ASIFA-Hollywood is presenting Puppet Mania 2000, a gathering of Puppeteers of America's Pacific Southwest Region. The celebration features an international list of puppeteers including Sid Krofft, Velma Dawson of Howdy Doody fame, Ray Harryhausen and the puppeteers behind the scenes of such films and shows as MUPPETS TONIGHT, BEAKMAN'S WORLD, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, MEN IN BLACK and more. Running until August 19, 2000, the exhibition will showcase puppets from the outstanding collection of Alan Cook as well as many famous TV and film puppets. Events scheduled are: Sid and Marty Krofft and Stars; Tony Urbano and His Marionettes; Puppets, Puppets, Puppets: Tom Jensen The Wizard of Oz - Storybook Puppet Theater; Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale by Lewis Mahlmann & Company plus Puppet Mania 2K Cabaret; Puppetoon Film Festival with Bob Baker and a Special Appearance by Ray Harryhausen; Kevin Menegus and his Marionettes plus Three Little Kittens: The Mewsical; A Night of Puppet Maniacs; and Eugene Seregin and His Marionettes from Russia Plus Fable of the Fox - Los Titiriteros de Binefar from Spain. Tickets are available by phone or Internet through www.ticketweb.com or (800) 965-4827. Registration for Puppet Mania is required to participate in workshops and late-night events. The exhibition and outdoor performances are free.

The 3rd Annual Disney Institute Animation Event will give animation fans a chance to participate in the creation of a short animated film. For the first time an original score has been commissioned for the event. Hosting the event will be John Culhane, an acclaimed animation scholar and the inspiration for the "Mr. Snoops" character in THE RESCUERS. Guests will stay 6 days and 5 nights in a bungalow at the Disney Institute. Animation workshops and team animation sessions will guide participants through the animation process from story to soundtrack. A Disney animated film screening will happen nightly, followed by commentary. The newly trained animators will be given a copy of their work to take home with them. The price for the event is US$1,299 per person for double occupancy or $1,685 per person for single occupancy.

Friday, July 28

Friday, July 28 - Saturday, August 26, 2000. Santa Monica & Pasadena, California, U.S.A.

Friday, August 25 - Thursday, August 31, 2000. San Diego, California, U.S.A.

Friday, September 1 - Saturday, December 16, 2000. West Hollywood, California, U.S.A.

Friday, September 1 - Saturday, November 18, 2000. La Jolla, California, U.S.A.

Friday, September 1 - Saturday, November 18, 2000. Riverside, California, U.S.A.

Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation comes to Southern California. The irreverent animation on this year's bill includes: MONKEY VS. ROBOT; COCO, THE JUNKIE PIMP 2; SCOUT'S HONOR; RADIOACTIVE CROTCH MAN 3; PUSSY DA RED NOSED REINDEER; THE HANGNAIL; WHEELCHAIR REBECCA; ANGRY KID; RICK & STEVE: THE HAPPIEST GAY COUPLE IN ALL THE WORLD; STINKY MONKEY; BEAT THE BRAT; FOR THE BIRDS (Pixar's new short); GHOST OF STEPHEN FOSTER; REJECTED (newest from BILLY'S BALLON director Don Hertzfeldt); MUTE & MOTORMOUTH in "Birth of Abomination;" SLOACHES FUN HOUSE and DEEP SYMPATHY. The festival runs only on Fridays and Saturdays in Santa Monica, Pasadena, West Hollywood, La Jolla and Riverside, but will run daily in San Diego. Director Don Hertzfeldt will be on hand at the La Jolla screening on September 15-16 to answer questions and sign autographs. Admission is free if you bring your parents. (Bringing a dwarf or wearing 8-inch heels or higher also qualifies.)

For more information on the Santa Monica screening contact Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex at Tel.: (310) 394-9741; for the Pasadena screening contact Laemmle's Colorado Theatre at Tel.: (626) 796-9704; for the West Hollywood screening contact Laemmle's Sunset Theatre at Tel.: (323) 848-3500; for the San Diego screening contact Ken Cinema at Tel.: (619) 283-5909; for the La Jolla screening contact the Museum of Contemporary Art at Tel.: (858) 454-0267; and for the Riverside screening contact CinemaStar University Villiage 10 at Tel.: (909) 777-FILM.

