The California Sun Festival, which took place at California State
University Northridge on April 10 - 11, handed out the following awards:


The Golden Sun (Best of the Festival) went to Hannes Rall, Germany, for
"Der Rabe" (The Raven), an 8-minute film freely adapted from the poem "The
Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe.


The Silver Stars (Best in each Category) went
to:


Traditional Animation: Andrea Guaraldo, Italy, for "Soffioni"


Computer Animation: Heiko Lueg, Germany, for "Sandland"

"Find and be found" in the new Career Connections...


At long last, AWN has built a brand new Career Connections, complete with a new Talent Pool resume database with multiple search capabilities, and a new Job Posting database. Join the thousands of animation professionals who've used the Talent Pool to "find and be found." There is no quicker, more direct way to reach the animation community than through the Job Postings database in Career Connections. Thousands of qualified job seekers browse through the Job Postings database every week.

David McCall, creator of Schoohouse Rock, died April 18th in a car accident
near Kukes, Albania, along with his wife, Penny, and Refugees
International's European representative Yvette Pierpaoli and the car's
Albanian driver. The McCalls were en route from Tirana to Kukes, the
primary reception point for Kosovar refugees. They were on a mission for
Refugees International, the Washington, D.C.-based organization on whose
board Mr. and Mrs. McCall served. Part of the mission was to explore

The 3rd edition of Switzerland's largest Animation Film Festival
FANTOCHE will be held from August 31 to September 5 1999.
Deadline for the "International Competition" is June 15.


Registration forms will soon be available from the festival
office or directly from the website www.fantoche.ch. For further
information as well as details about the supporting members association and
oportunities for advertising and sponsoring, please contact the festival
office:


FANTOCHE

Ottikerstr. 53

CH - 8006 Zürich

MIP TV, the international television programme market, where sellers and buyers from all over the world exchange product, takes place April 12th to 17th in Cannes, France. This year’s MIP is expected to reflect a rebounding international TV market. More than 100 TV series from around the world we be offered at MIP, such as DARIA, FAMILY GUY, FUTURAMA, and NORMAN NORMAL. The calendar of events include the following animation related programmes:


MONDAY APRIL 12TH

The Cinema Guild has released the animation cult classic, VAMPIRES IN HAVANA! Juan Padron, best known in the US for his QUINOSCOPO shorts, directed the 1985 Cuban film which was released theatrically in the USA in 1987. VAMPIRES IN HAVANA! is a spoof of horror and gangster movies, presented in a style reminiscent of FRITZ THE CAT. It features Professor von Dracula, a vampire scientist who leaves Transylvania for Cuba where he invents "Vampisol," a potion that allows vampires to live in sunlight.

* Wednesday, April 28 - Sunday, May 2. Oslo, Norway.


The 6th International Oslo Animation Festival invites both animators and
spectators to take part in five days of animated fun. The festival
presents: Nordic and Baltic films in competition, Nordic and Baltic
Panorama, International highlights, a Focus on British animation, Animation
as Music, a Celebration of Lotte Reiniger, Jury programs, Exhibitions and
even more. For further information contact: Oslo Animation Festival, P.O.

* Tuesday, April 27. Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.A.


Roberto Kritzia will give a free slide-lecture to promote the Glenn Vilppu
sketching tour of Italy which will take place in June and July. (See the
Glenn Vilppu tours news item for more information about the tours.) The lecture
takes place at 7:30 pm at Travel Stop, 14011 Ventura Bl., West Bldg., Suite
221, Sherman Oaks, California. Seating is limited. RSVP (818) 994-2402.

BOO WONG has been promoted to head the CGI Department at
Curious Pictures, the bi-coastal, live-action, graphics, special effects
and animation studio, it was announced today by Executive Producer/Head of
Production Richard Winkler. Wong, 33, succeeds Tammy Walters, who recently
left the company to pursue a career as a producer. In her new post, Wong
will be responsible for the overall operation of the CGI department
including scheduling, media flow, resource management, evaluation and

DIC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Disney, has sold two new animated series
to Pax TV, a new family-oriented network in the US. "Archie's Weird
Mysteries" and "Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century" will appear this Fall
as part of the weekday "Pax Power Mystery Hour." "Archie's Weird
Mysteries," a co-production with M6 France, is based on the long running
Archie comics series. In the series, a lab experiement goes awry, creating
such characters as a 50-foot Veronica, and Dr. Jughead and Mr. Hyde.