After 6 years, the organizers of the Oslo Animation Festival have moved operations to Fredrikstad. Even with a new name, the Festival invites both animators and spectators to take part in five days of animated fun to promote the screening and better understanding of animation. The festival presents: Nordic and Baltic films in competition, Nordic and Baltic Panorama, International highlights, a Focus on Canadian animation, Paul Driessan as Guest of Honor, Animated Special Effects, a Celebration of Oskar Fischinger, Jury Progams, Exhibitions and even more. You can enter your films to this international festival on VHS tape.

The Montpelier Cultural Arts Center is presenting a retrospective of the drawings and award winning animated films of Fr

A weekend of animation is coming to Bristol and the home town toon house Aardman Animations' will open the first Bristol Animated Encounters with a sneak peak of the animated feature film, CHICKEN RUN. Animated Encounters is supported by DreamWorks SKG, Torribles, Aardman Animations, WESTEC, BBC Bristol, Bristol City Council, Bristol Tourism and Conference Bureau, A for Animation and Farrington Lewis. The first night will conclude with "Outrageous Animation Cabaret" featuring the regurgitating razor blades and anal fire breathing act of The Incredible Blood Brothers, plus cartoons from the dark side. At 11 am on Saturday, May 20, "Children's" will screen new kids cartoons including the BAA award-winning episodes of MAISIE and FOXBUSTERS. On Saturday at 1 pm, "International Round-Up 1 & 2" will highlight world class animated shorts, including many UK premiers such as Charlie Ramos' THE METAMORPHOSIS and Australian Annette Trevitt's COLLEEN SPENCER. The program will be repeated on Sunday, May 21 at 7 pm. "Home Run/Bristol Animation Selection" will be presented at 3 pm on Saturday, May 20. The screening will feature some of the earliest Aardman films such as Bill Mather's THE AUDITION, Nick Park's CREATURE COMFORTS, and Peter Lord's MOVING WAR STORY, plus local Bristol productions like THE SECRET ADVENTURES OF TOM THUMB, directed by Dave Borthwick of bolexbrothers and Andy Wyatt's SID THE SIDESPLITTER. At 7 pm on Saturday, "Brit Flicks/British Animation Selection" will feature world premiers from Brian Wood (SCHOOL DISCO), Sandra Ensby (FAST SPIN FLING), Sam Morrison (EMMA 18), Bob Godfrey (TWO OFF THE CUFF), Mark Baker (JOLLY ROGER) and Paul Bush (THE ALBATROSS). At 9 pm on Saturday, the festival will present "Watch with Mother," a retrospective of 1970s TV animation. Kicking off Sunday, May 21's schedule will be "British Animation Award Winners 2000," including this year's BAFTA winning THE MAN WITH THE BEAUTIFUL EYES by Jonathan Hodgson; Peter Peake's HUM DRUM; bolexbrothers' ad for Nestea by Dave Borthwick; and Richard Goleszowski's ROBBIE THE REINDEER. On Sunday at 1 pm, the festival will feature a sneak peak of the 35 mm release of FANTASIA 2000. "Desert Island Flicks" at 3 pm on Sunday will feature Phill Jupitus' selection of cartoon classics that he would want with him if stranded on a desert island. Starting at noon on Sunday, "Interact Animation Live and Online" will allow guests the chance to check out the latest animated Web sites, followed by a Chill Out Party, from 7 to 11 pm, when the best will be projected on a big screen.

The 5th International Festival of New Film celebrates new, creative, innovative, personal, radical, subversive work in film, video and new media. All works must have been completed after January 1, 1999. Entries must be sent on VHS tape or CD-Rom. An Art Film Market will take place during the Festival, concentrating on the growing South European Market area.

The Nantucket Film Festival is dedicated to screenwriters. The event will feature film screenings, staged readings, morning chats with writers, panel discussions, forums and an awards ceremony for best writer, feature and short. This year screenwriter Paul Schrader (TAXI DRIVER, MISHIMA) will be honored. The sponsors for the event are Entertainment Weekly, NBC, Showtime, iCast and Listerine.

