The Provincial Council of Almeria (Spain) has decided to extend the length and to increase awards of its fourth Internacional Short Film Festival

Declared of Cultural Interest by the Honorary Deputies Chamber of the Nation, Nueva Mirada Film Festival is a member of CIFEJ (International Centre of Film for Children and Youth) and co-produced by INCAA (National Film Institute for the Arts and Sciences). Among the institutional sponsors are the UNESCO, the OEI (Organization of Iberian American States), the INTAL (Institute of Latin American Television) the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, the Secretary of Culture of the Nation, the Cultural Institute of the Province of Buenos Aires.

Through cinema, the festival sets out to highlight the needs of children and young people around the globe. It features an official competition, retrospectives, seminars, workshops and professional meetings.

For more information, visit www.nuevamirada.com.

The Japan Information and Culture Center, Embassy of Japan in collaboration with DC Anime Club Present screenings of 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND and VOICES OF A DISTANT STAR on Friday May 29, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. as part of inaugural showing for a film series based on both anime and manga. 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND is a 2007 Japanese animated feature film by Makoto Shinkai. The film was finished on January 22, 2007. The first part of the film was debuted on Yahoo! Japan as streaming video to Yahoo! Premium members in February 2007. On March 3, 2007, the full length featured film had its theatrical premiere at Cinema Rise in Shibuya, Tokyo. The film consists of three segments: CHERRY BLOSSOM, COSMONAUT and 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND, totaling about an hour of runtime. As in Shinkai's previous works, Tenmon composes for this film's soundtrack. VOICES OF A DISTANT STAR is a Japanese anime OVA by Makoto Shinkai. It chronicles a long-distance relationship between a teenage couple who communicate by sending emails via their mobile phones across interstellar space. It was originally released to DVD on February 2, 2002, and has since been broadcast across Japan on the anime satellite television network, Animax. This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are required. RSVP to jiccrsvpspring08@embjapan.org. Seating is limited and granted on a first come, first served basis. For more information, visit the Japanese Information and Culture Center website at http://www.us.embjapan.go.jp/jicc/ or visit the DC Anime Club website at http://dcanimeclub.org.

The Cannes Film Festival is the world

The 5th Abuja International Film Festival and Market accepts films in the the following genres -- features, shorts, animation, experimental on video, 16MM, 35MM. There are no entry fees and the deadline for entry submission is June 30, 2008.

Confidential, extensive explorations of how visual effects and digital animation were achieved in films such as X-MEN 2, THE MATRIX RELOADED and FINDING NEMO; will be part of the 5th Annual VES 2003: A Festival of Visual Effects line-up at The Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood from June 27-29, 2003. Presented by the Visual Effects Society (VES), the festival offers detailed, frequently proprietary, looks at the visual effects process through viewing certain segments of the works featured.

While the VES usually will focus on the big summer effects releases and TV series, this year the society is featuring music videos, titles and shorts as interesting aspects of visual effects.

Filmstock is an annual film festival produced by Zero Balance. Conceived and developed by Neil Fox and Justin Doherty, the festival remains their baby and each year they go all out to bring the best two weeks of film they can. Not without some valuable assistance, and that is provided by business partner and financial director Damian Blow, the third man in the Zero Balance clan. For more information, contact tel.: +44 (0)1582 752908, fax: +44 (0)1582 423347, e-mail: Contact@filmstock.co.uk, or Web: www.filmstock.co.uk.

Established in 1992, The Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the promotion of cultural and racial tolerance and understanding through the exhibition of film, art and creative expression. PAFF's goal is to present and showcase the broad spectrum of black creative works, particularly those that reinforce positive images and help to destroy negative stereotypes. This year's event will feature Michel Ocelot's French animated feature KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS on Feb. 14 at 10:00 am. The festival will take place at the Magic Johnson Theater, 3650 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90008. For more information, log onto www.paff.org.

The 61st Venice International Film Festival is one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world. It is comprised of about 70 films and 19 digital pics, divided into five main sections. The closing night will take place at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. For the first time in 30 years an animated film will compete in the festival's competition with Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki new film, HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE. For more information, visit http://www.labiennale.org/en/.

This year's theme for the 6th Annual Woodstock Museum Free Film & Video Festival is "Connection.