Set along the beautiful Southern California Coastline, this festival had more than 20,000 filmgoers attend this past year. 300 films will be selected to compete for more than two-dozen audience and jury awards at one of the country

Founded in August 1961, WorldFest is the third oldest competitive International film festival in North America. It gave first honors and awards to Spielberg, George Lucas, Randall Kleiser, Ridley Scott, Ang Lee, The Coen Brothers, Robert Rodriguez and many more. It screens 50-60 new features and around 100 new shorts, in 35mm and digital video DLP projection in a large commercial theater complex. The event provides great networking as more than 450 international filmmakers attend, and the general audience exceeds 25,000 at the 10-day event. There is an awards gala, parties, Texas BBQ, regatta on the bay, VIP tour of NASA, Festival Club (no stinkin' badges required) and six professional production seminars. For more information, visit http://www.filmfestivalspro.com/bulletin/03/oct/houston.shtml.

Entries are now being accepted for a deluxe publication showcasing artwork created with Discreet products. ELEMENTAL will contain a premium collection of artwork reflecting the diverse fields that Discreet products occupy including Film/Visual Effects, Broadcast Graphics, Game Development, Visualization and Other "artistic 3D creations." Artists of selected imagery will receive worldwide exposure. Artwork for consideration must be submitted before April 16, 2004, and artists must register at http://ballisticpublishing.com/call_for_entries/discreet/guidelines.php. Artwork to be considered should be created in any Discreet application. Submitted art can be for commercial use, or personal satisfaction. There is no cost or limit to number of entries.

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.

The National Association of Broadcasters presents the NAB conference every year. The event is The World's Largest Electronic Media Show. NAB consists of a wide array of exhibits and educational sessions in production and post-production. Visitors will discover the latest tips and tricks in digital video production and post-production. As part of the 2004 edition, the event will coincide with the NAB Post|Production World Conference, which will feature more than 160 sessions on a large variety of topics including digital video and film editing, news editing, compositing and special effects, 3D animation, Web design, DVD authoring, video encoding for DVD and streaming, sound design, digital imaging, tech support for digital facilities and DV production tips. For more information visit www.nab.org/conventions/nab2004.

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

da Vinci Systems will host the first annual Master Colorist Awards competition. The company will feature the winning show reels at the NAB2004 exhibition. In addition to the prestigious Master Colorist title and prominent exposure at the exhibition, winning colorists in the TV and long form, theatrical release, commercial and music video categories will receive a trophy and three days of all-expenses-paid training with Kevin Shaw, the company's director of training, at da Vinci's facilities in Coral Springs, Florida. To be eligible for the competition, each show reel submitted must demonstrate work that utilized a da Vinci Systems product. The entry can be a completed project, elements of a project, a reel produced specifically for the competition, or a promotional reel including selections of some or all of these. Entries will be judged by an international panel of industry experts, including leading journalists, consultants and educators within the field. The trophies will be presented to the winning colorists at the Telecine Internet Group's (TIG) annual party. For more information, contact da Vinci Systems at 4397 NW 124 Avenue, Coral Springs, Florida 33065 or visit www.davsys.com.

Ballistic Publishing and the Visual Effects Society are teaming on VESAGE, the definitive art book celebrating the creative talents of the members of the Visual Effects Society (VES). Ballistic Publishing has enlisted an advisory board boasting high profile VES members who will help define entry categories and guide entry selections. The Advisory Board includes: Dan Curry, vfx producer/supervisor, STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE; Toni Pace Carstensen, visual fx producer, CyberGrafix; Valerie Delahaye, production supervisor, Buf; Bob Engelsiepen, creative director, View Studio; Pam Hogarth, director of industry relations, Gnomon School of Visual Effects; John Knoll, visual fx supervisor, ILM, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and co-inventor of Photoshop; Jim Rygiel, visual fx supervisor, Weta Digital, LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy; and Bill Taylor, visual fx cinematographer, Illusion Arts. VES members can submit digital images for consideration to be included in VESAGE. There is no restriction on media, subject or use. Entries must be lodged online so it is the entrant's responsibility to photograph and or scan their work for submission. For more information, visit http://www.ballisticpublishing.com/call_for_entries/vesage/index.php.

Universal Studios and Visionary Cinema are conducting the Universal Monsters Amateur Art Contest. Open to citizens of the U.S., Mexico and Canada, the contest will pick the best renderings of one of either Count Dracula, Frankenstein

Sponsored by Comic-Con International, Wondercon is a comic book and sci-fi/fantasy convention. The event features screenings, game rooms, exhibits, panel discussions and workshops. Wonderful World of Animation art Gallery (WWA) along with Clampett Studio Collections, Home of the Warner Bros. Gallery Art Program, will host the award-winning Directors, Writers and Producers Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, and Bruce Timm for an exclusive authorized signing event at the WWA Booth # 508. For more information visit http://www.comic-con.org/Pages/WCWhatsNew.html.