Ottawa International Animation Festival

Sept 19th-23rd Ottawa, Canada

From September 19th to 23rd, the nation's capital will once again become the center of the animation universe.  The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is the largest event of its kind in North America, a major film event attracting attendees from around the world. Film buffs, art lovers and cartoon fans won't want to miss this year's great line up of screenings taking place at ByTowne Cinema, National Gallery of Canada, Empire Theatres Rideau Centre and Arts Court Theatre.

This year, the Ottawa International Animation Festival received a total of 2377 entries from 81 different countries. Of those, 94 short films and 4 feature films were chosen for competition. In addition, 49 showcase films were chosen to represent the efforts of the Canadian, International, and Student communities.

Professional Development events take place Saturday, September 22nd. If you are working in animation or think you may want to, join industry professionals, animation schools, software companies, and recruiters for a day of presentations and the annual Animarket Tradeshow.

Cartoon Forum

Sept. 11th-14th Toulouse, France

Then the Cartoon Forum is the place where you will spot the best brands and discover the latest trends in European animation. The Cartoon Forum is neither a fair nor a festival, but rather a European co-production forum for TV and new platform animation programmes. For three days each year, European producers have the opportunity to pitch their animation project in front of decision-makers, buyers and investors in order to speed up financing and find cross-border partners. The highly professional yet very friendly atmosphere makes it easier to consolidate commercial links, meet new contacts, and deal with all aspects of partnerships - whether commercial or artistic - at leisure. On average, one project presented at Cartoon Forum out of three secures financing and enters into production.

2012 IBC Conference and Exhibition

Sept 6th-11th

Amsterdam

In an industry that is constantly changing and evolving IBC provides an essential guide to the latest technologies, business models and innovations at the forefront of electronic media and entertainment. From mobile video to automated playout, stereo 3D to cloud production - whatever your interest, IBC has it covered. There are fourteen themed halls to browse housing the latest innovations from more than 1,300 leading brands alongside a wealth of free to attend activities and events designed to enrich your business, your knowledge, and your one to one relationships.

Stimulating debate and sharpening strategy, the IBC Conference attracts the industry’s most influential and authoritative speakers. Join in this 6-day programme packed with headline-grabbing keynotes, masterclasses, revered technical papers and posters, Q&A’s, panel discussions and more.There is nowhere else you can network with representatives of Microsoft, The Walt Disney Studios, Facebook, Sony, the BBC, Google and the European Commission. Only IBC combines such invigorating debate and definitive overview of the roadmaps that will govern the future of electronic media and entertainment.

 SIGGRAPH 2012 will bring thousands of computer graphics and interactive technology professionals from six continents to Los Angeles, California for the industry's most respected technical and creative programs focusing on research, science, art, animation, music, gaming, interactivity, education, and the web from Sunday, 5 August through Thursday, 9 August 2012 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. SIGGRAPH 2012 includes a three-day exhibition of products and services from the computer graphics and interactive marketplace from 7-9 August 2012. More details are available on the SIGGRAPH 2012 Facebook and Twitter.

About ACM SIGGRAPH
The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques is an interdisciplinary community interested in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. Members include researchers, developers and users from the technical, academic, business, and art communities. ACM SIGGRAPH enriches the computer graphics and interactive techniques community year-round through its conferences, global network of professional and student chapters, publications, and educational activities.

About ACM
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field’s challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for lifelong learning, career development, and professional networking.

Licensing International Expo

June 12th-14th

Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas NV

Licensing International Expo brings retailers, manufacturers, brand owners and marketers looking to find new properties and brands, see the latest trends in the industry, and to initiate licensing deals. Licensing International Expo 2011 had approximately 21,000 pre-registered attendees, with record attendance from Asia and Latin America!

Hosting attendees from over 90 countries, Licensing International Expo 2012 promises to be the largest gathering of licensing professionals anywhere, at any time. Whether you are looking to spot trends, build strategic partnerships, secure promotional tie-ins or take your property worldwide - this is where it all happens!

E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo

June 5-7, 2012 Los Angeles Convention Center

E3 is the world's premier trade show for computer and video games and related products. The show is owned by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies, publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet.

The E3 Expo draws tens of thousands of professionals to experience the future of interactive entertainment. The most influential people leading the most innovative companies in the business attend E3 to see groundbreaking new technologies and never-before-seen products for computers, video game consoles, handheld systems, mobile, and the Internet.

