The largest annual international animation festival held in India. Competitive categories for animation shorts. 1. Student Films 2. Independent professional films 3. Commissioned films 4. Films made by teachers/trainers.

Pre-selection jury of professional animators select films for screening and voting by the audience at a live session during the festival. No entry fee. DVD format only, duration in all categories should be under 10 mins.

Lecture sessions, interactive demonstrations, behind the scenes, technology updates feature at the festival. Sessions include storytelling, acting, pre-production, special effects, open source solutions, voice casting and much more. Complete details are available at the TASI website.

This is a non-commercial event. No soliciting, marketing or publicity is allowed at the festival. This event is driven by a passion for exchange of knowledge.

The second annual Downtown Film Festival - Los Angeles (DFFLA), the only dedicated film festival in the historic core of the Entertainment Capital of the World, will be held August, 12-22, 2009. The festival doubles in size to 10 days from last year's inaugural event with a series of film screenings of Hollywood, independent and classic films, lectures, panel discussions, exhibits, and parties and receptions, all celebrating downtown L.A.'s renaissance. Filmmakers may submit films for screening consideration beginning today and until the final deadline of July 15. Feature narrative and documentary films, as well as short films are eligible for consideration. Additional information about submissions can be found on the festival's website: www.dffla.com. The 2009 Downtown Film Festival is being presented by the AT&T Center, arts>Brookfield Properties and the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. Live!, with additional sponsors to be announced in the coming weeks. The festival will be headquartered at LBA Realty's AT&T Center (formerly, the Transamerica Center) in downtown L.A.'s exciting South Park district. In addition to providing the festival's main screening venue, (a newly renovated 500-seat theater with state-of-the-art video projection equipment), the AT&T Center will be the location of the festival's 5,000-square-foot Cinema Lounge, located on the southwest corner of the AT&T Center at Olive and 12th St. The Cinema Lounge at the AT&T Center will be a beehive of activity during the festival that will include nightly parties and receptions, panel discussions and art exhibitions as well housing the festival box office. The GRAMMY Museum, located at L.A. Live!, will partner with the festival to present a series of music documentary films and live musical performances at The Museum. Roger M. Mayer will serve once again as the festival's programming director. In addition to the aforementioned programming, the festival will premiere a variety of Hollywood and independently produced feature films, documentaries and shorts. Special programming will include a film series spotlighting American-Latino filmmakers, a screening paying homage to downtown L.A.'s Silent Era history, and a showcase of movies by filmmakers living in Downtown L.A. For more information, visit the festival's website: www.dffla.com.

Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival (SICAF) is calling for entries. The fesvial is one of the acknowledged international animation festivals in Asia, accredited by ASIFA International. This year, SICAF is celebrating its 13th edition, with more than 1,500 expected entries from Asia, Europe, the Americas and beyond.

Official site: www.sicaf.org.

The "real" physics behind some of Hollywood's most famous action, science fiction and superhero scenes will be revealed when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents "When Worlds Collide: The Science of Movies," on Thursday, August 6, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Presented by the Academy's Science and Technology Council, the program will be hosted by author Adam Weiner (DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! THE PHYSICS OF HOLLYWOOD MOVIES) and will feature film clips and in-depth conversation with Oscar-winning visual effects artists Robert Legato ("Titanic") and Scott Stokdyk ("Spider-Man 2"), Oscar-nominated visual effects artists Shane Mahan ("Iron Man") and Matt Sweeney ("Apollo 13"), and stunt coordinator and second unit director Dan Bradley ("The Bourne Ultimatum"). Physics concepts will be used to analyze scenes from several films, including "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Speed," "Apollo 13," "Titanic," "The Bourne Ultimatum," "Spider-Man 3" and "The Dark Knight." Weiner currently writes about science and popular culture for Popular Science magazine online and teaches physics at The Bishop's School, a private high school in La Jolla, California. Established in 2003 by the Academy's Board of Governors, the Science and Technology Council provides a forum for the exchange of information, promotes cooperation among diverse technological interests within the industry, sponsors publications, fosters educational activities and preserves the history of science and technology of motion pictures. Tickets to "When Worlds Collide: The Science of Movies" are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets are available for purchase by mail, at the Academy box office (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or online at www.oscars.org. Doors open one hour prior to the event. All seating is unreserved. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.

