Awards

Paul Dini brings to life the action of Batman Beyond with his words.
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Animation Writers Caucus Awards Paul Dini. The Animation Writers Caucus of the Writers Guild of America, a group of animation writers represented by The Writers Guild, presented its Second Annual Animation Writing Award to Paul Dini at its annual meeting on Wednesday, October 20. Dini is currently writing and producing Batman Beyond for the Kids WB Network. "He's a very talented writer who has always turned out interesting, exciting material," said Craig Miller, the Caucus chair. "His work on Batman and Batman Beyond has helped push the boundaries of television animation, opening it up to more adult and thoughtful storytelling." Dini's other credits include He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Tiny Toon Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series. In 1994, the Writers Guild of America, West formed the Animation Writers Caucus to address the issues of working conditions in the field of animation, as well as to provide a forum in which animation writers can gather to exchange information and assist with animation organizing.

Craig Miller discusses the goals of the Animation Writers Caucus in "Better For All Concerned: The Writers Guild of America's Animation Writers Caucus."

Moondance Announces Finalists. The Moondance International Film Festival have cut their list of quarter finalists down to three finalists for its first competition, Moondance 2000. The festival takes place in Boulder, Colorado, January 14-16, 2000. Entries from female screenwriters and filmmakers from any country were welcomed to the competition. For more information e-mail: mermaid7cs@aol.com; or write: Moondance International Film Festival, 970 Ninth Street, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.

The following films are finalists in the animation film category:
Bee-Lines by Rachel Bevan Baker
Idolle by Schroder & Perl
Vedma by Allison Schulnik

Here are the additional quarter finalists.
Adventure On Wheels by Benitez & Llanos
Backyard Geographic by Jennifer Allen
Happy Birthday, Hannah by Sharon Katz
King Of The Castle by Jacqueline Matisse
Suburban Cinderella by Jeanne Pappas Simon
The Bride & The Broom by Mabebe Delgado
The Egg by Linda Kudzmas
The String Dancers by Lynn Healy
Women by Charlene Shih

No laughing matter, Iron Giant takes home 9 Annie Awards.
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The Iron Giant Tops Annie Winners. Nearly 900 members of the animation industry and the general public attended the 27th Annual Annie Awards, Saturday, November 6 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California, USA. The black-tie awards ceremony, presented by ASIFA-Hollywood, The International Animated Film Society, honors animation achievement within film, television, commercials, home videos and interactive productions. Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, the voices of Pinky and the Brain from the Warner Bros. hit show, were co-hosts of a ceremony that saw The Iron Giant win nine Annie Awards, sweeping all of the feature film categories. The presenters read off as a who's who in the animation industry. Comical segways were provided from directors like John Musker and Ron Clements, the Walt Disney Feature Animation directing team from The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Hercules; and Tom Sito, co-director with Piet Kroon on the Warner Bros. upcoming animated feature Osmosis Jones. Winnie the Pooh, Hogarth Hughes from The Iron Giant , Rocky the Squirrel and Crusader Rabbit, also graced the audience with appearances (okay, maybe it was their human forms Jim Cummings, 13 year-old Eli Marienthal, June Foray and Lucille Bliss, respectively).

The complete list of the 27th Annual Annie Award winners is as follows:

Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Theatrical Feature, The Iron Giant , Warner Bros. Feature Animation.

Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Program, The Simpsons, Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television.

Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Home Video Production, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Walt Disney Television Animation.

Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Interactive Production, The Goddamn George Liquor Program, Spumco, Inc.

Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Short Subject, Bunny, Blue Sky Studios.

Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Commercial, "Condom 'Sensitive,'" Levi Strauss, Wild Brain, Inc.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production, Rob Paulsen, as the voice of Pinky, Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky, Elmyra & The Brain, Warner Bros. Television Animation.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production, Eli Marienthal, as the voice of Hogarth Hughes, The Iron Giant, Warner Bros. Feature Animation.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Character Animation, Steve Markowski, The Iron Giant, Warner Bros. Feature Animation.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Effects Animation, Allen Foster, The Iron Giant, Warner Bros. Feature Animation.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production, Mark Gustafson, "Bougie Nights," The PJ's, Will Vinton Studios.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production, Brad Bird, The Iron Giant, Warner Bros. Feature Animation.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Television Production, Randy Rogel (Composer and Lyricist), "That is the Story That's Told by the Bard" (Song), Warner Bros. Histeria!, Warner Bros. Television Animation.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production, Michael Kamen (Composer), The Iron Giant, Warner Bros. Feature Animation.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television Production, Glen Murakami, "Legends of the Dark Knight," The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Warner Bros. Television Animation.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production, Alan Bodner, The Iron Giant, Warner Bros. Feature Animation.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television Production, Tim Long, Larry Doyle, and Matt Selman, "Simpsons Bible Stories," The Simpsons, Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production, Brad Bird and Tim McCanlies, The Iron Giant, Warner Bros. Feature Animation.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production, Adam Van Wyk, "Black Out," Batman Beyond, Warner Bros. Television Animation.

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production, Mark Andrews, The Iron Giant, Warner Bros. Feature Animation.

Technical Achievement in the Field of Animation, Eric Daniels, for the development of the Deep Canvas process in Tarzan, Walt Disney Feature Animation.

Winsor McCay Award (Lifetime Achievement):
Marcell Jankovics - Award winning short film animator from the Pannonia Studio in Hungary.
Ray Patterson - One of the animators of the great MGM unit during the Golden Age; he worked on Tom And Jerry and sharpened his skills with Tex Avery.
Con Pederson - CGI pioneer who worked on many projects including Ward Kimball's Man In Space and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

June Foray Award (Significant and Benevolent Impact):
Dave Master

Certificate of Merit:
Melanie Crandall
Michael Mallory

Visit the Offical Annie Award Showcase and see images and Quicktime clips from the winners and nominees.