2012 will welcome software developers, buyers and retailers, programmers, distributors, entertainment industry representatives, financiers and venture capitalists, importers and exporters, manufacturers, resellers, researchers, educators, financial and industry analysts and worldwide electronic and print media.

Annecy International Animated Film Festival and Market

June 4th-9th

Annecy, France

Check out the latest animated gems, find out about current and future trends, meet up with your favourite film directors and up-and-coming talents, track down new associates and partners... in the fun and friendly atmosphere of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

 There are 5 theatres in and around Annecy screening Festival films from 10am to 11pm. The programme includes films in the official selection and screenings which don't need to be reserved.Each evening at 10pm, there is also a screening on the giant screen on the Pâquier lawn (opposite Bonlieu, free access). Established animators and budding creatives, film directors and producers, teachers and students, designers or artists, long-standing fans or newcomers to the art... everyone can be found at the Festival.

The Festival is paying tribute to Ireland this year.

It is perhaps too early to say that there is a particular style of Irish animation cinema. Influenced by the USA, but especially by Europe, these creations are still in their infancy. However, you will discover the diversity of this animation through TV commissions, graduation and independent films, as well as some prize gems from the archives.

FMX was initiated as an event for students labeled "Film and Media Exchange" (FMX) in 1994 and was supposed to take place every two years. As early as 1996 it became an annual event . When the first FMX took place in 1994, the industry did not even dare to dream about the creative possibilities within computer animation and digital effects that exist today. Throughout the past fifteen years of its existence, FMX kept up with the developments and trends and has grown to become an important networking platform for those working with digital imagery.

In 2012, FMX tracks are, among others, dedicated to Virtual Production, Cinema of the Future, Animation, Visual Effects, Games, Tech Talks, Focuses on Montreal and Vancouver, Poland, Estonia, Transmedia, Virtual Humans and Controlling Complexity.

Confirmed presentations include subjects such as Worldbuilding, Previsualization, Capture Space, Framerates, Stereo 3D, Animation Wild ‘n Strange, VES Exchange, Visual Effects in India, Germany and Europe, Visual Arts, Games made in Germany, Industrial CG, Cloud Computing, Siggraph and Eurographics Papers, Young Guns

FMX 2012
17th Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Transmedia
May 8-11, Stuttgart, Germany

FMX is Europe's largest conference on the creation, production and distribution of digital entertainment and interactive visualization in design, industry and research. Every year artists, specialists, scientists, producers and other key people come to FMX to present new projects, developments and opportunities in the Conference, at the Marketplace, in Workshops or Presentations, in the Recruiting Hub or Education Section, Screenings or Events. As a community-based event, the aim is to provide a space where experiences can be exchanged, innovative approaches discussed and ideas multiplied. The conference’s binding theme is the convergence of film, television, computers, consoles and mobile devices.

FMX 2012 focuses on technical issues such as Virtual Production, Previs, Digital Worldbuilding, Lighting and Rendering, Cloud Computing, VFX on TV, Industrial CG, VFX produced in Europe & India, Scientific Papers and Transmedia. The conference takes place May 8-11 in Stuttgart, Germany.

www.fmx.de

AniFest 2012

April 26th-May1st

Teplice & Buchcov, Czech Pepublic

 

Renowned film makers and theorists of animation are coming every year and students of animation as well as all the fans of moving pictures are heading to AniFest too, looking for some animated treasures unlikely to be found in cinemas.

The aim of the festival is to annualy bring thoughtfully curated selection from the best of contemporary animated film, systematically present the work of big personalities from the history of animation in retrospectives (sometimes celebreting their anniversaries) and in selections of various national productions. For this reason AniFest also colaborates with many other world festivals of (not only) animated film. We are also part of the Cartoon EU organization and we nominate our candidate for the Cartoon d’Or prize every year. AniFest 2012 will aslo screen the selection of Cartoon d’Or winners.

In spite of the fact that we’re trying (so far sucessfully) to break the old cliche about animated films being only for children, we’re also aware that it’s necessary to start with film education early. A significant part of the festival programme is dedicated to children and little visitors can also attend various workshops organized by experienced lectors or authors themselves.

And because we’re also aware that it’s not healthy to spend all week sitting in the dark screening halls, rich accompanying programme in form of concerts, theatre shows and exhibitions is a traditional part of AniFest.

So -  viva la animation and see you at the festival!