Anime Festival Orlando is excited to announce the exciting conclusion of "The Swords of Orlandia". "Swords of Orlandia" is the story behind AFO's Interactive Convention Experience. The talented writing staff has crafted an original story/game in which attendees can voluntarily participate all weekend long. Throughout the event there are "character cut scenes", side quests and plenty of leveling up that even casual fans of Live Action Role-playing will enjoy. "With the popularity of role playing games such as 'Kingdom Hearts', 'Final Fantasy' and 'World of Warcraft' we've found this theme to be an overwhelming success for the past two years," states event coordinator Karen Trudeau. This year, Anime Festival Orlando has the privilege to announce their guests of honor: Reuben Langdon, Vic Mignogna, Aaron Dismuke, Chris Sabat, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Sonny Strait, Doug Smith, Jason David Frank and Robert Axelrod. "One of things that makes AFO 'Florida's Favorite Anime Convention' is that many of our guests take an active role in our theming and events throughout the weekend," said Karen Trudeau. "We're really excited about the panels and workshops that have been suggested by the guests themselves." New events for Anime Festival Orlando 10 include Whack-a-Nerd for Charity and Wasabi Anime's Cross Play Rally Race. There will also be fan favorite events such as Happy Happy Cosplay Go Go Go and the traditional fare offered at anime conventions. AFO is a multi-day celebration of all things related to Japanese animation and pop culture held at the Wyndham Orlando Resort July 31, August 1 and August 2, 2009. Ticket prices are only $45.00 for an adult 3-day membership badge, $25.00 for a Friday or Sunday Only wristband and $30.00 for a Saturday Only wristband. Growing in attendance nearly 20% each year since its inception in 2000, Anime Festival Orlando has earned the title of "Florida's Favorite Anime Convention" as well as being voted one of the "Top 10 Things To Do In Orlando" by DK Publishing's Travel Guide. For more information about Anime Festival Orlando, please visit http://www.animefestivalorlando.com/

As an event with extensive influence in game developing field, the second China Game Developers Conference (CGDC) will be held in conjunction with world's second largest game show -- ChinaJoy, on July 24-26, 2009 in Shanghai, China. The first CGDC was closed on Aug. 29, 2007, on the conference, 60 experts and over one thousand professionals in game industry exchanged their ideas deeply; more than 50 technology suppliers promoted their technologies and products. The 2nd CGDC will also be supported by related government administration agencies. With the goal of gathering technical elites in game developing, the conference focuses on PC/console game, mobile game, game outsourcing, especially online game; topics covering different fields in game developing, such as game design, programming, arts, audio? management and development tools etc. Attendees will exchange their ideas, sharing their experience and discuss on new technical development trends. The conference's highlights include topics in game development covering multiple fields for discussion and focusing on theory and practice, technical elites and entrepreneurs will be invited to participate. The deadline for submitting this year's CGDC speeches is May 5, 2009. The organizing committee welcomes any form of participation from professionals and experts of the game industry and will do its best to facilitate technology exchange for game developers. Any inquiries on conference content, contact Cecillia Cao: Tel: 86 10 51659355 ext. 12 or via e-mail: cecillia_cao@howellexpo.com CGDC official website: www.chinagdc.com.cn/en.

Comic-Con International is the largest gathering of comic book, science fiction, film and television fans in the nation. Featuring celebrity guests, seminars on breaking into filmmaking and near 24-hour film retrospectives. Comic-Con is the place for fans of all things pop culture. For more information, visit www.comic-con.org.

