Touring animation show with artist Stefan Gruber with a live voice and sound track!

It'll be fun!

It's at the Trunk Space.

 

1506 NW Grand Ave in Phoenix.

It is our pleasure to inform you that you can now submit your films for the 4th edition of the International Animated Film Competition at ANIMATOR\2011 Festival!

The International Competition of Animated Films is open to artistic animated films of all techniques up to 30 min. Grand Prix of 60 000 PLN /ca. 14.000 Euros/ will be awarded by an international jury including Amy Kravitz, Piotr Dumala, Olia Lialina, Gerben Schermer and Jaroslaw Kapuscinski. Films can be submitted for selection till March 1, 2011. The entry form and regulations can be downloaded from www.animator-festival.com.

Poland, Poznan 15 – 21 July 2011

Since the first Animator we have tried to present animated film in all of its diversity, neither neglecting narratives nor "ballets of light", nor anything in between. Lovers of large productions based on verbal stories will find in this year's program, among other works, the beautiful fable by Michael Ocelota "Azur and Asmar". From the other end of the spectrum we will view the latest works of American independent artists – including George Griffin, Joanna Priestley and Emy Kravitz—who often experiment with methods of narration and means of expression. The following is a sample of what lies in between. First of all we will honor three "great masters" of world animation: Juri Norstein, Caroline Leaf and Daniel Szczechura, who incidentally will celebrate his 80th birthday on the day preceding the opening night of the festival. We will not forget another celebrant as well—the Poznan-based Studio of Animated Film, observing its thirtieth anniversary this year. We will also broadly represent preeminent artists and their works from Hungary and Israel. Especially promising is the lineup of film-related musical events? Our guests will include Nik Phelps with the Sprocket Ensemble and, returning for a second time, Compagnia d’Arte Drummatica. After two prominent Polish film music composers presented in previous years—Krzysztof Komeda and Andrzej Markowski—we will highlight the work of Włodzimierz Kotoński, the author of scores to such classic films as "Labirynt" by Jan Lenica and "Miasto" by Mirosław Kijowicz. Two thematic clusters of events also promise to be interesting: "Animation and Comics" and "Surrealist Film Inspirations." It fills us with great optimism that each year the number of films entered in the contest grows steadily. This not only indicates that animation continues to develop globally, but also that Animator is gaining an ever greater position in the world.

Marcin Gizycki

Artistic Director of the festival

Anima Mundi is the International Animation Festival of Brazil.

A festival that aims to inform, train, educate and entertain by using the infinite possibilities of the language of animation.

In 2010 Anima Mundi celebrates its 18th anniversary by promoting, beyond the annual festival in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, a series of activities that are reflected in this website.

Participate in Anima Mundi by entering your film, joining our virtual community and glancing through our windows the universe of International Animation.

The 19th edition of the International Animation Festival of Brazil, Anima Mundi 2011 takes place from July 15 to 24 in Rio de Janeiro and from July 27 to 31 in Sao Paulo.

Please go to our website for an online entry-form, entry rules and transportation label: www.animamundi.com.br.

The deadline for entries and for sending the promotional material is March 23rd.

If you need additional information on the pre-selection process please send email to: entry@animamundi.com.br.

The categories in competition are:
Short Films
Feature Films
Shorts for Children
Brazilian Animation
Student Film

There will also be awards for:
Best Animation
Best Script
Best Soundtrack
Best Art-Direction
Best Commissioned Film

Se-ma-for Film Festival expands. Now, except from visiting 15 towns in Lodz Voivodship Se-ma-for as part of Se-ma-for Film Festival On Tour, Se-ma-for will visit also… Odessa, Ukraine. Most famous Polish animation studio will present its films to all animation lovers (both children and adults) from 1st to 3rd July 2011 as SE-MA-FOR On Tour – Oscar Animation from City of Lodz.

During screening, which will take place in U-Cinema, film such as: TANGO by Zbigniew Rybczyński (Oskar 1983), PIOTRUŚ I WILK by Suzie Templeton (Oskar 2008), MASKA by Quay Brothers,ICHTHYS and DANNY BOY by Marek Skrobecki. Before each screening Mr Zbigniew Zmudzki, producer and head of Se-ma-for studio will present puppets  and tell few words about puppet animation technique, Se-ma-for history and share his memories from Oscar awards ceremony.

Project's partners are: by City of Lodz and Polish Consulate in Odessa.

On this 7th Edition Renderyard celebrates film exchange with other established Film Festivals (RUSHES SOHO SHORTS London, MADRID EN CORTO, Madrid) cooperation within the film industry and the creative use of film technology to inspire filmmakers and to provoke social awareness in the international film community.

Renderyard Short Film Festival is held yearly in Spain in November, and supports the screening of British, UK, Spanish, European and International film content from both professionals and newcomers working with short films, animations, documentaries, music videos and this year feature films.

