Have you made an animated short film in the last 18 months? Want it to screen to a packed house as part of the fantastic TAIS Showcase this June in Toronto? Then submit!

The Toronto Animated Image Society (TAIS) is seeking independent animated films completed after June 2009 that are under 15 minutes in length for the TAIS ANIMATION SHOWCASE screening this June 23, 2011 at Innis Town Hall (University of Toronto, 2 Sussex Avenue). All genres, mediums, techniques, themes accepted, both narrative and non-narrative. 

There is no entry fee to submit work. Artist fees paid for all selected films.

Films should be submitted ONLY as QuickTime movie files on DVD/CD or via a download link for the file(s). Please send either a 1280 x 720 Quicktime file or a 720 x 480 Quicktime file using our preferred codecs ProRes or Photo Jpeg with 48kHz sound.

Send your submission to: 
Toronto Animated Image Society
TAIS Showcase 2011
60 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 102
Toronto, Ontario M6K 1X9 
CANADA

Please include a completed submission form ( downloadable at www.tais.ca/animationshowcase_submissionform.pdf ), an artist bio and two film stills (tiff or jpg @ 300 dpi – 2 x 3). Submission form, bio, contact info and download links may be emailed to tais@bellnet.ca or included in mailed submission package. Please do not send large files via email.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS:
Monday, May 16, 2011, 5:00 pm

For more info, visit  www.tais.ca

Thursday, April 7 – Ciné-Jeudi presents Printemps fragiles (The Bell Jar)
7:30 PM
$6, $4 for students, seniors, partners and Front Row passholders.
Directed by André Melançon. 2010, 102 min. In French with English subtitles.
A chronicle of resilience in action, Printemps fragiles features a group of pre-teens who attend Dr. Gilles Julien’s drop-in centre for troubled children. Each has challenges to meet, and in sharing fun, games and chores with their peers, they build self-esteem and develop empathy for others. With the help of adult counsellors and volunteers, they learn to follow sensible life rules and strive for balance. Day by day they discover themselves and develop inner strength.
NFB Mediatheque, 150 John St. (at Richmond St. W) 416-973-3012
www.nfb.ca/mediatheque

Wednesday, April 6 – Green Screens presents The Refugees of the Blue Planet

7 PM

FREE

Directed by Hélène Choquette and Jean-Philippe Duval, 2007, 81 min. In French with English subtitles.

Each year, millions of people the world over are driven to forced displacement, and the disturbing accounts of people who have been uprooted are amazingly similar. The enormous pressure placed on rural populations as a result of the degradation of their life-supporting environment is driving them increasingly further from their way of life. Followed by a panel discussion.

NFB Mediatheque, 150 John St. (at Richmond St. W) 416-973-3012

www.nfb.ca/mediatheque

Wednesday, April 27 – Free Favourites at Four: The Strangest Dream

4 PM

FREE

Directed by Eric Bednarski, 2008, 89 min.

The Strangest Dream tells the story of Joseph Rotblat, the history of nuclear weapons, and the efforts of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs - an international movement Rotblat co-founded - to halt nuclear proliferation.

NFB Mediatheque, 150 John St. (at Richmond St. W) 416-973-3012

www.nfb.ca/mediatheque

TAIS 2011 Bunny Jam - Call for Submissions

In honour of the Toronto Animated Image Society (TAIS) mascot and this year’s Chinese zodiac sign, we are proud to announce that this year’s theme for the TAIS AniJam, ten second animations that will screen in rapid succession at the TAIS Showcase in June, is ... BUNNIES! (Rabbits, hares, Thumper and Bugs, bucks, does, energizers, playboys, and any other idea you may have related to voracious procreators and twitchy noses.)

Create a ten-second long animated film that somehow encompasses our “bunny” theme. Use any animation technique you want. Submit it to TAIS and we’ll edit the submissions into a Bunny AniJam film that will screen at the TAIS Showcase in June 2011 in Toronto!

Bunny Jam submissions are eligible for awards and prizes!

Submit your film as a QuickTime file using by CD/DVD, via ftp, file hosting site or link to your webspace with attached submission form, a brief bio and two 2 x 3 stills (high res jpeg) from your film. Format of all Bunny Jam submissions should be a 1280 x 720 QuickTime/24 fps using our preferred codecs ProRes or Photo Jpeg with 48kHz sound. Bunny Jams should not be any more or less than 10 seconds. If submitting by DVD, please ensure you make a data file DVD (not instantly playable).

Submission form available at:
http://www.tais.ca/bunnyjam_submission_form.pdf

Submission deadline is May 15, 2011.

Send your submissions to:
Toronto Animated Image Society
Bunny Jam Submission
60 Atlantic Ave. Suite 102
Toronto, Ontario M6K 1X9
CANADA

If you want to submit your film digitally via file hosting or ftp link, send info to tais@bellnet.ca

For more info, visit http://www.tais.ca

The Seventh Tehran International Animation Festival will be held from 6th to 10th March 2011 by the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults.

Aims and Objectives of the Festival

Providing an opportunity for artists to exchange ideas through gathering purposeful presentation of the animation works.

Discovering potentials and encouraging young animators to innovate and create.

Developing abilities through new techniques and perspectives.

The festival is categorized in four sections: Competition, non competitive category, Special Screening and Panorama.

A Short History of Tehran International Animation Festival

Despite the four decades of animation production in Iran and the three-decade experience of KANOON (Institute for the intellectual Development of children & Young Adults) in Producing animations, screening the animated films in the country was limited to lateral sections of Iranian film festivals (along documentaries and fiction films) until the last year of twentieth century. This was while in spite of the disregard and neglecting, brilliant animations were produced, most of which could have gain diverse success in international fields.

