* Wednesday, March 14, 2001. Hollywood, California, U.S.A.

This week's updates to the Calendar of Events includes: The Animated Encounters, April 26-29, Bristol, UK; The Krok International Animation Film Festival, August 20-September 2, Kiev, Ukraine; The 2nd Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF), September 25-30, Calgary, Canada; The Gemini TV Awards, October 27-29, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; BAF!: Bradford Animation Festival, November 16-18, Bradford, U.K.; and the USVI International Animated Film Festival, December 3-8, Virgin Islands, U.S.A.

* Thursday, April 12, 2001. Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

ATTIK, a leading all-media creative solutions firm, has named Monica Perez their new creative director at the San Francisco office. Perez replaces Simon Dixon who returned to England to assume the creative director role at ATTIK's British offices. Perez joined ATTIK in 1997 as associate creative director and has helped design spots for Microsoft, Ford, Nike, Adidas, Columbia/TriStar Pictures, Levi Strauss and LucasArts.

* Thursday, April 12 – Saturday, April 21, 2001. Toronto, Canada.



The Images Festival is an exhibition of artists' film, video and new media. The event searches out cutting-edge work from inventive filmmakers. For more information contact: Tel.: (416) 971-8405; E-mail: images@interlog.com; or Web: www.interlog.com/~images.

* Friday, April 13 – Sunday, April 15, 2001. Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.



Fantasm 2001 is a leading multimedia science-fiction, fantasy, horror, art, film and gaming convention. Foundation Imaging's computer animation wizard, Mojo, will be on hand to discuss his work on the TV series BABYLON 5, STAR TREK: VOYAGER and STARSHIP TROOPERS. Visitors can bring their demo tapes and questions on how to break into the computer animation business. For more information contact Fantasm 2001 at Web: http://www.fantasm.org.

In a battle for first, THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE and HANNIBAL went toe to toe in Sweden and the U.K., with the cannibalistic cringer taking a good chunk out of the rest of the international box office. In Sweden, HANNIBAL knocked GROOVE out of the top spot with a gross of $1.02 million. GROOVE grabbed second, grossing $456,488, thereby lifting its Swedish cume to $1.44 million. Jumping up a spot to #7, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON floated $107,750, pushing its Swedish cume to $1.23 million. In ninth, CAST AWAY rescued another $90,711, raising its Swedish cume to $2.36 million.

India-based Pentamedia Graphics has agreed to buy California-based movie production company Improvision for US$19.8 million in stock. Pentamedia first teamed with Improvision as co-production and distribution partners for the animated film SINBAD: BEYOND THE VEIL OF MISTS. Currently, a sequel to that 3D motion-capture film is in production. Improvision's purchase will "help strengthen Pentamedia's pre-production and post-production skills and also its distribution reach in the United States," the company said.

* Monday, December 3 – Saturday, December 8, 2001. St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, Virgin Islands, U.S.A.

Entry Deadline: August 31, 2001

* Thursday, April 5 – Sunday, April 8, 2001. Taos, New Mexico, U.S.A.