The anime classic AKIRA, fresh from a $1 million restoration, has been released on the big screen in a few select theatres in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. With digital projection, this is the cleanest, crispest print ever seen to date. AWN was invited to a special pre-release screening and was very impressed by the quality of the print and restoration. First released theatrically in Japan in 1988, AKIRA has garnered legions of fans around the world and is still considered a masterpiece of cel animation.

Creating what is arguably both the biggest project and greatest success in its eight years of operation, New York's The Diecks Group recently delivered a complete redesign of Discovery Kids Network, a three-hour block of programming aired on weekends on the Discovery Channel. Creative director Brian Diecks and The Diecks Group team were the exclusive creators of 122 on-air design elements, including block opens, next-ons, bumpers, interstitials and promo elements. The project required extensive live-action, 3D animation, effects compositing and 2D graphics.

This year, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival (June 4-9, 2001) will pay tribute to Great Britain, with a profile of Aardman Animations, along with screenings of classic British shorts, THE YELLOW SUBMARINE, the Bolex Brothers' THE SECRET ADVENTURES OF TOM THUMB, and more. For its 2001 edition Annecy received 1,070 films (1,092 in 2000). 242 of them, representing 26 countries, have been selected for official competition with 193 in competition and 49 in panorama. Confirmed jury members are: AWN's Ron Diamond (producer and publisher, USA), John R.

* Wednesday, May 2, 2001. New York City, New York, U.S.A.



MAC 3D NY, a Mac 3D Artist Association, is hosting meetings every other month at the Apple Marketing Center in New York City. The next meeting will be held Wednesday, May 2, 2001 at 6:00 pm. The topic is: Architecture and 3D/CAD Industrial Design, with guests from Form-Z, Architosh and Artlantis. The Apple Marketing Center is located at 53rd Street at Lexington Avenue, on the 29th floor of the Citicorp building. For pre-registration and other information, visit: www.mac3dny.org

- Complete Site Redesign for Animha

Animha Productions has completely redesigned their Website on AWN. The new
site has information on the organization, workshops such as
"Suspended Animation" and "Eyes of Fire," cool clips from various
projects, and the latest news and information about activities and
happenings within the organization. Animha is an association of
artists, writers, animators and filmmakers based in the Northern
Region of England. Animha works in partnership with schools,

* Friday, August 3 – Sunday, August 12, 2001. Minnesota, U.S.A.



Entry Deadline: June 1, 2001.

* Thursday, September 27 - Tuesday, October 2, 2001. Lake Tahoe, California, U.S.A.


Entry Deadline: June 29, 2001

* Thursday, April 19 - Sunday, May 20, 2001. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Lombard, Illinois' Big Idea Productions, a family media company, is
having an OPEN CALL for 3D ANIMATION DIRECTORS, 3D CHARACTER
ANIMATORS, ART DIRECTORS, ANIMATORS, CONCEPT ARTISTS and MODELERS. . .
Halifax, Canada's Collideascope Digital Productions, Inc., a new
media and convergence company, is looking for an ANIMATOR and 2D
ANIMATOR. . . Wiesbaden, Germany's Die Kolonie GbR, a talent and
recruiting agency, is looking for a TV-DESIGNER & ANIMATOR 2D & 3D. . .
Bregenz, Austria's KE Consult is looking for a FLASH SPECIALIST to

* Sunday, April 29, 2001. Toronto, Canada



Sharon Katz' new short, THE ANGEL'S FOOT CAKE / DER FUS TORT premieres April 29, 2001 at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival. THE ANGEL'S FOOT CAKE is a raucous modern Yiddish tale accompanied by Klezmer music. For more information on Sharon Katz' work, including her previous short, HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH, visit: www.sharonkatz.net