The opening of the first Tehran International Animation Festival in February of 2000 was an end to this neglecting and a starting point for a new period in screening of national & foreign animations in Iran.

From the 896 works received by the bureau of the festival, 488 works were selected among which there were works of artists from 33 countries around the world. Two years later, in the beginning of the third millennium, Iranian animation was no more desperate and isolated. Although the festival was arranged for the professionals of the field, it was welcomed by a huge audience and the animations of 36 countries attended the third edition of festival, showed an improved in quality.

Anima, the International Animation Film Festival of Brussels will take place at the Flagey Centre from 4th to 13th March 2011 and will be celebrating its 30th edition. In fact, the first ever Anima took place in February 1982. Over one hundred films in the official competition (shorts and features, commercials and music videos), retrospectives, exhibitions, film master classes, workshops for the kids, the Futuranima professional days, round table discussions, numerous guests and cine-concerts, make Brussels THE international appointment with animation for the beginning of the year. If you add events like "the Animated Night", the Cartoon d'Or and the Cosplay, Anima has established itself as a must for the thirty thousand spectators that flock to the Flagey Centre. And a special date to mark with a cross this year: we'll be celebrating thirty years of surprises, fun and discoveries.

Anima 2011 Competition

Short-film: short animated films made after June 30, 2009 regardless of its geographic origin, except of Belgium.Student film: short animated films made after June 30, 2009 regardless of its geographic origin, except of Belgium.Music videos and Commercials : short animated films made after June 30, 2009 regardless of its geographic origin.Feature-film previews: animated feature films made after June 30, 2009, regardless of its geographic origin.Feature-film for children previews: animated feature films made after June 30, 2009, regardless of its geographic origin.Belgian shorts: Belgian animated films completed after June 30, 2009.

Amongst these categories, some shorts will constitute an international competition and some others a national competition, with money prizes from 1.000 up to 2.500 Euros.

The Festival looks after the round trips of selected films and awards anumber of cash and other prizes to the winners.

Deadlines

Entry forms: October 15, 2010 (no entry fees)
Arrival of prints: February 11, 2011

Created in 1999, Cartoon Movie is neither a fair nor a festival, but rather a co-production forum for European animated feature films. For two intense days, European producers have the opportunity to present their animation projects to all potential buyers in order to negotiate financing, to find partners and to interest distributors. All of this is happening in a very relaxed and convivial atmosphere… the human touch is the soul of Cartoon Movie!

The successful 2010 edition was attended by more than 630 participants from 32 countries, including 180 investors, of which 90 distributors. 51 feature film projects were pitched at the event, be they in concept, in development, in production or completed films.

The steady growth of stereoscopic 3D, the presentation of new films by well-known directors (Ari Folman, Patrice Leconte, Sylvain Chomet) and the high quality of the projects pitched were the highlights of this 12th edition. Have a look at the TV reports, the key facts or the pictures gallery.

The 12th edition will take place from Wednesday 2nd to Friday 4th March 2011 in Lyon (Rhône-Alpes, France).

KidScreen Summit is renowned as the kids entertainment industry’s most important annual event. In 2010, the conference welcomed almost 1,500 attendees from 43 countries, with a record-setting 63% of delegates hailing from outside of the US. Top decision- and deal-makers in the kids business attend KidScreen Summit to engage in critical dialogue on issues that affect the industry and take advantage of some of the year’s best networking opportunities; recognize and understand current market needs, opportunities and challenges; learn more about key innovators and their visions; and share ideas that will drive their businesses forward.

2010 Statistics

Nearly 1,500 delegatesMore than 800 companies representedAttendees from 43 countries150 riveting speakers350+ kids content buyers & investors

Who Attends?

TV Programming, Acquisitions and Development ExecutivesProducers and CreatorsDistributorsRetailersLicensors & LicenseesMarketersDigital Media Content Creators and Distributors

Why Attend?

Build your business by networking with nearly 1,500 international leaders in all sectors.Engage in critical dialogue on issues that affect the industry.Recognize and understand current market needs, opportunities and challenges.Rejuvenate your creativity.Get face time with primary kids industry leaders.Discover new talent and build relationships with potential partners.

As the preeminent festival whose sole mission is to nurture, support and showcase truly independent works, Slamdance has established a unique reputation for premiering new films by first-time writers and directors working within the creative confines of limited budgets.  Slamdance’s goal is to strengthen its year-round efforts in support of these artists and to leverage its name and reputation for the further development of other Slamdance media components.

As a year-round organization, Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent and is dedicated to the nurturing and development of new independent artists and their cinematic vision.

Started in 1995 by a group of independent artists, the Slamdance Film Festival continues to be organized and programmed exclusively by filmmakers, for filmmakers.  This is just one of many elements that make Slamdance a pioneering standout among its festival counterparts. Slamdance lacks much of the red tape and bureaucracy that can convolute the process that independent creators come to festivals for in the first place – a chance to show their work. At Slamdance, the link between artist and festival – and, subsequently, artist and industry – is a direct and cohesive one. Slamdance alumni are recruited to serve as programmers, so first-timers are represented and assisted by Slamdance veterans.  It’s what put Slamdance on the festival map to begin with, and what’s made it the viable, big-time contender it is today.

With its renowned film festival as its core, Slamdance has expanded its ventures to include the popular Slamdance.com website, writing competitions for features, shorts, teleplays and horror scripts; the Anarchy Online Short Film Competition; and a $99 Special short film production project.