The Canada International Film Festival brings the best of world cinema to Canada and plays an important role in maintaining and further enriching its film culture. The Canada International Film Festival has quickly carved out a name for itself among the top film festivals in Canada. It accepts films of any type, in any genre, from over 90 countries around the world. The festival is dedicated to the creation of opportunities for the artistic interaction and exchange among independent filmmakers and the film-going community.

The Honolulu International Film Festival is a crossroads of the world, bridging the gap between East and West on the pristine island of Oahu, Hawaii. Surrounded by the sparkling Pacific and spectacular scenery, the Honolulu International Film Festival recognizes outstanding achievement in filmmaking from around the world. It is our mission to showcase the finest independent cinema the world has to offer while helping to advance the careers of promising filmmakers by providing a platform through which their talents can be recognized.

This year IAF 5th will be held in the Pera Museum November 24-30, 2008. 5th Istanbul Animation and Visual Effects Short Film Competition applications are available until September 17. Competitors can apply by going to www.iafistanbul.com.

To check news of IAF 5th visit http://www.iafistanbul.com/index_en.php.

Held beneath the red rocks of Zion National Park, the Red Rock Film Festival presents a program that will both challenge and educate the mind. The Xtreme sports shorts and off-the-charts dramatic features are just the accessories to the festival's staple of political documentaries and foreign film. The festival is just a two-hour drive from Las Vegas, and offers a breathtaking location to see film in the warm part of the state of Utah. For more information visit www.redrockfilmfestival.com.

The San Francisco International Animation Festival's opening night features Nina Paley's SITA SINGS THE BLUES. Cannes highlight WALTZ WITH BASHIR, Bill Plympton's IDIOTS AND ANGELS, Retrospective of Gene Deitch's films for children and award-winning shorts from around the world will also play. The festival is a four-day event celebrating one of the most fertile, creative and productive forms of artistic, experimental, commercial and industrial media. The International Animation Festival ranges from the latest award-winning features to family-friendly short cartoons and celebrates San Francisco's preeminence as a hub for one of the most vital forms in cinema today. SFIAF will screen November 13-16 at Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema, with special live events at the Apple Store and the Ninth Street Independent Film Center. Highlights include: November 13 SITA SINGS THE BLUES Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema Nina Paley (USA 2008) Betty Boop meets bhangra in Nina Paley's celebrated first feature-length film, a beautifully animated visual feast of East meets West that has delighted audiences around the world. 8 p.m. reception with Nina Paley. Complimentary Peroni beer, wine and appetizers at One Embarcadero Center, Lobby Level (in the former Gallery One space), followed by the 9:15 p.m. screening of SITA SINGS THE BLUES. November 14 The Best of Annecy 2008 8:30 p.m., Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema The Best of Annecy 2008 presents a selection of the best shorts to have appeared this year at Annecy International Animated Film Festival, the most important festival for animation in Europe. November 15 Control Freaks Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema Are we masters of our own destinies? The short films in this program dance around the question, and ultimately evade it. Encyclopedia Pictura Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema This shorts program features wildly creative music videos and animated, live action and hybrid pieces created by the enigmatic Bay Area collective known as Encyclopedia Pictura. 7:15 p.m. WALTZ WITH BASHIR Ari Folman, Israel/France 2008 WALTZ WITH BASHIR -- like PERSEPOLIS and CHICAGO 10 before it -- focuses on a politically charged, nonfictional event with such force and thoughtfulness that it recasts the dramatic potentials of long-form animation. A standout of the main competition section at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Ari Folman's tour de force explores the posttraumatic stress-clouded memories that are the legacy of his service in the Israeli army during the massacres at Sabra and Shatila in 1982. (It would not be an exaggeration to say that in the Middle East "Sabra and Shatila" carry the weight and watershed sense of history that "9/11" does in the United States.) Set off by a recurring nightmare, Folman is moved to find out whether his horrific wartime memories are real or fantasy. He sets out to locate others he fought alongside of, finding that excavating the truth is not only painful but also quite difficult. Due to the malleable, expressive nature of animation, WALTZ WITH BASHIR communicates essential ideas about the subjective nature of truth. It's an uncompromising look at the effects of war and one of the most powerful films of the year. Written by Ari Folman. In Hebrew with English subtitles. 88 min. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. 9:45 p.m. IDIOTS AND ANGELS Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema Bill Plympton expected to attend. Indie animation king Bill Plympton's newest feature is a dark and humorous allegory about morally bankrupt men. Meet the Maker: Practice and Craft with Gene Deitch 10 a.m.

There are three competitions in the Bolanzo ShortFilmFestival.

--Fifth Annual No Words -- International no-dialogue short film competition.
In this competition, the film/video must be understood through the strength of the images only. Music, sounds, environment background noises, etc. are accepted. Films/videos without dialogues, about any topics, produced 2006, 2007 or 2008 can be submitted.

--Fourth Annual Short Film Experiment -- Short film competition for experimental films.
Experimental short films produced 2006, 2007 or 2008 can be submitted.

--40th Annual Opere Nuove -- Short film competition for Italian films.
Competition for Italian filmmakers, Italian producers or films in Italian language only.

Free entry for all competitions. Total prizes amount is 5,500 Euros.

For further information, and for the online-submission of your works we invite you to visit our website: www.operenuove.it.