The Festival also supports film scripts and film scores and each year it attracts over 2000 international film entries from partner countries such as: UK, Spain, USA and Canada, France, Italy, Greece, Germany, Norway, DenmarK, Switzerland, Africa, South Africa, Japan, Russia, India, Australia and Latin America.

This year the 7th Edition of the Festival is held in La Rioja, wine capital of Spain at the THINK TIC, La Rioja’s Technology Centre the 26th and 27th of November, where the international audience can appreciate the 50 best selected films on different categories, screening a total of over 100 films. The films shown have been produced exploring the latest Film, Animation and Digital Technologies, allowing each director to project their own reflections, stories and ideas as new forms of visual self expression.

During the week of the 21st – 27th of November, as part of the Festival screenings, Renderyard will be holding a series of workshops highlighting the latest Film / Animation Software with a panel of international speakers. During the evenings there will be Feature film screenings with Q&A with the directors launching key film projects of GREAT impact within the International Film making Industry.

Renderyard has established digital and distribution film channels with long term media and festival partners to work closely with selected film makers to help them distribute their film content internationally and support them in getting involved in new film projects.

Festival screenings will start on Friday 26th of November at The Think Tic, with speakers introducing the different categories and will conclude on Saturday the 27th with the mentioning of the winning films on each category and The Renderyard Film Awards for 2011.

Further details at www.renderyard.com

Deadline for Film Submisisons 9th September 2011

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Renderyard Festival Awarded Categories 2011:

Short Content
Short Film Award
Fictional films by experienced filmmakers from around the world under 12 min in length
Animation Award
Factual and fictional content by filmmakers from around the world under 12 min in length
Documentary Award
Factual content by filmmakers from around the world under 12 min in length
Music Videos Award
Promotional work for Music / Music groups/ Dance by filmmakers from around the world under 12 minutes
Think Tic Award ‘Micro-Film’
Film / Animation technology software develpment based / film content designed for digital media / Commercial sequences, adverts, title sequences, idents and mobile film content 3 min in length

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Long Content
Feature Film Award
Fictional films by experienced filmmakers from around the world between 30 – 120 min
Feature Animation Award
Factual and fictional work by filmmakers from around the world between 30 – 120 min
Feature Documentary Award
Factual content by filmmakers from around the world between 30 – 120 minutes

Submit your film to Renderyard 2011: https://www.withoutabox.com/login/6880
Deadline for Film Submisisons 9th September 2011

On June 12, 2011 I turn 65. Thought I would have been killed long before this.

Years ago a bank manager asked, with a sneer, if I had a goal.

I told him my goal was that if I lived to be 100 I wanted to be in my own home with people around me who love me. "I do not want to be ekeing out an existence in a home for senior citizens being spoon fed and sponge bathed by people who don't give a damn whether I live or drop dead." I told him.

Grim Natwick, the creator Betty Boop and principal animator on the character of Snow White for Walt Disney, celebrated his 90th birthday in Toronto with me at a special ANIMAFEASTIVAL EVENT I held in his honour in 1980.

He celebrated his 100th birthday in Hollywood with practically everyone who matter in attendance in 1990. He lived all his life in his own home and was as sharp the day he died as any of us could wish to be.

A few years before that the Academy threw a tribute to Grim. I went out for it. Afterwards he pulled out the bottles of hard liquor. We drank. We got drunk beyond madness. Grim lectured. I listened. I learned more in that one night than I had in all the years before that put together.

65 is one of those numbers.

Grim is my mentor. Chuck Jones called him the Merlin of Animation.

I decided to celebrate my 65th birthsday by honoring the man who animated me.

I have put together a short program of five of the best short films involving Grim's work or characters.

As well, for those who would like copies I have a cd of the talk Grim gave in 1980 and a dvd of the talk Grim gave at ANIMAFEASTIVAL 1982 with special guests Tisse David, Shamus Culhane and Frank Nissen.

THE CINEFORUM is listed in THE LONELY PLANET GUIDE as number 4 of places to see in Ontario. A lot of people around the world think very highly of what happens here.

The Toronto International Stereoscopic 3D Conference is a one of a kind international gathering of experts in the stereoscopic 3D art and entertainment arena. From June 11 to 14, 2011 major figures from Canada, Germany, Russia, UK and USA will meet to discuss, analyze and contextualize the “new era in 3D cinema.”

Speakers include:
• acclaimed director WIM WENDERS, on his latest masterpiece PINA
• CATHERINE OWENS, co-director of U23D and installation artist
• international film historian THOMAS ELSAESSER
• master cinematographer and stereographer PETER ANDERSON
• veteran filmmaker GRAEME FERGUSON, co-founder of IMAX
• vision scientists, scholars, filmmakers, artists and the major S3D industry players.

