In conjunction with the Ottawa International Animation Festival, ASIFA will hold its general assembly and election of its new executive board. For the first time the event will be held in North America. Members are asked to attend the assembly and vote for the board after hearing each of the 21 candidates' speeches. Votes may be cast for 8-12 of the candidates to make up the new board. A picnic will directly follow the meeting. ASIFA members not attending the festival can vote via a mail-in ballot.

The Montreal International Festival of New Cinema & New Media (FCMM) will screen 72 features, 93 shorts and 50 new media presentations in a celebration of cutting edge filmmaking. Besides the screenings the event will hold tributes and seminars including a salute to animators Mich

The Toronto Animated Image Society will be hosting a storyboarding for animation seminar. Sam Agro, a freelance storyboard artist and an instructor at Studio M, will host the event. Agro has worked in the animation business for over seventeen years. He is currently doing storyboards for Fox Kids' new animated series RIPPING FRIENDS directed by John Kricfalusi of REN AND STIMPY fame. The seminar will take place at 8 pm.

The Toronto Animated Image Society will be hosting a stop-motion seminar. Todd Peterson will be conducting the event. Peterson has worked for Cuppa Coffee and Will Vinton studios. The event will take place at 8 pm.

SAFO is a student animation festival that not only provides a showcase for filmmakers and animation schools, but also provides emerging animators, through professional development workshops, with the creative and industrial tools needed to survive in the animation industry. Furthermore, through the Animarket Trade Fair, SAFO has created an intimate recruitment and promotional venue for schools, studios and software companies. In addition, like the Ottawa International Animation Festival, SAFO features workshops, retrospective screenings, a trade fair and an Animator's Cafe (or Chez-Ani). The international jury will be comprised of: Phil Mulloy, animator (U.K.), Koji Yamamura, animator (Japan), Richard Meltzer, writer and critic (U.S.A.), and Annick Teninge, Animation World Network, (U.S.A.). This year's special screenings include tributes to Phil Mulloy, Koji Yamamura, Bolex Brothers and Olive Jar Animation. Other programmes include: "Sailing to Sicily," a look at interpretations of hell; a gay and lesbian animation panorama; and a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Ottawa International Animation Festival. New to this year's festival is International Student Panoramas, highlighting the wide array of animation being produced by an assortment of schools, and the Teachers' Symposium, which will address the problems of dealing with new technologies like animation for the Internet and various approaches and challenges facing animation historians.

The Art Gallery of Ontario and Puppets The Animation School are presenting a free symposium entitled "Creative Work in Digital Media." The event is geared toward students seeking careers in the digital arts. Guest presenters will include: Dar Lazdins of Puppets the Animation School; Mona Zaidi, a New Media Producer and Lead Interactive Game Designer at Nelvana Ltd.; Peter Hudecki, Senior Animator at Nelvana; Frank Falcone of Guru Productions; Kartz Ucci, an independent video/New Media artist; and Darren Cranford of Keyframe Digital Productions. The event will take place from 10 am - 1 pm.

The Victoria Independent Film & Video Festival's goal is to highlight the work of talented burgeoning filmmakers. This year's event will feature a tribute to Canadian animation studio, International Rocketship. Three-days of the festival will be devoted to animation, including an intensive animation workshop. Over 130 features and shorts in narrative, animation, documentary and experimental will be screened at the 10-day festival.

Long-time mime teacher Noam Markus is holding an all day workshop for animators on physical theatre movement improvisation. Markus has been teaching, directing and performing mime and physical theatre for over 15 years. He is a graduate of The School of Physical Theatre (Jacques Lecoq method) and is a faculty member of Claude Watson School for the Arts in Toronto. Topics covered will be physical theatre, commedia dell arte, contact improv, melodrama, buffoon, mask and mime.

Side Effects Software will present the X-MEN work completed by C.O.R.E. Digital on Thursday, May 10, 2001 at 6 pm at University of Toronto's Hart House. Nordin Rahhali, who served as a technical director on X-MEN, will discuss C.O.R.E.'s work on the film, including early challenges and Houdini's role in overcoming them. Side Effects will also present new Houdini capabilities, including its artist-friendly interface, customizable panels and vector expressions and the integrated Houdini scripting language. An hors d'oeuvre reception will begin at 6:30 pm and the presentation will follow in the second floor Debates Room at Hart House, located at 7 Hart House Circle, Toronto. Please RSVP to rsvp@sidefx.com or call (416) 504-9876 for more information.

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The cornerstone to animation success is your ability to get your ideas onto paper, or onto the computer screen. Join Don Bluth and Gary Goldman at one of their in depth animation seminars in Toronto, September 15 - 16 or in San Francisco, October 27 - 28, 2001. Topics will include: Day 1: drawing, character design and animation; Day 2: storyboard, actiong and directing. There will be lots of demonstrations of how to get your skill level up. The 2-day seminar will be held from 10 am to 3 pm (lunch provided) and will be followed by Q&A's. Tuition is $400. Student discounts and group rates available. Limited tickets available.