Hollywood Shorts' 2nd Annual Animation Festival is holding a one-day festival to highlight animation shorts. Hollywood Shorts is a monthly short film festival that features shorts from the film festival circuit for the established Los Angeles film and television community. Submissions to the animation festival must be no longer than 20 minutes and sent in VHS/NTSC format for review. Both traditional and 3D animation is welcome. There is a US$10 entry fee and checks should be made out to "Kimberley Browning (HS)."

Tuesday, September 5

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum's exhibit "Star Wars: The Magic of Myth" has come to the Field Museum. One of the most popular Smithsonian exhibits of all-time, "Magic of Myth" features costumes, characters like Chewbacca and Jabba the Hut, as well as production props and models. The exhibit opens with the actual 8-foot model of the Imperial Star Destroyer used in the film. Tickets are US$5 on top of the basic Field Museum admission for adults; $2.50 extra for children aged 3-11 and $4 extra for seniors and students. Museum admission for adults is $8 and for children, seniors and students it's $4. Wednesdays are free.

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.

SIGGRAPH 2000 is the foremost conference and expo on computer graphics. This year's event will feature an art gallery of some of the best digital work being created in the world. The event gives students, educators and artists a chance to communicate with the international computer graphics industry. The computer animation festival has the following categories: entertainment, visualization, education, art, non-narrative and experimental. The expo will feature in-depth labs, programs, seminars, forums, workshops and discussion on the industry of visual effects. The keynote address will be given by Ray Kurzwell, the author of THE AGE OF SPIRITUAL MACHINES: WHEN COMPUTERS EXCEED HUMAN INTELLIGENCE.

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.

Cine-Clube de Avanca and the C

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.