The American Film Market has announced the schedule for its seminars and conferences to be held at Le Merigot Hotel and the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica from November 7 to 11. Film and new media executives, distributors, producers, writers, directors, financiers, attorneys, sales agents and film commissioners will address topics affecting the independent sector, including film financing, online and self distribution, production incentives, the future of 3-D, the monetization of film projects and new technologies. Presented by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and KPMG LLP, a total of 14 sessions will be held. Kicking off this year's agenda will be the "AFM Finance Conference" at 9 a.m. on Friday, November 7; while other notable seminars include "Pitch Me!," at 9 a.m. on Saturday, November 8; "Web Entrepreneurs: Imagination Meets Commerce," at 11 a.m. on Monday, November 10; "Through Rose (and Aqua) Colored Glasses: The Future of 3-D," at 2 p.m. on the 10; and "Getting Your Film Seen," at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 11 Seminars and conferences during this year's AFM are being programmed by the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), the American Society of Cinematographers, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the Directors Guild of America, Dreamscape Studios, Entertainment Partners, Film Independent, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Producers Guild of America, Women in Film and the Writers Guild of America, West. Additional information on this year's seminars and conferences, including ticket prices and venues, is located at www.AmericanFilmMarket.com.

Join Mark and Jeanne Simon, founders of SellYourTVConceptNow.com are hosting a free telephone/Internet seminar with guests Rick Feldman, President of NATPE and Amber Lawson, VP of Production for National Lampoon. Go to www.PitchTvLikeaPro.com to register for free. Here's just some of what you'll discover on the call: --How to get as many meetings as possible. That's the name of the game and at a conference you don't need an agent or a lawyer, but you do need to know how to work the conference otherwise it's a big waste of money and time. --Three big mistakes to avoid when pitching at a conference. --How one simple thing puts you ahead of 95% of your competition. Find out the real reason why most people fail to get a deal. Plus, they'll give away an audio CD of an interview with the creators of SOUTH PARK captured live at NATPE to two listeners. The conference begins at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific.

From November 4-9, 2008, interfilm Berlin will be celebrating the 24th edition of the International Short Film Festival Berlin Featuring around 450 international and German short films originating from more than 55 countries, interfilm Berlin presents the diverse nature of the short film spectrum in sections such as live action, children's film, animation, documentary, experimental and music clips. Over six festival days, on eight screens in the center of Berlin, audiences will be given the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate poetic, musical, commercial, hybrid, shocking, and incredibly odd films -- always short and compactly compiled in 90 minute programs. Highlights of the festival: Current short film productions from emerging young talent will compete against established filmmakers from all over the world in German and international competitions. International juries will award prizes valued at a total of 40,000 Euros. The audience will get to reward their favorite German short film with a prize of their own for the second year running. In its 24th year, the German capital's oldest film festival (after the Berlinale), has something innovative to offer: during the "Forward -- International Viral Video Award" the best viral films with a message will be awarded prizes by both an audience and industry jury. This is the first festival for short films from and for the Internet to be held at a German film festival. The festival season kicks off on the 2nd of November with the International Short Film Festival for Children and Youth, making it the first year that "KUKI -- Shorts for Kids" 2008, will be a festival in its own right, a festival within a festival as it were. For a period of eight days competition programs and thematic film sections will entice children, parents, school groups and teachers to the cinema screen. Whether the films happen to be animated, in a foreign language, with or without dialogue: short films by and for kids tell stories that everyone can relate to. Special programs include: "Focus on -- Mexico and the Autonomous Basque Region": The aspiring and internationally successful short film scenes belonging to Mexico and the Autonomous Basque Region will be highlighted in this year's Country Specials. Numerous special programs take film productions from all the corners of the globe and give them their due place on the big screen, such as the award-winning dance films and (little known) ads made by the filmmaker Miranda Pennel. Spectacularly choreographed music clips from Bollywood productions as well as international dance films and music videos will certainly get the audience swinging in their seats. Scenes of friendly, liberating chaos are sure to abound when their guest from New York, Charlie Todd, the founder of Improv Everywhere, personally presents his world renowned "missions" (performances) and even hold one, live with Interfilm Berlin. The festival locations Volksbuehne Berlin, Roten Salon and Club Scala will set the scene for intense discourse and entertaining encounters at the various lectures and workshops, panels and parties held there, not to mention the Festival Club and filmmakers' brunch. Acquire an insight into the current themes, trends and techniques found in short films from all over the world by visiting the film market held in the Babylon:Mitte festival cinema daily. With an audience of more than 14,000, 120 German and international guests and 450 industry visitors at last year's festival, interfilm Berlin is one of the most important platforms for short film in Europe. The festival's locations are: Babylon Berlin:Mitte, Hackesche Hofe Filmtheater, Volksbuhne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Roter Salon, Moviemento, Neue Kant Kinos, Instituto Cervantes and Club Scala.

The International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film -- DOK Leipzig -- is the largest German and one of the leading international festivals for artistic documentary and animated films. It was founded in 1955 by the "club of film-makers of the German Democratic Republic" (Club der Filmschaffenden der DDR) under the title "All-German Leipzig Week for Cultural and Documentary Film," as the first independent film festival of the GDR. During the Cold War, the festival was a unique place of encounter and exchange for filmmakers from East and West. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Leipzig Festival has developed into one of the most dynamic festivals for documentary and animated film, providing a high-quality program and - since 2004 - additional industry offers. Artistic animated film is an integral part of the festival for decades and is represented with its own, independent competition since 1995. This "twin-track character" makes Leipzig unique in the festival landscape. Traditionally, the Leipzig Festival stands for films advocating peace and human dignity. In view of its varied and exciting history, it celebrates freedom of mind and speech, as well as pointedly illustrated images. High-quality art house cinema, superbly narrated stories, a critical eye, subtle observation, tracing back history and scrutinizing the "memory of images" shape the Leipzig Festival's character and diversity. Documentary and animation films for DOK Leipzig 2008 can be submitted from now on. The entry form can be filled in online under www.dok-leipzig.de and transmitted straight away. The deadline for applications expires on May 30 2008 (for productions completed by May 1) and on July 18 2008 (for productions completed after May 1). For more information, visit www.dok-leipzig.de.