As a featured component of Los Angeles' International AFI Film Festival, AFI DigiFest is presenting two interactive media showcases highlighting the latest innovations in digital media and their real-world applications. Presented at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' beautiful Linwood-Dunn Theater, the two days of presentations and seminars will be filled with some pretty dazzling stuff. Here's the program: Day One (November 8): AFI hosts a series of curated presentations that highlight noteworthy digital productions from around the world. Among the presentations, Marshall Herskovitz, creator of THIRTY SOMETHING, MY SO-CALLED LIFE and BLOOD DIAMOND, will preview QUARTERLIFE, a new dramatic broadband series that premieres on MySpace on Nov. 11. Presentations rounding out the day feature the best in new digital thinking from the worlds of film, television, games and mobile. Bobby Beck, CEO/President, Animation Mentor, will be part of a panel titled "The Reinvention of Storytelling through Interactive Media." Day Two (November 9): AFI presents five new prototypes incubated in the AFI Digital Content Lab: an online video platform and citizen journalist toolkit for NOW, PBS' weekly investigative news program; a strategy for retaining viewer interest during ads in a DVR environment for Bravo; a social network tailored for players, a documentary about videogame fans being produced by MTV, EA, and Mekanism; a pilot for an original dramatic machinima series created within a 3D game engine; and, finally, a unique user-generated film contest, Filmocracy, for ITVS. For more information, visit www.afi.com/onscreen/AFIFEST/2007/.

THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM animated short, a stop-motion adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's classic short story, directed by animation veteran Marc Lougee and exec produced by animation and vfx icon Ray Harryhausen, is slated to screen over the TriCity Comic Con weekend, October 11, 2008. The 3rd Annual Tri-City Independent Fan Film Festival takes place Oct. 11, 2008 in conjunction with Tri-City Comic Con (TC3). The creation of TC3 is for the promotion of art, media, literature, gaming, and imagination, especially in the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Comic genres. We support the education of the general public in these areas by hosting events, fan-run conventions, and bringing guest professionals to the community and into the local schools to educate and encourage future artists and artisans. The event includes appearances by comic book artists, media guests, exhibitor hall and dealers room, independent film festival and assorted gaming events. Event to be held at Red Lion Inn, 2525 North 20th Avenue, Pasco, Washington, 99301 Telephone: (509) 547-0701 Website: redlion.rdln.com

Expo Licensing Latinoamarica 2007 features top level executives with decision power from Mexico and all over Latin America, the Caribbean and other Spanish speaking countries. This first international licensing event in Latin America is expected to gather participation of more than 6,000 Mexican and international attendees. Expo Licensing Latinoamarica 2007 will be your platform where attendees will sign exclusive deals, strategize with retailers, solidify promotional partnerships and much more. The exhibit show floor will occupy more than 3,000 square meters of space, in ?the state of the art" Banamex Convention Center. Expo Licensing Latinoam?rica 2007 is endorsed by ADVANSTAR, official organizer of the prestigious Licensing International Convention and Trade Show. For more information, visit licensingmexico.com.

The American International Toy Fair is the largest toy trade show in the Western Hemisphere. More than 1,500 manufacturers, distributors, importers and sales agents from 30 countries showcase their toy and entertainment products. From classic toys to interactive entertainment and everything in between, it has it all. Products include action figures and dolls, games and puzzles, bicycles, tricycles and ride-ons, radio-controlled vehicles, infant and preschool toys, cars, trucks and trains, puppets and plush, computer software and videogames, playground and sporting equipment, Halloween and Christmas items, books, stationery, party supplies, and much more. More information can be found at www.toyassociation.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Toy_Fair.

The Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences (AMAS) has opened the call for submissions for the 2008 Machinima Film Festival, which will be held Saturday, November 1, 2008, at Eyebeam, a multi-disciplinary art and technology center in New York City. Filmmakers interested in submitting their work for the 2008 Machinima Awards ("The Mackies") should do so by Friday, Sept. 12. As in years past, the 2008 Machinima Festival will feature panel discussions with prominent machinima filmmakers from around the world discussing this new form of cinema which often uses popular video games like HALO 3, WORLD OF WARCRAFT and THE SIMS as source material for entirely new and often subversive works. The main highlight of the 2008 Machinima Festival is the awards ceremony honoring the best new machinima movies produced in 17 categories, beginning at 8 p.m. This year also sees the introduction of new award categories, notably "Best Long Format" recognizing the increasing number of feature-length productions, and "Best Game Studio Machinima" honoring realtime cutscenes and cinematics found in today's next-generation titles. Hailed as the "Sundance for the Video Game Set" by MTV News, the Machinima Festival evolved from its humble beginnings as an adjunct to QuakeCon in Mesquite, Texas in 2002, into the field's definitive celebration and showcase. The event, which is organized and produced by AMAS, consistently draws hundreds of machinima professionals, enthusiasts and critics, who gather to explore the works of modern innovators, network and discuss the future of the industry. Detailed submission requirements and instructions can be found online at www.festival.machinima.org. Interested parties may also contact AMAS at: ress@machinima.org. WHERE: Eyebeam, 540 W. 21st Street, (between 10th and 11th Avenues), New York, New York, 10011 USA. WHEN: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. (Awards Ceremony at 8 p.m.) PHONE: (212) 937-6580