Rushes Post-production facility is hosting the second Rushes Soho Shorts Festival to showcase short film art. The festival screens 53 films in free screenings held in cafes, bars and cinemas across Soho. On August 3, the festival will hand out their awards. The five categories in this year's festival are: The Switch2.net Short Film Award for the best short film submitted by a professional filmmaker; The Sony ProMedia Newcomer Award; The Avid Softimage Titles & Idents Award; The Wam!Net Animated Short Award; and The Innovation TK Music Video Award. This year's list of judges include: Laurence Kaye (head of film, TV & multimedia, Universal Music Publishing Group), Eva Tarr Kirkhope (Metro Cinemas Ltd.), David Sin (director ICA Projects), Ken Ingles (director Film House, Edinburgh), Robert Campbell (Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe Y&R), Mike Cannaris (Mcasso Music), Dave Knight (Promo News), Trevor Beattie (TBWA), Adam Perry (Channel 5 Television), Gub Neal (head of Drama Channel 4 Television), Roger Shannon (BFI), Roger White (Music for Films), Patrick Uden (Uden Associates), John Hegarty (Bartle Bogle Hegarty), Ian Williamson & Jonathan Burley (HHCL), Clare Wilford and Bob Dorman (CGI Magazine). New to the festival this year will be a short filmmaking seminar held in conjunction with the New Producers Alliance on August 1. On-line screenings of selected films will air on Switch2.net.

As part of the second Annual Week with the Masters Festival, the festival will include for the first time, an animation competition. The competition, open to independent animation artists from India and south Asia, including students, offers a Grand Prize of US$2000 in prize money and $1000 for winners in each of the competition categories. This year's 10 masters will serve as jurors for the competition, and include David Fine, Piet Kroon, Gerald Potterton, Joanna Priestley, Normand Rogers and Alison Snowden. All entries must be animated in whole or in part; live-action films may be entered if it contains a significant animation component. The festival invites works completed after August 1, 1998, produced by citizens or residents of India and the countries of Southeast Asia, with an English soundtrack or with English subtitles. Competition categories include: independent productions up to and including 10 minutes in length; independent productions more than 10 minutes and up to and including 30 minutes in length; and student productions up to and including 30 minutes in length. Week with the Masters Animation Celebration is organized by Toonz Animation India Pvt. Ltd.

The San Luis Obispo Festival and its George Sidney Independent Film Competition showcases art in independent filmmaking. The competition features categories for features, documentaries, animation and shorts (films less than 60 minutes). An award of US$500 is given in each category for first place, and second and third place winners receive an award of merit.

The renowned layout, background artist and color designer Maurice Noble will be holding a design seminar. Starting at the Disney Studios in 1931, he worked on SILLY SYMPHONIES, THE OLD MILL, SNOW WHITE, BAMBI, FANTASIA and DUMBO. His work at Warner Bros. Studios is legendary, designing the backgrounds for classic cartoons such as "What's Opera Doc" and "Duck Amuck" (both in the National Archives!), "Duck Dodgers," the ROAD RUNNER cartoons, and contributing to the feature film, THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPET. Continuing his work with Chuck Jones at MGM, he also worked on HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, HORTON HEARS A WHO, THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH and the Academy Award-winning short, THE DOT AND THE LINE, which he designed and co-directed. The price for the class is US$350.

Read Karl Cohen's Animation World Magazine interview with Maurice Noble and find out why he's the "Old Rebel."

The Edinburgh Multimedia and Animation Festival (EMAF) is set to coincide with the International Arts Festival which sees over 300,000 visitors. The event includes the participation of artists, companies, studios and universities worldwide. EMAF will feature conferences and workshops about the many technical advances in the animation and multimedia industry. Recruiters will be on hand for students and animators to meet. The festival is being sponsored by Digital Design Research Centre.

The 15th Animated Cartoon Festival For Young People is a biannual event which gives young people an opportunity to discover a wide array of productions from all over the world. The festival will hold tributes, exhibitions and workshops. The official selections will be screened within several programs during the festival. An international jury will give out official prizes to the films in competition. In addition, a jury made up of 11