Launched in 1987, the Singapore International Film Festival sets out to promote film as an artistic medium, provide the opportunity to audiences to view films not otherwise released commercially, create awareness of the finer points of filmmaking through seminars and workshops by overseas professionals, pave the way for a Singapore film industry and provide an international showcase for Asian Cinema.

The Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF) is an annual film event, which screens about 300 films from more than 45 countries. Besides screening award winning and critically acclaimed films, we also organize workshops, seminars and exhibitions on filmmaking for the film students and the film industry.

The Festival is recognized by international film critics for its programming and focus on Asian Cinema and has a platform for new Singapore films and a window to South East Asian films. Many festival programmers and critics attend our Festival to discover new Asian talents. Tributes to the SIFF have been organized by the Cine Vegas Film Festival and the European Institute of Cinema.

For more information, visit www.filmfest.org.sg/.

The Abuja International Film Festival would afford the Abuja auephiles an opportunity to experience a feast of top films from around the world; fresh films with cutting edge approaches to the cinematic art of storytelling, most of which are proudly, premiere screenings in Nigeria.

The festival is a four-day event with workshops and panel discussion featuring local and international filmmakers. Abuja has over the course of the last one-year demonstrated positive moves towards stimulating the film industry in this city and in this region.
The festival thus has an expanded program of panel discussions and workshops, an ambit of screening venues, the enriching presence of filmmakers, and of course a fantastic array of films which all contribute towards ensuring that the Abuja International film festival is a cinematic celebration to remember.

On May 9, 2007, Hollywood's elite movers and shakers will converge at the historic Castro Theatre for the Academy of Art University's 1st Annual Epidemic Film Festival. Featuring infectious work from a new generation of artists on the verge of graduating from the nation's top art and design school, the festival will showcase the best student work from the Academy's School of Motion Pictures & Television and School of Animation and Visual Effects. Hundreds of students will submit their films for entry in the following general categories: short narrative, documentary, commercial, music video, experimental and animation. A jury, comprised of some of the entertainment industry's top execs with a keen eye for talent, will select the finalists who will earn a coveted spot in the screening lineup. Some of this year's esteemed jurors include the Dean of Pixar University, Randy Nelson, and Michael Nankin, director and writer of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. In addition, the finalists will be invited to an exclusive VIP Industry Reception before the screening to mingle and network with some of the animation and film industry's key players. An Honorary Doctorate will also be awarded to a member of the entertainment industry who has made a significant contribution to the business. Emmy award winning actor Chad Lowe will be on hand to emcee the event. Lowe is best known for his starring role on LIFE GOES ON as a man suffering from AIDS, in which he won an Emmy. He plays Deputy Chief of Staff, Reed Pollock on the hit series 24. Winning students will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to attend the most important national conventions in their industries, sponsored by the Academy of Art University. Winners in the film categories will attend the 2008 National Association of Television Program Executives convention in Las Vegas, and winners in the animation categories will attend SIGGRAPH in San Diego. Running from 7:00-9:30 pm, the event will take place at The Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street, San Francisco, California 94114. Tickets will be available to the public at the Castro Theater Box Office on the day of the event, one hour before show time, on a first come, first served basis. Guests to the festival are encouraged to arrive early. For more information, visit www.academyart.edu or call (800) 544-2787.

In partnership with the Coolidge Corner Theatre, the Brattle Film Foundation's 1st Annual New England Animation Bash promises to be an event for all things "toony." Covering all the bases, the theatres will show independent and network pieces, as well as professional works and college projects. On June 6, The Brattle Theatre will host "An Evening with Soup2Nuts," kicking off at 6:00 pm. Audiences can catch a special behind the scenes glimpse when Soup2Nuts presents a panel discussion followed by a showcase of some of the studio's work over the last 10 years such as Comedy Central's DR. KATZ: PROFESSIONAL THERAPIST and Cartoon Network's HOME MOVIES. Then, at 7:30pm, Soup2Nuts will air a showcase of some of their greatest work, both old and new, including a number of never-before-aired pilots featuring the voices of comedians Jack Black and Dave Cross. For more information, fans and curious spectators alike can visit www.brattlefilm.org and www.coolidge.org.

