Taffy Ent. has signed a co-production deal with Korean broadcaster EBS and France 5, for its new preschool series LAMIMILA, produced by MoonScoop and Characterplan.

This 65x7 series is aimed at a preschool audience, which is set for a fall 2007 delivery.

The 2006 Cartoon d'Or has been awarded to Joanna Quinn of the U.K. for her short, DREAMS & DESIRES: FAMILY TIES. The hysterically funny 2D short with its reality show camera angle point-of-view is sweeping international animation contesta, racking up wins at Ottawa and Cartoon Forum this past weekend, as well as three awards at Annecy and two at Zabreb earlier this year.

The 30th Ottawa Int’l Animation Festival came to a close on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2006, with the awarding of its prizes. The jury consisting of Konstantin Bronzit, Rob Coleman and Jeff Scher awarded the Nelvana Grand Prize for Best Independent Short Animation to Joanna Quinn’s DREAMS & DESIRES: FAMILY TIES, which previously in the year won three awards at Annecy.

The Grand Prize for Best Commissioned Animation went to FedEx STICK, directed by Framestore New York’s David Hulin, which also won the prize for Promotional Animation.

The latest Acrobat edition of Animation World Magazine is now available. It’s free for a limited time only! This month’s issue tackles the topic of comics, comic strips and illustrations. Jim Korkis uncovers the secret life of animators, who in lean times or more prosperous times have all worked in the world of comicbooks. Korkis also speaks with Floyd Gottfredson, who brought Mickey Mouse to the world via daily comic strips. Joe Strike looks into the art and artists behind classic and contemporary movie posters.

Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz. Check out the latest installment from quizmaster Karl Staven, an accomplished independent animator and head of the Animation Department at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Annecy International Animated Film Festival is the largest animated film festival held each year. The 2006 edition produced a new crop of winners. Are you aware of some of the strongest films out there right now (at least according to the Annecy juries)?

DQ Ent. Ltd., a leading animation, gaming and vfx company based in Hyderabad, South India, announced a joint venture with French production company Onyx Films to produce CG-animated feature films, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

Additionally, DQE announced it will take a 20% equity stake — worth about $3.2 million — in Paris-based TV production company Method Films.

The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) announced the films that have been invited to compete in this year’s 30th anniversary event, running Sept. 20 – 24, 2006. From the 1,947 entries received, 106 films representing 20 countries have been chosen for Official Competitions. An additional 31 films will be shown in out-of-competition Showcase screenings.

The coveted short film grand prize at the 30th International Festival of Animated Film at Annecy went to TRAGIC STORY HAPPY ENDING by Regina Pessoa for France while the black-and-white French film, RENAISSANCE, won the Cristal for Best Feature. The awards were presented at the closing ceremony held on Saturday, June 10, 2006 in Annecy, France.

There were many films submitted to the latest Annecy animation festival, now running June 5-10, 2006, along with the MIFA market (June 7-9), in Annecy, France, and loads of screenings but many festival goers are in search of a film that really wows them. The films have been described as abstract, too long, lacking story with only a few, so far, gaining any note, and even those are not generally agreed upon.

Roland Gauthier will now serve as CG manager for LAIKA/house division. He will oversee LAIKA/house’s CG animation group for all LAIKA/house commercial projects. The CG department has successfully created memorable commercials for various commercial clients.

“Roland brings great expertise and enthusiasm to this key role,” remarked Lourri Hammack, president/exec producer LAIKA/house. “We are very excited for him to lead our phenomenally talented CG team.”