Characters from the ACE Fair exhibit hall.

The ACE event is held annually and is sponsored by the Gwangju Metropolitan City. It consists of an International Forum, Licensing Plaza and a showcase for cultural content.  It’s an exhibition for all types of cultural content providers from all over the world. There’s Biz Matching, Screenings, and Conferences.

That’s the official line! 

Here’s the unofficial line………………Gwangju ACE Fair was developed to tap into the vast amount of animation business that’s flowing into China and, to a lesser extent, flowing into Seoul, South Korea. They want a piece of the Asian animation pie. The ACE Fair is expected to generate agreements between foreign studios and Korean studios, MOU’s (memos of understanding), and actual contracts. 

Surprise, surprise back at 30,000 ft flying from London to Los Angeles after a super quick trip to the UK and Ukraine.  Since my last communication, which was all about the KROK International Animation Festival, I have been back in the US.  A return home after thirteen months on the road.  I left my home in LA in September of 2011 for a two-month road trip.  That trip kept getting extended and extended.  Resulting into the longest period away from the US since I came to America from the United Kingdom after the release of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, nearly 25 years ago.

Glendale's Alex Theatre

Last month marked the third edition of the AniMazSpot Festival in Glendale, California.  It’s a small, non-profit boutique festival that celebrates the best animated short films from around the world.

The event, founded and organized by Tee Bosustow, was held over the course of one week.  It featured studio tours to fifteen area animation studios, screenings of nominated films at the Woodbury University Theatre, and an education forum also held at Woodbury. A highlight of the fest was a special screening of 20 restored, classic Mr. Magoo shorts from UPA at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.

 

Hello from China….this time in Fuzhou.  This is quite a city and province.  It’s located on China’s Southeast coast and rests at a junction of the Yangzte River Delta and Pearl River Delta..both are dynamic economic circles.  Across the Taiwan Straits lies its closest neighbor, Taiwan and nearby neighbors include Hong Kong and Macao.  Temperatures are moderate and the infrastructure is excellent.  There’s building going on all over the city.

I guess you could consider this blog, primarily, a commercial.  A commercial for ASIFA, the Association Internationale du Film d’Animation.   ASIFA’s distinction is that it’s the only international animation association.

I’m a big fan!

If you’re in the animation business, you really need to be a member.  Why, you ask?  For me, one of the most important reasons for the ASIFA association is the network of artists and filmmakers I’ve been able to establish. Since my company is international it’s important that I have lines of communication with artists and filmmakers around the world.

Frank Lunn with Kritbodee "Golf" Ruengrujira at ACE Fair 2010.

As a recovering attorney, I’ve had the opportunity to see many entertainment agreements.  Most were between various US entities – producers, studios, networks, artists, etc.  As I focus more on transactions as a producer representing a project as opposed to an attorney representing a client, I tend to appreciate what I call the Asian Way of conducting business.  It’s incredibly liberating to do deals the old-fashioned way – meetings with drinking, toasts and handshakes to go around. 

The Animation Workshop is an animation school housed in former military barracks in Viborg, Denmark. It forms a part of VIA University College. Since the late 1980s, The Animation Workshop has educated and trained animators for the Danish, as well as the international animation, computer game and visual effects industry. Teachers, as well as students, come from both Denmark and the rest of the world - as a result, all classes are conducted in English. The Animation Workshop attracts teachers from all over the world, including professional animation artists from well-known studios such as Pixar and DreamWorks.

Zhengzhou China - International Animation Forum and Trade Fair.

Now is the time for US animation entities to actively seek co-production opportunities with their counterparts in Asia.  The growth of the Trans-Pacific animation production pipeline has created business opportunities for animation communities both in Asia and abroad.