Ubisoft and the Independent Film Channel (IFC) are hosting a short film contest inspired by the videogame, ASSASSIN'S CREED, due out in November. Film students, videogame fans and media arts aficionados are encouraged to submit their short film of six minutes or less, based on themes for judging via IFC's Media Lab (http://medialab.ifc.com), a groundbreaking, integrated program that offers filmmakers a destination for posting their independent films online. The grand-prize winner will receive $10,000, an Xbox 360, an Xbox 360 version of ASSASSIN'S CREED and inclusion of their short film inside the Limited Edition version of the game. The winning film will also be aired on the IFC television network in November to coincide with the launch of the game. Finalists will be selected by a panel of IFC and Ubisoft judges and their films will be posted on the IFC website, to be viewed and voted on by fans and visitors who will ultimately choose the grand-prize winner. Two "runner-up" prizes include $2,500 cash, an Xbox 360, an Xbox 360 version of ASSASSIN'S CREED and inclusion of their short film inside the Limited Edition version of the game. Their short film will be aired on the IFC television network. Winners will be announced on or before Nov. 30. For more information, visit medialab.ifc.com/content.jsp?pg=assassins_creed.html.

The Accolade is a nontraditional, virtual venue with seasonal deadlines that allows timely online publicity and distribution opportunities for moviemakers, television producers and videographers. It is a top tier, international awards competition in its fifth year. The Accolade receives entries from all over the world including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, England, Spain, Ireland, India, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Hong Kong, etc. Subtitled, foreign-language films are welcome. The awards go to those moviemakers, television producers and videographers who produce fresh, standout entertainment, animation and compelling documentaries.

Since The Accolade is not a traditional festival, it gains eyeballs for winners online through its website, press releases and blasts to its e-mail database of more than 25,000 producers, distributors and buyers. The Accolade is an award known to buyers and distributors and gives them confidence that winning productions are of high quality.

There are three levels of awards, all based on quality and creativity: Best of Show, Awards of Excellence and Honorable Mention. No more than 15% of entries are granted Awards of Excellence. Best of Show honors are granted only if worthy productions are discovered. Notable artistic and technical productions are recognized at the Honorable Mention award level. Annually, a special award is given to a production that makes a significant contribution to social change or a humanitarian effort.

Winners benefit as The Accolade team works passionately to help worthy productions gain the publicity and distribution they deserve. Clips of the Best of Show productions are streamed on The Accolade Website. All Award of Excellence and Honorable Mention winners have a listing with a link to their Website if requested. Every moviemaker, television producer and videographer wants credibility and buzz, and that is what The Accolade is all about! It is a showcase for cinematic gems and unique voices.

The goal of The Accolade is to help the winners of this coveted award achieve the recognition and distribution they deserve.

Go to www.TheAccolade.net for rules and entry form.

NBC Universal Cable is hosting the Chiller "Dare To Direct" Short Film Contest. It challenges fans to get creative and compete for great prizes and a chance to be featured on "Chiller's Dare to Direct Film Festival" as they write, produce and submit short horror films. Shorts will be judged in the categories of Best Picture, Creepiest Character and Scariest Special Effects. Viewers vote online to select five finalists in each category, and a top TV producer will select final winners. Films can be uploaded from Sept. 5-17, and voting for each category will take place from Sept. 21 to Oct. 1. The films will remain online for viewing throughout October. On Halloween night, Wednesday, Oct. 31, finalists and winners will be announced and featured in "Chiller's Dare to Direct Film Festival" at 10:30 pm and 1:30 am (ET). The winner of each category will be awarded $5,000 and Chiller goodies. Complete rules and information can be found at ChillerTV.com.

Aniboom (www.aniboom.com), the premier multi-platform animation network that partners with untapped animation talent from around the world to create independent animated content for global distribution, is holding its 2007 Aniboom Awards. Animators can enter work in five categories, with no limit to the number of categories or submissions per entrant. Categories include Funny, Drama, Music Videos, Amateur and Experimental. Each month for four months, one winner from each category will join the finalist pool. From there, a winner will be chosen from each category to compete for the grand prize. Prizes include a $25,000 original series development deal, $3,000 to each category winner, Toonboom Software (valued at $7,000) and exposure to some of the most renowned industry executives. The Aniboom Awards will be judged by entertainment executives and animation industry veterans, including multi-award-winning animator and Oscar nominee Paul Driessen. In 2006, the Annual Aniboom Awards received more than 1,700 entries from more than 70 countries in its inaugural year. Winner Jossie Malis took home $25,000 for his animation BENDITO MACHINE. Malis is working with the Aniboom Creators Studio to develop his original series, which is set to launch in 2008. For more information, visit www.aniboom.com.

