To celebrate the release of the new Nik Phelps and the Sprocket Ensemble CD "Fetch," Sprocket Ensemble is holding a musical animation party. The CD features songs from the group's popular animation/music shows at the Minna St. Gallery. Musicians on the CD include violinists Carla Kihlstedt and Irene Sazer, singer Connie Champagne, bassist Matt Small, tubist Zachariah Spellman and eclectic horn Nik Phelps. New films by Sandra Gibson and Chris Lanier will be screened, along with David Michalak's film INNA MINNA. Admission is US$10 general and $7 for students. Both nights will feature performances at 7:30 and 9:30 pm.

Read Chris Lanier's recap of his experiences at the Sundance Film Festival in Animation World Magazine.

Another not-to-be-missed screening is happening in the Los Angeles area. As a companion to the Academy's upcoming art exhibit "Oscars in Animation - 7 Decades of Animation Art," the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Standards Screening Series will present 12 animated short films on Friday, August 16, 2002 at 8:00 pm in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The Academy will screen such Oscar-winning gems as 1939's THE UGLY DUCKLING, MOONBIRD (1959) by John and Faith Hubley, and Chuck Jones' THE DOT AND THE LINE (1965). Also included will be Nick Parks' THE WRONG TROUSERS (1993), and Pixar's 1997 short GERI'S GAME. The "Oscars in Animation" exhibition will have extended hours on August 16th so those attending the screening can view the display either before or after the films. Tickets for the screening are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. They may be purchased by mail, in person at the Academy during regular business hours beginning August 1st, or, pending availability, the night of the screening when the doors open at 7:00 pm. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call 310-247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.

An amazing line-up of demonically possessed cars, man-eating sharks, vengeance-obsessed female assassins and more!! The Festival leads off with a 20th Anniversary screening of STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (which will sell out - tickets are going fast), featuring in-person appearances by director Nicholas Meyer and actors Walter Koenig & George Takei. This year's series includes L.A. premiere screenings of COWBOY BEBOP: THE MOVIE, based on the hit anime series; the sensual Japanese swordfest PRINCESS BLADE; the astounding British werewolf movie DOG SOLDIERS; insane yakuza/zombie action flick VERSUS; and USHER, the first new film from director Curtis Harrington (NIGHT TIDE, GAMES) in over 15 years! Sponsored by A & E Home Video, a special highlight of the Festival will be an in-person tribute to British fantasy/sci-fi pioneer Gerry Anderson (born 1929), who used his delightful "SuperMarionation" process to create a rocket-fueled world of supercars, sinister aliens and ingenious scientists in classic TV series like "Thunderbirds," "Space: 1999," and "Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons." And if you missed the wonders in our Alexander Ptushko series last May, check out THE STONE FLOWER, VIY, SADKO and THE NEW GULLIVER - from this Russian special effects pioneer.

SPIRITED AWAY: AN IN PERSON TRIBUTE TO HAYAO MIYAZKI: Tuesday, September 10, 2002 (Update August 20 -- This event is SOLD OUT!)

The Tuesday, September 10th program begins at 7:30 PM on with Hayao Miyazaki's SPIRITED AWAY (SEN TO CHIHIRO NO KAMIKAKUSHI), (2002, Walt Disney/Studio Ghibli, approx. 120 min.) Try to remember your astonishment the first time you saw THE WIZARD OF OZ or SLEEPING BEAUTY, and be prepared for a fantasy of truly wondrous dimensions. A young girl, Chihiro, on holiday with her parents accidentally stumbles into an enchanted village where ancient Japanese demons go for rest and relaxation. After her parents are unfortunately transformed into enormous pigs, Chihiro is forced to take a job as a cleaning girl in a devil-filled onsen (Japanese bath house), where she contends with eight-legged spider-men, gorgeous sky-dragons and a silent, love-struck wraith. Truly magical from start to finish, with a stunning score by longtime collaborator Joe Hisaishi. Winner of the 2002 Japanese Academy Award for Best Picture and the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. Discussion following with director Hayao Miyazaki. Creator of some of the most breathtakingly beautiful films in the history of animation, including PRINCESS MONONOKE, LAPUTA: CASTLE IN THE SKY, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO and KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, Japanese director and animator Hayao Miyazaki has combined ageless, mythic storytelling, a profoundly spiritual approach to man and the natural world, and a gallery of fearless young heroines into his own unmistakable art. Born in 1941 in Tokyo, the son of an airplane manufacturer (Miyazaki's love for planes and flying shows in almost all his films), he grew up influenced by writers such as Antoine de Saint-Exupery and Rosemary Sutcliff, and the tremendously popular manga comics of Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro-Boy. After apprenticing on a number of anime features and TV series in the late 1960's and 1970's, Miyazaki emerged as a director with CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO in 1979, followed soon after by the astonishing NAUSICA

The Los Angreles Chapter meeting of SIGGRAPH will feature "making of" presentations of the visual effects in X2: X-MEN UNITED , as well as a special screening of the movie at Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Academy of Motion Picture Artists & Sciences, 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. Artists from Cinesite and Rhythm & Hues will be on hand to discuss the creation of innovative effects from Nightcrawler's teleportation to Storm's tornados. Event is sponsored by Side Effects Software, whose Houdini 3D software was used extensively throughout the film. Speakers scheduled to appear: Doug Bloom Tornado Effects Lead Rhythm & Hues Mike O'Neal Lead Effects Animator Rhythm & Hues Greg Anderson CG Supervisor Cinesite Arnon Manor CG Supervisor Cinesite Craig "X-Ray" Halpern CG Effects TD Cinesite Meeting is free for members and $10 for non-members. For more information visit: www.la.siggraph.org

Tirana International Film Festival is the first and the only international cinema festival in Albania created in 2003. TIFF has received invitation to become member of the European Coordination of Film Festivals (ECFF), by next September. Consequently, TIFF aims to respect the Code of Ethics deriving from ECFF. This extraordinary event for Albania takes place under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports and Tirana City-Hall. The competition program combines short films of all formats and categories, alternated between them, in order to make it more eclectic and exciting. Tirana International Film Festival is open to well-known artists as well as students, representatives of all schools, contemporary, independent and alternative cinema from throughout the world. Part of the Festival is also a special program which includes all forms of film production - feature, documentaries and animated films more than 30' length. A particular interest is shown in retrospectives of different authors or countries.

Tirana International Film Festival is open to well-known artists as well as students, representatives of all schools, contemporary, independent and alternative cinema from throughout the world. Part of the Festival is also a special programme which includes all forms of film production - feature, documentaries and animated films more than 30' length. Albania is a solar, enthusiastic and friendly country and besides the

Tirana International Film Festival is open to well-known artists as well as students, representatives of all schools, contemporary, independent and alternative cinema from throughout the world. Part of the festival is also a special program, which includes all forms of film production -- feature, documentaries and animated films more than 30-minutes in length.

Albania is a solar, enthusiastic and friendly country and besides the "strong competition" TIFF aims at the same time to be a meeting point of cultures, where people of Tirana, the guests and all those who love the short film will have a cinema-language-communication week.

More than 20,000 Euro in cash and prizes is awarded to winners. Awards will be offered in each category. TIFF offers full board accommodation to the director or producer representing the selected film during seven days of the festival.

For more information, visit www.tiranafilmfest.com.

From May 28th to 30th, the city of C

ANIMA