When The Day Breaks Wins At Leipzig. The 42nd International Leipzig Festival for Documentary & Animated Films took place in Leipzig, Germany from October 26 - October 31, 1999. Forty-nine films from 13 counties were shown in competition this year. The jury was comprised of Jayne Pilling (Great Britain), Silke Parzich (Germany), and Andrei Zolotouchin (Russia). The following awards were presented:

Goldene Taube, When The Days Breaks by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Frobis, Canada, 1999.

Silberne Taube, Pinocchio by Gianluci Toccafondo, Italy, 1999 and Night Of Carrots by Priit Pärn, Estonia, 1998.

Special Prize, Outer Space by Peter Cherkasky, Austria, 1999.

Special Mention, Firehouse by Baerbel Neubauer, Germany, 1998.

Audience Prize, A Bout Du Mond (At The End Of The World) by Konstantin Bronzit, France, 1999.

Salam And The Golden Queen Gets Some Gold. The International Cartoons & Animation Center's Salam And The Golden Queen has won the Hollywood Film Advisory Board's "Award of Excellence" and the Dove Foundation's "Dove Seal of Approval." In the film, Salam and the Knights of Virtue are shrunk to the size of bees. Through their adventures in a beehive, they must learn the value of cooperation and communication in order to return to the human world. The film is produced in six languages including English, French, Arabic, Turkish, Malay, and Urdu. Directed by Ammed Jamal Abdelhafiz, the film is current looking for distributors. For inquiries call (800) MY-SALAM.

Chicago International Children's Film Festival Announces Winners. Four hundred guests crowded the second floor theatre at the Chicago Cultural Center, Sunday, October 24, for the 1999 Gala Awards Ceremony and Closing Night Party of the 16th annual Chicago International Children's Film Festival. The following awards for animated films were given out:

Children's Jury Prizes - Feature Films and Videos - Animation
1st Prize, Kirikou And The Sorceress by Michel Ocelot (France).
2nd Prize, Anne Frank's Diary by Julian Wolff (France, Ireland, UK, Netherlands).
Certificate of Merit, Babar: King Of The Elephants by Raymond Jafelice (Canada).
Certificate of Merit, Grandma And Her Ghosts by Shaudi Wang (Taiwan).

Children's Jury Prizes - Short Films and Videos - Animation
1st Prize, At The Ends Of The Earth by Konstantin Bronzit (France).
2nd Prize, The First Snow Of Winter by Graham Ralph (UK).
Certificate of Merit, Short Films By Short People: The Adventures Of Sam Digital by Stephen Angel (USA).
Certificate of Merit, Bango Frogs by Nick Hilligoss (Australia).

Adult Jury Prizes - Short Films and Videos - Animated
1st Prize, Your Choice! by Koji Yamamura (Japan).
2nd Prize, Sientje by Christa Moesker (Netherlands).
Certificate of Merit, Chrysanthemum by Virginia Wilkos (USA).

Adult Jury Prizes - Child-Produced Short Films and Videos - Animation
1st Prize, Billy The Seal by Gerald Conn and Chris Elliott (UK).
2nd Prize, Strangled By Painful Words by Nigel Zeid and Cliff Cohen (USA).
Certificate of Merit, Surprise by Edo Lukman (Croatia).

Ottawa Student Results Are In! The Ottawa International Student Animation Festival (SAFO) announced the grand prize winners in this year's competition on Sunday, October 24, 1999. The festival stated that, "This year's winners show the high quality of work coming out of schools, both locally, nationally, and internationally."

The winners in the various competitions are as follows as reported by the festival:
Grand Prix: Best Film In Competition -- Grace, Lorelei Pepi, USA.
Grand Prix: Best School In Competition -- Royal College of Art, England.
Directors Prize -- Bermuda, Ulo Pikkov, Estonia.
First Prize: High School/Secondary Level -- Java Noir, Raf Anzouin, USA.
First Prize: Undergraduate/First Year Films -- Mister Smile, Fran Krause, USA.
Nelvana Award For Best Graduate Film -- Passport, Siri Melchior, England.
Cartoon Network Award For Best First Film -- Monster, Alexey Antonov, Russia.
Teletoon Award For Best Film By A Child -- Mari Lwyd, The Children Of Plas Newydd School, Maesteg, Wales.

The films that won in specialized categories at SAFO '99 are:
ASIFA-Canada Award For Best Canadian Film -- Little Milos, Jakub Pistecky.
Alias|Wavefront Award For Best Computer Film -- The Littlest Robo, Richard Kenworthy, England.
Chromacolour Award For Best Use Of Colour -- At The Drop Of A Hat, Hotessa Laurence, England.
Special Jury Citation For Best Use Of Sound -- Bermuda, Ulo Pikkov, Estonia.
Special Jury Citation For Best Film Design -- The Double Invention In A Minor, Vladimir Kral, Slovakia.
Special Jury Citation For Best Non-Narrative -- Edgeways, Sandra Gibson, USA.

SAFO is a leading force in recognizing the talent of emerging animators. The festival ran successfully at the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa from October 21-24, 1999. Ottawa 2000 will run from September 19-24, 2000 in Ottawa, Canada. For further festival information or general inquiries, please call the Ottawa International Animation Festival at (613) 232-8769.