ACM SIGGRAPH announced today the award nominees for the SIGGRAPH 2008 Computer Animation Festival to be held in Los Angeles this summer. Nominees were chosen from more than 900 submissions from around the globe, presented by both professional studios and students alike. An esteemed panel of jury members reviewed each submission to compile some of the greatest works submitted this year.

"With nearly 30 jurors from all corners of the globe, and two separate jury meetings, this year's Computer Animation Festival jury was one of the most comprehensive in the Festival's history," stated Samuel Lord Black, Computer Animation Festival Juried Co-chair. "The varied expertise we received from our jury ensures that this year's festival is well-balanced, exciting, and a great snapshot of the industry's finest material."

Since 1999, the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival has been an official qualifying festival for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences "Best Animated Short Film" award.

New in 2008 is the addition of the Computer Animation Festival award presentations, where winners will be revealed during the event. This year's expanded Festival also offers attendees an array of activities over a five-day period, which includes competition and showcase screenings at Los Angeles' famed Nokia Theater.

Attendees interested in all aspects of animation can also participate in a variety of panels, talks, and presentations, including two full-days that will focus on the world of 3D stereo cinematography. These events will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

For complete details on this year's Computer Animation Festival, visit http://www.siggraph.org/s2008/submissions/juried/caf/.

The nominees for this year's Computer Animation Festival Awards are as follows:

Best in Show Nominees

BOLIDES
Supinfocom, France

CARBON FOOTPRINT
William Rockall, Jellyfish Pictures, UK

MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA
DreamWorks Animation, USA

OKTAPODI
Julien Bocabeille, Francois-Xavier Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier, Emud Mokhberi, GOBELINS l'ecole de l'image, France

The Chemical Brothers 'The Salmon Dance'
Framestore CFC, UK

Best Student Piece Nominees

893
Supinfocom, France

AL DENTE
Supinfocom, France

BAERENBRAUT
Derek Roczen - Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction, Germany

BLIND SPOT
Johanna Bessiere, Nicolas Chauvelot, Olivier Clert, Cecile Dubois Herry, Yvon Jardel, Simon Rouby, GOBELINS l'ecole de l'image, France

MAUVAIS ROLE
Alan Barbier, Camille Campion, Dorian Fevrier, Frederic Fourier, Frederic Lafay, Min Ma, Jean-Francois Macem, Emanuel Reperant, Jeremie Rousseau, Olivier Sicot, Supinfocom, France

Jury Award Nominees

CHUMP AND CLUMP
Michael Herm, Stephan Sacher, Germany

MAUVAIS ROLE
Alan Barbier, Camille Campion, Dorian Fevrier, Frederic Fourier, Frederic Lafay, Min Ma, Jean-Francois Macem, Emanuel Reperant, Jeremie Rousseau, Olivier Sicot, Supinfocom, France

OKTAPODI
Julien Bocabeille, Francois-Xavier Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier, Emud Mokhberi, GOBELINS l'ecole de l'image, France

OUR WONDERFUL NATURE
Tomer Eshed, HFF Potsdam, Germany

THE PLUSH LIFE
Timothy Heath, USA

More details are available at www.siggraph.org/s2008