The 1st Annual "Urban 2 Suburban Film Fest Show" is a Film/Performing arts festival geared to bring talent together under one roof despite geographical and artistic contrast. The event will be hosted by independent production company Raised Around It...Ent. and will feature local and not so local filmmakers, animators, media talent, visual, special invited guest, recording and spoken word artist. The event will take place at 7:00 pm at the Top floor, which is located on the Corner of Harford Avenue and Hamilton Avenue. The entrance is on Hamilton Avenue. 5440 Harford Road (on the third Floor), Baltimore, MD 21214. Tickets are $10. For more info, call (443) 756-3337 or visit www.grasshopperphilms.com/u2s.html.

Barton Films in collaboration with Gorostilanda is organizing the 1st Bizkala International Animated Film Festival. The film festival will be a celebration of both short and full-length animated films. For more information, contact tel: +944352848, fax: +944352849 or e-mail: gorostilanda@gorostilanda.e.telefonica.net.

1st Goyang International Children

The goal of Hida International Animation Festival of Folktales and Fables 'The 2nd Animation Contest of Folktales and Fables' is to unearth promising animation artists in order to support them in their future endeavors. The contest will offer a place for animation artists to display their works as well as an opportunity to exchange ideas and techniques with other artists. The theme is for animated works created in a story-like format that correspond to folktales, fables, myths, legends and folkways that are conceived in nature or lifestyle, of the Hida. Any regions in the world are invited to enter this contest. Original animation works based on modern-day interpretations are also welcome. All entries must have a screening time that does not exceed 30 minutes, be completed within the last four years (since January 1st 2002), clearance for all music and characters and does not contain content that violates public order on standards and decency. Animations that have already been released either domestically or internationally are still eligible as well as entries that have received past awards at other festivals are also eligible. In such a case, documentation certifying each respective event date is required. First prize will win 4 billion Turkish lira, second place 3 billion, third place 1 billion and three special prize winners will received 500 million. For more information, visit www.folklorkurumu.org.

Skillset, Broadcast, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, five, BskyB, Pact and BECTU have united to create the first National Skills Day. On National Skills Day, the whole of the audiovisual industries makes a concerted and coherent commitment to skills and skills development. Leading employers undertake a whole range of activities to promote the importance of skills development and maintain the skills and talents of practitioners across our industry. For more information, visit www.skillset.org/nationalskillsday.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will take audiences on a special behind-the-scenes journey into the making of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY during a program hosted by special effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull and actor Tom Hanks, on Wednesday, May 21, at 8 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Presented by the Academy's Science and Technology Council, "2001 in 2008: A Cinematic Odyssey" will feature never-before-seen images of and an onstage discussion about the technology used in the making of Stanley Kubrick's Academy Award-winning sci-fi epic. The innovative special effects tools and techniques to be presented in the program include the Slit-Scan machine, the "Sausage Factory" device, the Jupiter machine and the front projection process, all of which were used in the production of the film. Trumbull was one of four photographic effects supervisors on the set when filming began in December 1965 at MGM British Studios in Borehamwood, England. The film 2001 was Trumbull's first job on a feature film, and working with Kubrick had a profound impact on him and his career. Trumbull recently aided David D. Larson, who has been researching a book on the film's history, in identifying and contextualizing 2001 film items from the Kubrick Archive in London, including original artwork, memos, call sheets, photographs and other artifacts; highlights of these discoveries will be included in "2001 in 2008." Oscar winner and Academy governor Tom Hanks was a junior high school student in Oakland, California, when he saw the film for the first time. Many dozens of viewings later, his interests and artistic choices reflect a continuing passion for this influential work. Complementing the presentation will be a display of representative filming equipment as well as actual items used in the film, including a spacesuit and helmets, on loan from several private collections. Established in 2003 by the Academy's Board of Governors, the Science and Technology Council provides a forum for the exchange of information, promotes cooperation among diverse technological interests within the industry, sponsors publications, fosters educational activities and preserves the history of the science and technology of motion pictures. Tickets to "2001 in 2008: A Cinematic Odyssey" are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets are available for purchase by mail, at the Academy box office, or online at www.oscars.org. Doors open at 7 p.m. All seating is unreserved. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For additional information, visit www.oscars.org or call 310-247-3600.