CG CON 2009 is a new educational conference for creative computer graphic artists and professionals coming in July. Offered as a four-day series that comprises 24 lectures in three different programs: Digital Painting & Concept Art Design, Digital Modeling, and Digital Animation, CG GON 2009 promises something for visual artists at every career level. Guest speakers so far include: -- Ryan Church (STAR WARS EPISODE II, DEAD SPACE game at EA, LORD OF THE RINGS: THE BATTLE FOR MIDDLE EARTH II (EA), TRANSFORMERS 2, STAR TREK) -- Mark Goerner (STAR TREK: ONLINE GAME, X2, MINORITY REPORT, THE TERMINAL, BATTLE ANGEL) -- Neville Page (STAR TREK, CLOVERFIELD, WATCHMEN, AVATAR) -- Scott Robertson (Rockstar Games, Sony Online Entertainment, Buena Vista Games) -- Phil Saunders (MYST 3: EXILE game, F13 game, IRON MAN, SPIDER-MAN 3) -- Christian Lorenz Scheurer (TITANIC, THE MATRIX, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, THE GOLDEN COMPASS) -- Steambot Studios (ASSASSIN'S CREED game, PRINCE OF PERSIA game, TRON 2) -- Farzad Varahramyan (AVPR: ALIENS VS PREDATOR–REQUIEM, ODDWORLD: Abe's Exodus game) Featuring keynote presentations, one of the largest rosters of special guest presenters, and deep "how-to" exploration and lecture/training into this year's top visual effects and concept design for film, broadcast and game art, CG CON 2009 should be at the top of every CG professionals' and students' list of conferences to attend in 2009. Special feature presentations will reveal exciting, behind-the-scene secrets, anecdotes and footage of some of the year's most exciting projects in film and/or games from the actual artists and producers who worked on them. The CG CON 2009 event is the latest venture of Jean-Eric Henault--the original creator of CG Channel and the Montreal ADAPT 2006 and 2007 Conference, and Diego Rojas, a business entrepreneur with more than 10 years of experience working, volunteering, planning and participating in conferences and events including ACM1, ACM SIGGRAPH and 3D DESIGN Conference. CG CON 2009 Details: Date: July 16-19, 2009 Location: Los Angeles Convention Center, Concourse E, F, Downtown Los Angeles. 1201 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California 90015 Registration: http://www.wantickets.com/cgcon/ Register by March 16 and get up to $50 off the three-day registration price.

Exploring the relationship between NASA and motion pictures, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present "Astronaut as Filmmaker," featuring Commander Scott Altman and the crew of the STS-125 shuttle mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, on Tuesday, July 14, at 8 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The program will be hosted by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor John Dykstra. Presented by the Academy's Science and Technology Council, the event will include clips from the astronauts' recent 13-day mission on the space shuttle Atlantis and explore the challenges and revelations of filming in space with digital and IMAX 3D cameras. The astronauts trained at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to operate the special cameras, and during the voyage they documented work that is considered by many to be some of the most challenging ever undertaken in space. Established in 2003 by the Academy's Board of Governors, the Science and Technology Council provides a forum for the exchange of information, promotes cooperation among diverse technological interests within the industry, sponsors publications, fosters educational activities and preserves the history of science and technology of motion pictures. Tickets to "Astronaut as Filmmaker" are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets are available for purchase by mail, at the Academy box office (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or online at www.oscars.org. Doors open one hour prior to the event. All seating is unreserved. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.

Join David Heyman as he discusses the making of HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE with LA TIMES entertainment writer and Hero Complex blogger Geoff Boucher. Heyman is the producer behind all the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling's hugely successful books, in addition to producing such films as I AM LEGEND and YES MAN. Monday, July 13, 7:00 p.m. Apple Store, Third Street Promenade 1248 Third Street Promenade Warner Bros. Pictures will release HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE in theaters on July 15, 2009.