Screening:
• Bugs! 
• Resident Evil: Afterlife 
• Hubble 3D 
• and excerpts from speakers’ latest films including Neue Road Film’s PINA (premiered last February at Berlinale) and SK Film’s Flight of the Butterflies (to be premiered)

   

The world's largest event totally focused on animation, the Festival, that celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010, is the occasion to discover the latest in animation, meet well-known names and young talents and check out new trends... in one place.

Join us for the next edition from Monday 6th June to Saturday 11th June 2011.

You will be able to begin submitting films for the next edition from mid-November.

INDEPENDENTLY ANIMATED: BILL PLYMPTON

May 27 – 28, 2011

 

Bill Plympton may be the only major animator who still hand-draws every single image of his own films. Though his approach to filmmaking may be old-fashioned, his offbeat and inventive artistic sensibility is unique. This two-day program of screenings and discussions celebrates Plympton’s new book, Independently Animated.

 

All screenings are free with museum admission unless otherwise noted.

 

Independently Animated: An Evening with Bill Plympton

Friday, May 27, 7:00 p.m.

Screening, discussion, and book signing with Bill Plympton and David Levy

The lavishly illustrated new book Independently Animated: The Life and Art of the King of Indie Animation, by Bill Plympton and David Levy, published by Rizzoli, is part biography, part retrospective, and part behind-the-scenes look at Bill Plympton’s life and career. It contains hundreds of pieces of art from his films, as well as never-before-seen doodles, drawings, and production notes. To celebrate the publication, the Museum presents a festive evening with a discussion, short films, and live drawing by Plympton, followed by a book signing. Everyone in attendance will receive their own original drawing from Plympton.
Among the highlights: a work-in-progress screening of an exciting new short film, Plympton’s hand-colored restoration of Winsor McCay’s 1921 film The Flying House, a charming film about a husband who turns his house into a flying machine, which bears remarkable similarities to the Pixar film Up; a screening of the popular short film Guard Dog and Guard Dog Jam, the result of an invitation to animators around the world to remake Plympton’s film by each contributing their own remake of one shot from the film.
Tickets: $10 public / Free for Museum members. Members may reserve tickets in advance by calling 718 777 6800. 

 

Adventures in Plymptoons 

Saturday, May 28, 3:00 p.m.

Preview screening
With Alexia Anastasio in person

Dir. Alexia Anastasio. 2011, 98 mins. Digital projection. This new documentary about animator Bill Plympton follows his path from the many rainy days of a Portland childhood spent indoors drawing to a self-made career as an independent animator. The film includes interviews with family, friends, colleagues, critics, and fans.

Hair High 

Saturday, May 28, 5:30 p.m.

Introduced by Bill Plympton

Dir. Bill Plympton. 2004, 78 mins. Digital projection. An outrageous gothic myth from the 1950s, Hair High is the legend of Cherri and Spud, a teenage couple who are murdered on prom night and left for dead at the bottom of Echo Lake. Exactly one year later, their skeletal remains come back to life and they return to the prom for revenge and their justly deserved crowns.

 

Idiots and Angels

May 28, 7:30 p.m.

Introduced by Bill Plympton

Dir. Bill Plympton. 2009, 78 mins. A misanthropic gun dealer who spouts an unwelcome pair of wings is the antihero of Plympton’s noir-flavored feature, which was entirely hand-drawn, mainly in gray pencil. According to the New York Times, the film, which is entirely without dialogue and has music by Tom Waits, Pink Martini, and others, “defies expectations. It is relentless, and brilliant.”

Video game creator Lorne Lanning (Oddworld Series including Oddworld: ABE’S ODDYSEE), and director/filmmaker Spencer Halpin of the controversial violence in videogaming documentary Spencer Halpin's Moral Kombat, will be joining founder/director Susan Johnston for the 2nd Annual New Media Film Festival, to be held May 20-21, 2011. Showcasing the best in new media and featuring award-nominated and winning filmmakers from all over the world, the New Media Film Festival is dedicated to the creation, development, and distribution of new media content in all forms and across all platforms, honoring stories worth telling. 

With a decision forthcoming from The Supreme Court of the United States (Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association), SPENCER HALPIN’S MORAL KOMBAT is a timely and polarizing look at video games, containing interviews with experts on both sides of the matter:

Joseph Lieberman - Connecticut Senator and former Vice Presidential Candidate

Dean Takahashi - author and lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat

Dr. Henry Jenkins – Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts, a joint professorship at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and USC School of Cinematic Arts, formerly of MIT Media Lab

Lorne Lanning - OddMobb; Former Co-founder of Oddworld Inhabitants

Douglas Lowenstein - co-founder, former President of the Entertainment Software Association (previously IDSA)

Vince Broady - founder, Gamespot

Dr. David Walsh - President and founder of the National Institute on Media & the Family

Jack Thompson - activist and former Florida attorney

Marie Sylla - Vice President of Federal Government Relations at Verizon

Richard Oh - NPD Group