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CALL FOR ENTRIES: 20th Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart (23 - 28 April 2013)

There’s a reason to celebrate in 2013: The Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart (ITFS) will take place for the 20th time! And in its anniversary edition, too, the festival will offer a platform to directors and production companies to present their films as well as a chance to fans of animated film to watch animated short and feature films, to meet well-known filmmakers and young talents, and participate in numerous workshops, informational events and presentations for six days.

Since its foundation in 1982, the festival has developed into an essential event within the field of animated film in Germany and is regarded as one of the biggest and most important festivals for animated film around the world. Around 80,000 viewers and approximately 2,500 accredited people attended the festival last year. Both professionals and friends of animated film appreciate the quality and up-to-date programmes as well as the unique atmosphere at Stuttgart’s Schlossplatz. They come to Stuttgart to gain information, to educate themselves and to establish contacts. The high-profile conference FMX will take place in parallel to ITFS. With the Animation Production Day (APD) – held in cooperation with FMX and organised by Michael Schmetz Mediaconsult – the festival offers an additional marketing platform for the animation sector.

Blogs

Call for Animation: GOLDEN KUKER SOFIA INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FILM FESTIVAL 7 – 12 May 2013 SOFIA, BULGARIA

Dear filmmakers, producers, students and distributors, Now is your chance to submit your animated films for the 4th GOLDEN KUKER – SOFIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL!

IAFF GOLDEN KUKER will be held from May 7 to 12, 2013 in Sofia, Bulgaria.   You are kindly invited to participate in our festival’s competition this year with your animation films produced after 1st January 2011! Our call for entries is open until January 1, 2013. No entry fee!

Submit your film online via VIMEO | www.wetransfer.com | www.yousendit.com | www.dropbox.com or via ftp.

Submit a film in the following ways:

* fill out the online entry form electronically (http://animationfest-bg.eu/en/submit), print it out for your records and in order to send a signed copy, and click SUBMIT to send it online.

Blogs

THE MASTER (2012) (****)

By Rick DeMott | Saturday, September 29, 2012 at 11:24am

Paul Thomas Anderson is the master. His films feel epic even when they're essentially dealing with just two characters as he does here. It's because he mines the central theme for all it has to give. On the surface the film is about a cult leader and his latest devotee. But it is also a post war story and can even be extrapolated to the meaning of life. Anderson asks who is your master?

We are introduced to Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix, GLADIATOR) during World War II when he is on the beach with his fellow soldiers trying to unwind. He builds a naked woman in the sand, talks about how to get rid of crabs, all the while he guzzles down booze from his flask. He shocks his fellow soldiers and makes a strong impression on the viewer. When he comes home from the war, he is confused, lost and angry. He drifts from being a department store photographer to a day laborer on a cabbage farm until one night he stumbles upon the yacht occupied by Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman, CAPOTE).

Blogs

Anyone may buy "The Man who Planted Trees" but how many can own the Mona Lisa?

By Milt Vallas | Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 1:30pm

More questions - Is performance a form of art or does art need to be a painting or a sculpture or what?Literature, Dance, Music certainly, photography probably, ceramics, or fashion (can a dress be seen as art and it’s designer an artist?)You may answer, “Who cares? But what fun is there in that? It leaves nothing to think or talk about. Like a road trip, the fun is in the trip itself, not the destination and so it is with any discussion about art, philosophy, film, baseball, politics and even religion.

Apps Blogs

Mobile Technology Trends: Give Your Apps a Voice

By Dan Sarto | Wednesday, September 26, 2012 at 2:33pm

When looking to integrate voice controls to mobile apps, developers are faced with a growing and often bewildering array of implementation options. To help sort through the technology and design options, we recently spoke with Ben Lilienthal, co-founder and CEO of OneTok, a new company that aims to make it easier and cheaper for developers to speech-enable their apps.

Blogs

ANIBAR INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL 22ND - 27TH August, 2012 Peja, Kosovo

A Heritage Museum is situated in an urban house dating from the 18th century that contains examples of regional clothing, beautifully crafted jewellery, musical instruments, and every day household items from the past.  The town also hosts a large open air market twice a week as well as the oldest mosque in Kosovo and a monastery located in the mountains is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

There are numerous cafes serving delicious freshly grilled meats and local bean dishes as well as excellent local beer made from the water that flows from the surrounding mountains.  Each evening the main square comes alive as people come out to promenade after the heat of the day and small children take to a fleet of electric cars that are for rent in the square.

