* Wednesday, March 31. Burbank, California, U.S.A.

* Wednesday, March 24 - Saturday, March 27. Auch, France.


For its 12th edition, the Festival National du Film d'Animation (National Animation Festival) moves to Auch, Central France from its previous home in Marly-le-Roi. Programs include screenings, panel discussions, tributes, exhibitions, the workshop "Introduction to Animation," and opportunities for audiences to meet the filmmakers. For more information, call ++ 33 (0)1-4543-2359, e-mail afca@afca.asso.fr or visit www.afca.asso.fr.

* Thursday, March 25. Santa Monica, California, U.S.A.


DH Institute of Media Arts (DHIMA) will have a year-end exhibit/screening of works from graduating and current students starting at 7:00 p.m. Demo reels and current projects will be shown, and visitors can enjoy beer, wine, snacks and music throughout the evening. Past DHIMA graduates have gone on to work at companies such as Digital Domain, SEGA, Namco and Alias|Wavefront. To RSVP, call (310) 899-9377 or e-mail rsvp@dhima.com

* Monday, March 22. San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

* Tuesday, March 16. San Jose, California, USA.


The "Performance Animation Society" and the "Game Developers Conference" present "Evolving Humans for Games," an evening that takes a look at the next wave of tools that are enabling game developers to add photorealistic humans and 3D objects to their game environments. The meeting, at the San Jose Conference Center, takes place from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. and is open to everybody. For more information visit www.pasociety.org/gdc.

* Monday, March 15 - Friday, March 19. San Jose, California, USA.

* Wednesday, March 10 - Sunday, March 14. Tampere, Finland.


The 29th Tampere International Short Film Festival features competitive screenings of over 80 short films from around the world. The special screenings include retrospectives of Frédéric Back and Pat O'Neill, a look at Russian animation in the '90s and screenings of five children's films such as Lotte Reiniger's 1926 film Adventures of Prince Achmed and the Iranian puppet animation film, Basaaritarinoita. For ticket information direct your browser to http://www.tampere.fi/festival/film/index2.htm.

Career Boot Camp, presented by the L.A. Chapter's of SIGGRAPH and Women in Animation, is a one-day intensive computer animation-geared event taking place Sunday, March 7 from 9-5 p.m. at the Universal Hilton in Universal City, California. The program is designed to inform people interested in breaking into the computer animation and visual effects industries. Attendees will hear from industry professionals from such companies as Industrial Light & Magic, the Walt Disney Company, Pacific Data Images (PDI), Tippett Studios, Area 51 and numerous others.

The 7th annual ASIFA Central Midwest Animator's Conference & Retreat takes place from April 30 through May 2 in the heart of Starved Rock State Park (Utica, Illinois). The event brings together an informal group of attendees to hear featured speakers, view animation and discuss various aspects of the animation business. Also included on the agenda is a Bar-B-Que, nature hikes and a chance to swim in an indoor pool or relax in a hot tub. The Retreat also features "The Helen Victoria Haynes World Peace Storyboard & Animation Scholarship Competition" designed to encourage student animators.

* Friday, March 5 - Saturday, March 6. Glendale, California, USA.