The Linda Joy Media Arts Society reminds filmmakers of the upcoming Helen Hill Animated Award deadline on Oct. 26, 2007. This award commemorates noted filmmaker Helen Hill who died this past January, the victim of a random crime. The LJMAS wants applications from creative, original and challenging artists working with animation on film or digital media, which reflect the spirit of innovation that characterizes the films of Helen Hill. The award is offered in support of a production on film or digital media in which the work derives its character from the predominant or entire use of animation, and reflects creativity and innovation in the artist's practice. For further information, please contact Will Roberts at the LJMAS office, 902.420.4522, info@lindajoy.com or visit our website LINDAJOY.COM.

Nontzeflash is an on-line competition on the site www.nontzeflash.com. The best animated films will be awarded by judges and they will be shown on Bilbao's Fantastic Film Festival FANT 2008. It is open to everybody who wants to take part, no matter where they are from and with no limited number of animated films. Registering is free. The animated films will be produced in SWF and the file must be not bigger than 3Mb and not longer than 4 minutes. The deadline to submit for the competition will be 21st February 2007 (13.00 p.m. local time). Nevertheless, the organization would appreciate that the films are submitted beforehand to be shown on Nontzeflash for the entertainment of The Internet users. The competition offers the following awards: - Nontzeflash Award to The Best Animated film 2000 euros - Second Award 1500 euros - Third Award. 900 euros - The Best animated film of Basque Country. 900 euros

Suzuki Auto has teamed with the New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF) and Cinedulce.com to host its first nationwide animation contest, Animate! -- La vida Suzuki, which will run through February 29, 2008 and conclude with the winning animation being featured at the 2008 NYILFF in July.

The online animation contest gives animators over 18 years of age, and who are U.S. residents, an opportunity to create original animated work with an Urban Latino feel that reflects the Suzuki "Way of Life" brand proposition, which promises vehicles for active lifestyles, adventurers and thrill-seekers. Submissions must be no more than three minutes in length and feature Suzuki Auto branding and a Suzuki automobile, such as the dynamic XL7 crossover SUV.

The Grand Prize winner, to be announced in March, will receive an all-expense paid trip for two to the 2008 NYILFF, where the winning animation will be featured, and a grant of $5,000 to produce a series of two webisodes that will run on Cinedulce.com site in June and July. Participants should visit www.cinedulce.com/ for complete submission guidelines and to submit the online Entry Form. Online animation video submissions will be accepted on the contest website.

For more information, visit http://www.media.suzukiauto.com/.

Bob Iger, President/CEO, The Walt Disney Co., will participate in a Q&A session at the Sanford C. Bernstein Media Symposium on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007, at approximately 12:15 pm EST/9:15 am PST. To listen to a live Webcast of the session, go to www.disney.com/investors approximately five minutes prior to the start time. A re-play will be provided through Thursday, Dec. 13 2007, at 4:00 pm PDT.

Vicon, developer of Academy Award-winning motion capture systems and part of the Oxford Metrics Group, is currently accepting submissions for the Vicon Film Festival online at www.vicon.com/filmfestival/.

With a grand prize of $10,000, the international competition aims to find the most creative and entertaining use of a series of motion capture sequences in an animated short. The competition is open to original short films (between two and five minutes long) using motion capture data made available for download from the Vicon Film Festival website.

The contest launched in August 2007, offering participants a variety of different motion capture clips for download, along with NFR licenses of 3D match-moving software boujou SD, to aid in the creation of their short films. Between now and the submission close date (Jan. 31, 2008), one entrant per day will be selected at random to win an iPod Shuffle.

Film entries will be posted on YouTube and the Vicon Film Festival website for public voting. The top 10 entries will be submitted to an independent judging panel comprised of industry experts including Mike Sanders (Industrial Light & Magic), Eric Furie (USC School of Cinematic Arts), Takashi Fukamoto (Links Digiworks), Gary Roberts (Vicon House of Moves), Chris Mais (writer and director of the award-winning SMILE), Mick Morris (Audiomotion) and Darren Waters (BBC Interactive). The winner will be announced in June 2008. Media sponsors for the competition include VFXWorld.com, Computer Graphics World and Digital Arts Magazine (UK).

Babelgum, the free to view global television network, is hosting the Babelgum Online Film Festival. Submissions will be exposed to public rating on Babelgum before being judged by the festival jury, led by Spike Lee. The other jurors consist of film experts from across the globe, including the directors of established film festivals, film schools and film industry associations. For more information, visit www.babelgum.com.