The 15th Animated Cartoon Festival For Young People is a biannual event which gives young people an opportunity to discover a wide array of productions from all over the world. The festival will hold tributes, exhibitions and workshops. The official selections will be screened within several programs during the festival. An international jury will give out official prizes to the films in competition. In addition, a jury made up of 11

The Art Institute of Los Angeles will present six-time Emmy-winner Phil Roman, who has produced and directed animated series, theatricals and commercials for four decades. The lecture is part of the school's Animation 2000 lecture series that has featured diverse speakers including John Landis, Michael Gagne, Matt Ferro and a host of industry leaders. The event will be held, at no charge, from 7-9 pm. In 1955, Roman officially began his career when he was hired to work as an assistant animator on Disney's SLEEPING BEAUTY. Decades later, Roman formed his own studio, Film Roman Inc. In 1999, Roman began a new company Phil Roman Entertainment.

AnimExplosion Festival is organized by the Animation Council of the Philippines, an organization composed of 18 animation studios based in the country. The festival will present a demonstration of clay, cut-out and puppet animation, simulation of animation production processes, an original character design competition, discussions on digital technologies in animation, sessions in character drawing, on the spot animated scene production to be participated by animation professionals, product launching and other sponsor presentations.

TOON-UP 2000 is your chance to participate in a master animation seminar conducted by Don Bluth. The presentation is a two-day experience, which will cover drawing, character development and design, storyboarding, acting, animation and directing. The event will start at 10 am and go until 3 pm. The seminar will include a buffet lunch on both days. The course is limited to 150 attendees. All interested artists, traditional 2D and CG/3D, are welcome.

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.

PC Creator Studios is offering a public acting workshop under the supervision of acting-veteran Ed Hooks. Hooks has taught at Pacific Data Images during the making of the feature film ANTZ, Will Vinton Studios, Mondo Media, OddWorld Inhabitants as well as several film schools and colleges around the world. The class will feature topics such as character analysis, essential acting principles for animators, importance of empathy and how to achieve it in your work, power centers and Laban Movement Analysis.

The eMediatainmentWorld Conference and Exchange is a conference and market dedicated to media and entertainment on the Internet. This year's keynote speakers will be Richard J. Bressler, chairman and CEO of Time Warner Digital Media and Tom Rogers, chairman and CEO of PRIMEDIA Inc. The exchange floor will provide business professionals the chance to make deals and contacts. The event will feature panels and forums on various industry issues.

The 4th Annual Collectibles Business and Gift Executive Conference is a place for executives in the gifts and collectibles market to learn about the newest trends in the industry. The event will feature industry speakers and sales strategy workshops.

The ANIMATION MAGAZINE Animation Business Marketplace is dedicated to expanding opportunities for professionals working in animation and new media. The conference will have presentations to explain the art, technologies and challenges confronting the industry today. The event gives visitors a chance to interact with other people working in the booming sector of new media and animation.

The Virtual Reality Conference is geared to bring to light the advantages of virtual reality to a mass market. The conference will focus on the following: what are the uses of virtual reality?; what virtual reality products are currently being manufactured?; what are the key software and design issues within virtual reality?; how is virtual reality being deployed on the Internet?; what opportunities will digital TV offer deployment of virtual environments?; and what are the latest developments in virtual reality research? Speakers will include representatives from BBC Smart Venture, Durham University, Microsoft, ParallelGraphics and many more.