me at (802) 234-5401; email:David Ehrlich@dartmouth.edu"
Ehrlich can also be reached by snail mail at RR 1, Box 50, Randolph, Vermont 05060ASIFA-SAN FRANCISCO AND THE EXPLORATORIUM'S FILM PROGRAM PRESENT
THE ART OF INDUSTRIAL LIGHT AND MAGIC with DAVID ANDREWS, ANIMATION SUPERVISOR HAL HICKEL, SENIOR ANIMATOR WADE HOWIE, DIRECTOR WITH ILM'S COMMERCIAL GROUP
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, McBEAN THEATER
IN THE EXPLORATORIUM
PLEASE ARRIVE BEFORE 7:30 We expect a full house. There will be no late seating.
This is a rare chance to meet some of the creative talent currently working at ILM. Andrews did some of the remarkable scenes of aliens in Mars Attacks! while Hickel was responsible for memorable dinosaurs moments in Lost World. Howie has worked on some of the award winning TV commercials produced by this exceptional firm. The artists will discuss their work and some of the other amazing things that have been produced at ILM in recent months.ASIFA-SAN FRANCISCO
P.O. Box 14516
San Francisco, CA 94114
This issue was written by Karl Cohen and proofread by Barbara Bannerman-Olitzky. Issues are free to members of ASIFA-San Francisco. To join send $18 to the above address ($40 for local and international membership).