NATPE is one of the world's foremost media content exhibitions and conferences. The events give a forum for people in the media industry to buy, sell, develop, finance, advertise, promote, market or license their products to a global audience. Over 18,000 industry executives visit NATPE each year. Each year the conference conducts special events on the exhibition floor. "Coffee With" is an informal chat with a hot industry insider. 2001's Chairman's Award will be given to Jerry Seinfeld. The event offers seminars, discussions and pitching sessions for up-and-comers.

The 16th Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market allows short filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their work to an international audience of distributors, buyers and producers who are searching for new talent and content. The market offers viewing areas of more than 3,000 new titles and special screenings. The 700-page market catalogue highlights the films presented at the market. The event gives industry professionals a chance to meet and work on setting up future deals. The European Union MEDIA programme is a supporter of the market.

This year, Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival will be featuring its 13th international competition and 23rd French competition. Filmmakers and buyers can also take advantage of the short film market, which attracts more than 50 TV channels, 50 distributors and 60 international festival organizers. Last year's competition saw films from 44 countries. The 2001 addition will feature programs on South Korea, S & M and Fetish Films, Hitchcock, Spain, African Perspectives and a Children's Programme.

Backed by entertainment leader Showtime Networks, alt.SHO.com has launched its inaugural Alternative Media Festival. alt.SHO.com is accepting original content submissions from digital artists, animators, directors and programmers to be judged by a panel of technology and entertainment industry leaders based on artistic merit and innovative use of technology. alt.SHO.com accepts only entertainment shorts created using digital tools, and those specifically designed for viewing through existing Internet bandwidth constraints. The Alternative Media Festival will have nine categories: comedy, drama, action, documentary, sci-fi, horror, family, experimental and toys/games.

The New York International Children's Film Festival is one of the top showcases of new film for young people. The competitive fest screens 50 new works, shorts and features, plus retrospectives to an audience of 12,000 ages 3-18, parents, filmmakers and media execs. The event also features workshops, panels, presentations and a special section for teen/young adults. Awards will be determined by audience ballot and by audience age grouping.

The Victoria Independent Film & Video Festival's goal is to highlight the work of talented burgeoning filmmakers. This year's event will feature a tribute to Canadian animation studio, International Rocketship. Three-days of the festival will be devoted to animation, including an intensive animation workshop. Over 130 features and shorts in narrative, animation, documentary and experimental will be screened at the 10-day festival.

Penton Media's Internet World Media & Entertainment Festival (ME Festival) highlights live-action films, animation, Web commercials, Web series and experimental works under 15 minutes in length. Winners will be announced March 13, 2001, during the two-day Internet World D2M2 Spring Conference in Los Angeles. Selection will go live February 7 at www.internetworldmefestival.com. Viewers, who log on, can vote for an Audience Award of their favorite short. Filmmakers will vie for five prizes that include cash and all-expense paid trips to national and international Internet World 2001 conference sites. Entry fees and deadlines are US$40 by November 4; $60 by November 15; and $75 by 5 pm on December 4.

The Phoenix Film Festival is a celebration of the movie image. The event features many screenings, seminars, tributes and answer and question discussions.

The Exploratorium is sponsoring a major exhibition entitled "Behind the Screen: Making Motion Pictures and Television." This exhibition is on loan from the American Museum of the Moving Image's collection. It explores the science and craft of moving images and their production. Part of the attraction will allow visitors to create their own animated films.

The Second Annual International Festival of Time-Based Media is being presented by the University of Southern California School of Fine Arts, in collaboration with the Santa Monica Museum of Art. The festival will take place on both the USC Campus, Los Angeles and at the SMMoA, Santa Monica. Art In Motion is organized around a central theme, and the only criteria for submission is that works be "time-based." This year's theme is "The Vanishing Author?" an exploration of the changing view of whom is "The Author" of modern artwork. Entries may address the festival theme directly or indirectly. If, for example, you are an "Author," or your work is made collaboratively, employs sampling and appropriation and/or is available for others to sample, then it is addressing the theme. A jury will view all selected works and award, among others the US$1000 Intelefilm Award for Creative Excellence. The Art in Motion II jurors are Tom Leeser, Visual Effects Supervisor/Art Director at Rhythm & Hues; Janice Tanaka, a video collage artist; and T. Kim Trang, an internationally-acclaimed video artist and independent curator of digital media.