The Visual Effects Society (VES), in conjunction with CreativePlanet's VFX.Pro, will present VES 2000: A Festival of Visual Effects. This year's event will feature presentations and discussions by the award-winning VFX teams from some of the current outstanding visual effects film and television productions, including GLADIATOR, DINOSAUR and the TV mini-series ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Speakers will include visual effects professionals from ILM, Sony Pictures Imageworks, The Secret Lab and Mill Film. Friday evening's discussion of THE PERFECT STORM will be followed by a screening of the film. On Saturday evening, CHICKEN RUN will be screened after a "making of" presentation.

Friday, July 28 - Saturday, August 26, 2000. Santa Monica & Pasadena, California, U.S.A.

Friday, August 25 - Thursday, August 31, 2000. San Diego, California, U.S.A.

Friday, September 1 - Saturday, December 16, 2000. West Hollywood, California, U.S.A.

Friday, September 1 - Saturday, November 18, 2000. La Jolla, California, U.S.A.

Friday, September 1 - Saturday, November 18, 2000. Riverside, California, U.S.A.

Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation comes to Southern California. The irreverent animation on this year's bill includes: MONKEY VS. ROBOT; COCO, THE JUNKIE PIMP 2; SCOUT'S HONOR; RADIOACTIVE CROTCH MAN 3; PUSSY DA RED NOSED REINDEER; THE HANGNAIL; WHEELCHAIR REBECCA; ANGRY KID; RICK & STEVE: THE HAPPIEST GAY COUPLE IN ALL THE WORLD; STINKY MONKEY; BEAT THE BRAT; FOR THE BIRDS (Pixar's new short); GHOST OF STEPHEN FOSTER; REJECTED (newest from BILLY'S BALLON director Don Hertzfeldt); MUTE & MOTORMOUTH in "Birth of Abomination;" SLOACHES FUN HOUSE and DEEP SYMPATHY. The festival runs only on Fridays and Saturdays in Santa Monica, Pasadena, West Hollywood, La Jolla and Riverside, but will run daily in San Diego. Director Don Hertzfeldt will be on hand at the La Jolla screening on September 15-16 to answer questions and sign autographs. Admission is free if you bring your parents. (Bringing a dwarf or wearing 8-inch heels or higher also qualifies.)

For more information on the Santa Monica screening contact Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex at Tel.: (310) 394-9741; for the Pasadena screening contact Laemmle's Colorado Theatre at Tel.: (626) 796-9704; for the West Hollywood screening contact Laemmle's Sunset Theatre at Tel.: (323) 848-3500; for the San Diego screening contact Ken Cinema at Tel.: (619) 283-5909; for the La Jolla screening contact the Museum of Contemporary Art at Tel.: (858) 454-0267; and for the Riverside screening contact CinemaStar University Villiage 10 at Tel.: (909) 777-FILM.

The Silicon Pulp Animation Gallery will present Atomic Sushi, a major exhibition of artworks from Japanese animated films and TV series. The exhibition will include pre-production illustrations, storyboards, original hand-painted cels and backgrounds. A comprehensive catalogue covering the history, themes and artists will also be published to coincide with the exhibition. Also, the Dendy Cinemas are holding a "Japanime Festival" from Wednesday, September 6 - Sunday, September 10 as part of the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival. Silicon Pulp will exhibit original artworks from a selection of the films screened at the festival.

Bill Plympton's newest film "Mutant Aliens" will be screened as part of the Ottawa International Animation Festival. The event will take place at 1 pm at the National Arts Centre. The film version being screened is a work-in-progress.
Learn more about the irreverent animator's work and get a hold of the MUTANT ALIENS storyboard in the AWN "Plyptoons" section at http://www.awn.com/plympton

The National Film Board of Canada is holding an open house of their new facilities. The event gives the public a chance to meet the filmmakers and staff. The NFB will feature screenings, studio tours and receptions on Monday from 2-6 pm and on Tuesday from 10 am - 5 pm. Screening facilities will be available for visitors to screen their own work as well.