Sponsored by GarageGames, the fourth annual Independent Games is a fun, informal and informative gathering of independent game developers featuring a keynote address, "The State of the Revolution," by Mark Frohnmayer. IGC provides connections and content for programmers, artists and indie entrepreneurs. Speakers include Melv May on 2D game design, Ill Clan on machinima, John Welsh and Dave Nixon on the casual gaming industry, Thomas Buscaglia on legal issues, Ageia on the future of game physics, Ryan Gordon on Mac OS X game development, Microsoft on Xbox development and many more industry veterans. IGC 2005 presents a great platform for the independent game development community to show off their creations, while learning about next-generation technologies and helpful topics for game developers spread out over five different breakout tracks. The breakout tracks cover topics such as animation and lighting for artists, marketing and legal issues for the business side of gaming, and development techniques from seasoned game programmers. Early registration is online and costs $195 for a three-day pass, including sessions, t-shirt, food, LAN parties and beverage of choice ("beer") for those registering before Sept. 16. Space is limited, so reservations will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Registrations after Sept. 16 will be $250. More information is available at www.indiegamescon.com.

The 4th Bitfilm Festival for digital film and new media shows films that use digital technology in a creative and innovative way. There are five categories:

Digital Features
Films of min. 90 minutes which use 3D animation and digital effects as an artistic means.

Bit Shorts
Short films, music videos and ads which use 3D animation and digital effects as an artistic means.

Flash
Linear films and interactive works made with Macromedia Flash.

Machinima
Films that are animated in real time using game environments.

Micromovies
Films of max. 60 seconds that are custom-made for mobile devices like cell phones, PDAs etc.

There will be a total of 45,000 Euros in prize money awarded. Entry deadline: July 1, 2003. There is no entry fee.

More information and submissions under http://www.bitfilm-festival.org/index_e.html

The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF 04) is North America's oldest and largest animation festival. The festival is broken up into four umbrella categories. The first is for animated feature films. The New Media Competition covers Animation Short Made for the Internet, Internet series, interactive animation and "Machinima," films made with video game software. Commissioned Films Competition covers educational, scientific or industrial film, advertising film, station-program identification, music video, television special, television pilot, television series for adults and television series for children. Independent Short Films Competition covers narrative short film under 35 minutes, non-narrative short film under 35 minutes, first film and films made for children. The changes for 2004 include an expanded range of new media categories -- growing from one generic to four sub-categories -- and additional TV categories. Traditionally shown out of competition as a program enhancement, the feature film category was first introduced at the last OIAF held in 2002, and is expected to draw even more entries this time around. Overall, a record 1,700 entries were received for OIAF 02, the most entries ever received by any international animation festival. Approximately 100 more films, selected from an anticipated 1,500+ entries, will be shown during the festival's showcase programs. The International Short Showcase, the International TV Showcase, the Canadian Short Showcase, the Canadian TV Showcase and the first-ever Kids Animation Showcase will comprise this out-of-competition series. Founded in 1976, and held biennially ever since, the OIAF attracts international animators, producers, broadcasters, and enthusiasts to Ottawa to view films entered in and out of competition, and attend special screenings and workshops that ponder the current state and future of animation. For more information, visit www.animationfestival.ca or www.awn.com/ottawa, e-mail info@animationfestival.ca or call (613) 232-8769.

The Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences will hold the Machinima Film Festival, which celebrates films made within a realtime virtual 3D environment (i.e. 3D game engine). The early submission deadline is August 1, 2003 and the final deadline is September 15, 2003. Last year

The ION International Animation, Games and Film Festival will return to Los Angeles this fall and organizers are looking for submissions of animated films, machinima, game trailers, music videos, live-action short films, short documentaries, TV spots, movie trailers and films made for mobile devices such as cell phones and PDAs. Last year