New EA design studio, Annapurna basecamp, Nepal.

As reported on the Republica website, Nepal’s first annual Animation Short Film Festival will be held tomorrow, Friday, October 29 by the Independent Film Society (IFS), in association with Artistic Alliance Nepal (AAN).  18 films from 9 countries will be screened.  The event will be held at the Nepal Tourism Board, Exhibition Road. Oxygen tanks must be checked at the door.

In other Nepalese animation industry news, gaming giant EA has opened a new visual design studio at the Annapurna camp at the base of the Himalayan mountains. An unnamed EA spokesperson reported the studio would be doing pre-vis and other design work for the company’s 2013 slated release “Need For Speed: Freezin Pursuit of Hypoxia.”