Blogs

A SEPARATION (2012) (****)

This Oscar winner is a classic drama. It pits two families against each other. Each of the members have a different role to play in the increasing tension between the characters. The story begins with a simple conflict between a husband and wife. Their decision to divorce is just the start of the story, which unravels in expected ways, leading to a charge of murder. The fact that the film is Iranian is inconsequential and yet works its way into the core of the film.

Simin (Leila Hatami, LEILA) has filed for divorce because her husband Nader (Peyman Moadi, ABOUT ELLY) has decided to stay behind in Iran to take care of his ailing father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi) instead of moving abroad with her and their teen daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi). She don't see the purpose for him to stay when his father has Alzheimer's and no longer recognizes him, while he sees no other option because he still remembers the past. She moves out of their apartment and in with her mother, secretly wishing her leaving will convince her husband to give in. She doesn't want to get a divorce but doesn't understand her husband's feelings. In turn he does not understand her feelings, for honor means a great deal to him. Their daughter is trapped between the two not knowing which way to go, so she stays with her father because she knows her mother will not leave without her. This story is so universal to many families, in many cultures.

Blogs

BERNIE (2012) (***1/2)

Richard Linklater has a wide range of movies on his resume. You have his trippy animated films like WAKING LIFE and A SCANNER DARKLY and his more conventional comedy SCHOOL OF ROCK. BERNIE is a dark comedy that doesn't easily fit into any of the groups of his previous films. However there is something in its core that reminded me of his films SLACKER and DAZED AND CONFUSED. Place and time are key in those films and they also play a role in this one.

Based on the true story Bernie Tiede, the film is the tale of two unique characters coming together. But it is also a tale about the small town of Carthage, Texas. Bernie (Jack Black, HIGH FIDELITY) came to Carthage to serve as the town's assistant funeral director and quickly became the most liked person there. He was a kind gentleman who had a way of easing the grief of those who had just lost a loved one. This made him good at his job, but his smooth talking helped, as well. Bernie could up-sell a customer on a coffin like the employee of the month at McDonald's does with extra large fries. His civic dedication to the town made him even more popular. However his biggest challenge was winning over the widow Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine, THE APARTMENT).

Blogs

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (2012) (****)

As a parent, I cannot imagine the depth of conflicting despair one might feel if their child committed an unthinkable act of violence. This reflective film tries to get into the mind of a parent whose son has done something horrible. We watch this morose mother sludge through the wreckage of her former life. Through a series of flashbacks we get glimpses of her memories of her child as if she's obsessing about the details that could explain his actions. There has always seemed to be something wrong with little Kevin.

Tilda Swinton plays the mother Eva in another performance worthy of praise. She was a woman full of life before she accidentally got pregnant with her son. As a baby he never stopped crying until his father Franklin (John C. Reilly, CHICAGO) returned home from work. It seemed this child was trying to drive her crazy. On a walk, the sound of a jackhammer is a welcome break from the wails of her child.

Blogs

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012) (***1/2)

By Rick DeMott | Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 10:37pm

Christopher Nolan's DARK KNIGHT trilogy has come to an end. In many ways it reminds me of another great trilogy's finale — RETURN OF THE JEDI. Not quite up to the grand standards of its predecessors, but a satisfying conclusion to the story of its main characters.

The action takes place eight years after the end of THE DARK KNIGHT. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale, AMERICAN PYSCHO) is now living as a recluse in his Wayne Manor, his body broken from years of abuse defending Gotham as the Dark Knight. The city has not seen the Batman since the death of DA Harvey Dent. Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman, THE PROFESSIONAL) has kept the secret of Harvey Dent's descent into madness from the city. Dent's death, which Batman took the blame, has given the authority the clout to enact tough anti-crime laws that some feel overreach. Because Bruce believes that great power takes great responsibility and can easily be abused, he has decided to shelve a fusion power project, which has the potential to bring cheap power to millions.

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