The Cloud Creek Institute For The Arts presents the Dreamcatcher Short Film Contest open to films five minutes or less. One grand prizewinner will receive a two-week residence at Cloud Creek Institute For The Arts with complete run of the facilities and its top-notch equipment. Write, prep, shoot and even do post-production work on your next masterpiece right there on site with everything you need at your fingertips. Winners get a special screening with long-time industry pros, a shot at a National Television Distribution deal and free admission and support at other film festivals. All works entered will be judged by industry professionals including Larry Brody, writer/producer of thousands of hours of primetime TV; Arnold Leibovit, producer of such feature films as THE TIME MACHINE; Steve Poster, cinematographer and past president of the American Society of Cinematographers; and Chip Chalmers, director of STAR TREK: VOYAGER. For more information, go to www.cloudcreek.org.

ASIFA-Hollywood is currently accepting entries for the 31st Annual Annie Awards. Deadline to receive entries is Friday, October 3, 2003. Every year, ASIFA-Hollywood, the Los Angeles area-based branch of the International Animated Film Society, honors the best in film, television, game and Internet animation with the Annie Awards. The awards ceremony will take place at the Alex Theater in Glendale, California on Saturday, February 7, 2004.

The Annie Awards honor overall excellence as well as individual achievement in areas ranging from production design, character animation and effects animation to storyboarding, writing, music and voice acting. Entries submitted for consideration must be from productions that originally aired, were exhibited in an animation festival or commercially released in their country of origin between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003.

All rules, category information and entry forms are available online at www.asifa-hollywood.org or by contacting ASIFA-Hollywood at (818) 842-8330. Final nominations will be announced by ASIFA-Hollywood in January 2004.

Founded in 1972 by ASIFA member and veteran voice talent June Foray, the Annie Awards have grown in scope and stature for the past three decades. Today, ASIFA-Hollywood supports a range of animation activities and preservation efforts through its membership. Today, there are ASIFA chapters in nearly thirty countries worldwide.

Imagina is a trade show dedicated to international digital entertainment and interactive content. Ever since it was first held more than 20 years ago, the event has focused on the pioneers of the digital audiovisual media. Imagina offers multimedia professionals a bridge linking research and industrial applications. The industry and innovation village has invented a new trade exhibition concept. In a single space, it brings together industrialists offering commercial solutions and demonstrations of innovative projects from research organizations (research laboratories, universities, small companies). The Web3D space is open to companies offering advanced 3D visualization solutions on the Web. The Web3D space contains a set of 10 free-access computers. Each visitor can test the software of Web3D exhibitions in actual conditions of use (loading time, range of possibilities, etc

Klasky Csupo is conducting its Cooltoons Lab, looking for scripts and/or storyboards with dialogue to animate a seven-minute pilot episode of an original show. Should your project be chosen, the studio will produce and record it. You will be credited as a creator, with the possibility of being engaged on a potential series based on the pilot. For more information, entry submission form and animation storyboard, visit www.cooltoons.com/lab.

Cingular Wireless, the largest wireless carrier in the United States, is searching for film students and young customers to create 15-second films on their wireless phones. The Cingular Wireless Short Film Festival, a national initiative, is offering cash and prizes for the best film shorts produced on video phones. There are two separate categories -- one for college film students and the other for Cingular users ages 13 to 24. For the film student portion, the festival will be judged by Hollywood director Brett Ratner, a New York University film school graduate.

To encourage participation among the film students, Cingular will provide, on a first come, first served basis, Motorola V551 video phones. Film students who miss out on the loaner phones can still submit an entry if they have access to a VMS capable phone with Cingular service. The films can fit within different genres, including action, comedy and experimental. Ratner will judge the films on specific criteria, including creativity, expression and entertainment value. The overall student winner will receive a Motorola V551 phone, $500 in Cingular Gift Cards and $5,000 in cash. All submissions will be available for viewing on the rucingular.com film short microsite: rucingular.com/screeningroom.

Top vote-getters for each week of the contest will receive free ringtones and CDs, among other prizes. At the end of the festival, one grand-prize winner will receive a Motorola V551 phone stocked with ringtones, as well as 10 free movie passes and $5,000 in cash.

Consumers can go to rucingular.com/screeningroom to receive additional information about the contest, including rules and submission guidelines.

Anime LA celebrates the world of anim

The Second Annual Society of Artists Agents Illustration Awards honor the best in illustration. The winner will be announced by famous illustrator and children

DH Institute of Media Arts is currently accepting submissions for our January gallery exhibit. There will be two themed categories for submitted works. The first category, an anime character in a Valentine themed setting. The second category submission is for an original game character design. Works should be submitted on 8.5"x11" workspace, either mounted on a isplay board or matted frame.

The Annual T-Shirt and Poster Artwork competition is a juried show and the entry fee is non-refundable. This year's theme is "Art is in the Air." Depending on the number of pieces submitted, not all pieces may be shown. Submissions are accepted Friday from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm at the Solstice office - 924 Anacapa Street, Suite B1-F (in the basement). Cost per entry is $15 with a maximum of three per artist. The Artists' Reception at the Sojourner on January 17 is at 134 East Canon Perdido from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. For further information call the Solstice office at (805) 965-3396.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival is one of the largest film festivals in the U.S., screening more than 200 films from 60+ countries to an audience of over 70,000. From ages 5 to 85, the festival brings together communities as diverse as the retired citizens of the desert, the young, hip industry crowd of Los Angeles and film aficionados from around the world. The festival also features cultural events, filmmaker tributes, industry seminars and an annual black-tie gala award presentation. The festival screens a majority of the official international submissions to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Best Foreign Language Film. For more information, visit http://www.psfilmfest.org.