Spontaneous Fantasia at the Glendale Community College Planetarium is a showcase for the combined efforts of a visual artist, performance artist, animator, musical composer, and Technical Academy Award winner. All happen to be the same person: J.Walt Adamczyk, he of the multiple talents and Scrabble-worthy last name, puts together an hour of improvised 3-D animation and music through interactive CG techniques, accompanied by his own original score.

Adamczyk creates live animated scenes which include alien landscapes, strange oceanic ballets, surreal gardens, psychedelic swirls.

The show is suitable for all ages, though young children might find it too intense.

Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 6:30 p.m.
Adults: $15, Kids: $6

Summer 2008 Dates:
July 11-12, July 25-26, August 8-9, September 12-13 and September 26-27.

GCC Planetarium: 1500 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale, California 91208, USA

Info and reservations: (626) 688-0778.

As a featured component of Los Angeles' International AFI Film Festival, AFI DigiFest is presenting two interactive media showcases highlighting the latest innovations in digital media and their real-world applications. Presented at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' beautiful Linwood-Dunn Theater, the two days of presentations and seminars will be filled with some pretty dazzling stuff. Here's the program: Day One (November 8): AFI hosts a series of curated presentations that highlight noteworthy digital productions from around the world. Among the presentations, Marshall Herskovitz, creator of THIRTY SOMETHING, MY SO-CALLED LIFE and BLOOD DIAMOND, will preview QUARTERLIFE, a new dramatic broadband series that premieres on MySpace on Nov. 11. Presentations rounding out the day feature the best in new digital thinking from the worlds of film, television, games and mobile. Bobby Beck, CEO/President, Animation Mentor, will be part of a panel titled "The Reinvention of Storytelling through Interactive Media." Day Two (November 9): AFI presents five new prototypes incubated in the AFI Digital Content Lab: an online video platform and citizen journalist toolkit for NOW, PBS' weekly investigative news program; a strategy for retaining viewer interest during ads in a DVR environment for Bravo; a social network tailored for players, a documentary about videogame fans being produced by MTV, EA, and Mekanism; a pilot for an original dramatic machinima series created within a 3D game engine; and, finally, a unique user-generated film contest, Filmocracy, for ITVS. For more information, visit www.afi.com/onscreen/AFIFEST/2007/.

Created in 1998, Forum Brasil is Latin America's leading TV programming trade show. Representatives from more than 20 countries use the forum as a marketplace to find great products, share experiences, get new information, analyze local markets, and engage in profitable business networking. Forum Brazil features: * International seminar with top-tier names in programming and production * 30-minute sessions with channel executives from Brazil and other countries detailing their acquisition policies * Pitching of animation, documentary, series and feature projects * Screenings of programs and pilots via a fully automated system * Great networking, acquisitions, co-production and distribution opportunities Broadcasters, pay-TV channels, distributors and independent producers from Brazil, other Latin American countries, the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe have made Forum Brasil a regular fixture of their business schedule. For additional information, visit www.forumbrasiltv.com.br.

THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM animated short, a stop-motion adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's classic short story, directed by animation veteran Marc Lougee and exec produced by animation and vfx icon Ray Harryhausen, is slated to screen over the TriCity Comic Con weekend, October 11, 2008. The 3rd Annual Tri-City Independent Fan Film Festival takes place Oct. 11, 2008 in conjunction with Tri-City Comic Con (TC3). The creation of TC3 is for the promotion of art, media, literature, gaming, and imagination, especially in the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Comic genres. We support the education of the general public in these areas by hosting events, fan-run conventions, and bringing guest professionals to the community and into the local schools to educate and encourage future artists and artisans. The event includes appearances by comic book artists, media guests, exhibitor hall and dealers room, independent film festival and assorted gaming events. Event to be held at Red Lion Inn, 2525 North 20th Avenue, Pasco, Washington, 99301 Telephone: (509) 547-0701 Website: redlion.rdln.com

A retrospective of Ian Emes animations is taking place next week in London, 25 June. Q & A will follow the screening and there's also an exhibition of his cels and backgrounds.

III ASTERFEST 2007

We have the pleasure to inform You that we are approaching the final stage of the preparations for the new, third edition of our new festival in the Macedonian country, as well as in the region and beyond, dedicated to the professional film (documentary and fiction) culture and emphasizing its affirmation, popularization and valorization towards the audience.
It is about the initiative for AsterFest, film and video festival, focusing on documentary, fiction (features or shorts) works of film authors who are coming from or living in Western Balkan region, neighbor countries and other related meridians.
We invited and receive films from several productions which submitted film-s for our forthcoming festival. It may be long or short-length film. We will present it into the programs: ASTERDOCS, BALKANS FICTION, NEuCOMERS, DOMA, HOMMAGES - focused on authors from southeastern European, EU countries and abroad.
We plan that the third edition of AsterFest 2007 will officially take place in the period 28-31 May on several locations in the Macedonian town of Strumica, where several other cultural areas will be renewed, related to the climate, ancient values and constant spiritual wideness, which have provided existence to this town for more then two millenniums. The concept is the projections to take place in an ambient, outdoor (in correlation with the summer sch

The DC Anime Club and the Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC), Embassy of Japan Present BLEACH THE MOVIE: MEMORIES OF NOBODY on Friday October 24, 2008 at 6:30pm as part of the Anime/Live Action Series based upon Manga (Japanese Comics).

In Karakura Town, there has been a sudden outbreak of unidentifiable spirits called "blanks" (vacant souls) while in the skies of Soul Society, the real world has been reflected. A mysterious female shinigami called Senna has appeared before Ichigo along with a man named Ganryu, leading a group called the "Dark Ones."

The screening will be held at the Japanese Information and Culture Center, Embasy of Japan located at Lafayette Center III 1155 21st Street, NW Washington, DC 20036-3308. Seating for the screening of BLEACH THE MOVIE is limited and attendees are encouraged to RSVP by sending an e-mail to jiccrsvpfall08@embjapan.org.

This program is free and open to the public. For more information visit the Japanese Information and Culture Center website at http://www.us.embjapan.go.jp/jicc/ or visit the DC Anime Club website at http://dcanimeclub.org.

ANIMA

backup stands for films and videos reflecting, defining and readjusting the boundaries and prospects of film and its diverse segments by creatively experimenting with different ways of production and expression. That is why backup is looking for film works that refuse to be categorized by genres, topics and other traditional criteria -- experiments in the format of moving picture. A new addition to this year's 11th backup festival is a competition for international debut features. With this award and the systematic development of media partnerships backup wants to promote the potential of young filmmakers and support their talent. As in the past 10 years, backup wants to encourage a discourse about films, formats and festivals reflecting the current developments and wants to find and support artistic works and exceptional approaches to the medium film. Since its 10th anniversary in 2008 the date of the backup_festival has been changed and will now be held from May 21-24, 2009 because the early summer weather in Weimar, Germany offers the possibility of celebrating the festival as a larger and more vibrant open-air event.

The American International Toy Fair is the largest toy trade show in the Western Hemisphere. More than 1,500 manufacturers, distributors, importers and sales agents from 30 countries showcase their toy and entertainment products. From classic toys to interactive entertainment and everything in between, it has it all. Products include action figures and dolls, games and puzzles, bicycles, tricycles and ride-ons, radio-controlled vehicles, infant and preschool toys, cars, trucks and trains, puppets and plush, computer software and videogames, playground and sporting equipment, Halloween and Christmas items, books, stationery, party supplies, and much more. More information can be found at www.toyassociation.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Toy_Fair.