The annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are given to the finest publications and creators in the comic book industry. Publishers can submit any comic, graphic novel or comics-related periodical or book that was shipped to retailers between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003. The submitted items will be considered by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, who will select the final items to appear on the Eisner Awards ballot. Creators can submit materials for consideration if: (a) their publisher is no longer in business; (b) their publisher is unlikely to have participated in the nomination process; or (c) they have severed connections with the publisher or have similar reasons for believing that their publisher is unlikely to consider nominating them or their work. All submissions should be sent to Jackie Estrada, Eisner Awards Administrator, 4657 Cajon Way, San Diego, California 92115. The nominees will be announced in April, and ballots will go out in May to some 5,000 creators, editors, publishers, distributors, and retailers. The results will be announced by celebrity presenters at the gala awards ceremony held during the Comic-Con International. For more information, call Jackie Estrada at (619) 286-1591 or e-mail her at jackiee@mindspring.com.

Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for children presents the best of international and Canadian films for children and youth aged 4-18 including shorts, features, documentaries, live-action and animation. Sprockets is a competitive festival and is pleased to host a number of guests including filmmakers, programmers and buyers each year. Sprockets promotes contacts between industry professionals to assist in the development of the role cinema plays in the education and enrichment of young people. Sprockets Awards include two audience awards: one for favorite feature and one for favorite animation, and three young people's jury awards, two for feature films and one for short films. There is no fee to submit work. The festival also screens work created by students grades 3 through 12. Submissionsare viewed by a panel of experts and finalists have their films screened during Sprockets. For more information, visit http://www.bell.ca/sprockets.

COMMUNICATION ARTS ILLUSTRATION AND PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITIONS

Now is the time to promote your talent to the creative community and potential clients worldwide by having your work selected for the largest and most important juried competitions for illustration and photography.

Communication Arts invites you to enter your work in the 45th Annual Illustration and Photography competitions.

Selected, award-winning pieces will appear in Communication Arts magazine, in either the July Illustration Annual or August Photography Annual. More than 72,000 copies of each Annual will be distributed worldwide, assuring the selected entries important exposure to professionals in the fields of advertising and design.

The deadline for both competitions is March 15, 2004.

For submission guidelines, PDF entry forms and FAQs, visit:
http://www.commarts.com/competition

Juried by a nationally representative jury of distinguished designers, art directors and illustrators, each year

Cortoons first international animated short film festival will be a celebration of animation shorts. The international competition hopes to bring greater awareness to short animated cinema. There are no entry fees. For more information, visit www.cortoons.it or e-mail info@cortoons.it.

The Ann Arbor Film Festival is a non-profit arts organization that has along-standing tradition of showcasing all genres of independent experimental film. Its mission is to provide a worldwide public forum for independent and experimental moving image exhibitions, to encourage and showcase artists of the moving image, to promote the moving image as art and to offer educational outreach. The week after the festival the festival will host a traveling tour of colleges, museums and theaters across the U.S. A total of $18,000 in cash prizes will be awarded by jurors in 22 categories. For more information contact the festival at: P.O. Box 8232, Ann Arbor, MI 48107; tel.: (734) 995-5356 and Web: www.aafilmfest.org.

The 8th annual PROMAX&BDA Europe convention is two days dedicated to two days the branding and marketing business. As part of the event, the conference will hold an awards ceremony to showcase the best in advertising from around the globe. For more information contact PROMAX&BDA Europe at: 61 Webber Street, London SE1 ORF, tel: +44 207 401 05 71, fax: +44 207 401 05 72, e-mail: europe@promax.tv, or Web: www.promax.tv/europe.

The Game Developers Choice Awards recognize games and developers that are truly worthy. The recipients are chosen by creators, who know what it takes to make great games. To submit your nominations, go to: www.igda.org/awards/nominations.htm. All game developers are eligible to submit nominations. In order to nominate, a developer must be registered with the igda. only those game developers who submit nominations will be eligible to participate in the voting process for the finalists. The Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony will be held at the Game Developers Conference. For more information, visit www.igda.org/awards.

refocus-now is hosting its 2005 Calendar Competition featuring the best photography, digital imaging and mixed media work being used in advertising, design and the publishing market sectors. The calendar will be published in autumn with each of the competition winners receiving 20 copies for their own use. The remainder will be distributed to commercial art buyers, art directors and designers and sold from the refocus-now Website. The four categories cover all four seasons and entrants can interpret the theme for each category however they wish. The judges will be looking for strong, inspired and imaginative imagery that capture the spirit of each season. For further details and guidelines, visit http://www.refocus-now.co.uk.

The 11th Beijing Student Film Festival is scheduled its opening on April 18th, 2004. This anual event draw almost all Chinese celebrities and showcase most high rated movies produced in mainland China judged by academy standard. Organized by Beijing Normal University School of the Arts and Communications, it has been a successful for 10 yeas since 1993 and considered one of the best film festivals in China which involves filmmakers and college students. It is highly distinguishable of festival