At Licensing Expo 2008, 4Kids will capitalize on its role as a global leader and look to develop extensive licensing programs for both its all-new, unique multi-platform properties as well as for its well-received favorites. 4Kids highlights will include:

A focused licensing and merchandising program for the Chaotic Trading Card Game, the first multi-platform, collectible trading card game that is quickly become a major sensation both at retail and online;

To celebrate the US premiere of Studio Ghibli's PRINCESS MONONOKE, directed
by Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli retrospectives are being held throughout
the United States. Most of the retrospectives will be showing all of Studio
Ghibli's films: NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (1984), LAPUTA, CASTLE
IN THE SKY (1986), GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES (1988), MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO
(1988), KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE (1989), ONLY YESTERDAY (1991), PORCO ROSSO
(1992), POM POKO (1994), WHISPER OF THE HEART (1995), and PRINCESS MONONOKE

*Saturday, December 4, 1999. North Hollywood, California, USA.


Glenn Vilppu will be presenting a free slide show at 4:15pm at the
Animation Union, 4729 Lankershim, North Hollywood. Glenn will be discussing
his sketching tour to Scandinavia in July, 2000. For more information call
(818) 994 2402.

*Saturday, December 11, 1999. Tampa, Florida, USA.
The International Academy of Design will host animator/educator Larry
Lauria in an all day animation workshop. The workshops will initiate the
Academy's Animation Institute and are geared toward high school, college
and young professionals. The workshop takes place from 8:30am to 5:30pm at
5225 Memorial Highway, Tampa Florida. This exclusive event has a per person
fee. Reservations are required, limited seating available. R.S.V.P. with
Kristine Fescina at (800) ACADEMY.

CINAR CORPORATION, creators of two-time Emmy winning ARTHUR and RICHARD
SCARRY, appointed LOUISE SANSREGRET as Vice President of their newly
created position in Investment Relations. Sansregret will focus her talents
on various special corporate and community-based projects, as well as
managing donations and sponsorships. In addition, SUZAN AYSCOUGH has
returned to CINAR to take over as Vice President, Communications. Ayscough
will over see corporate communications and product communications.

* Cartoon Noir Screening. New York, New York, USA. December 3, 1999.


This feature-length compilation of animated short films features works from the American and European artists. Featured in CARTOON
NOIR is: APE, Julie Zammarchi's darkly comic critique of monogamy, meat
eating, and the daily pattern of human brutality; ALTAIR, Lewis Klahr's
collagist elegy on New York nightlife; CLUB OF THE DISCARDED, Jiri Barta's
tale of a family of discarded mannequins who enjoy a quiet life in an

The Moondance International Film Festival has announced the finalists for its first competition, Moondance
2000. The festival takes place in Boulder, Colorado, January 14-16, 2000 as
part of the Sundance Film Festival. Entries from female screenwriters and
film-makers 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:

A program of the best in new animation, curated and presented by Ron
Diamond of Animation World Network and Acme Filmworks, Inc., will be
touring Los Angeles and the Bay area next week. In addition to
presentations at the major studios, various FREE PUBLIC SCREENINGS are
scheduled: San-Francisco on Sunday, November 21 at 11 am at the Red Vic
Movie House, 1727 Haight St., hosted by ASIFA-San Francisco; and in
Cupertino at De Anza College, and Los Angeles on Saturday, November 20,

This week's update to the Calendar of Events includes a call for entries
for the first International Internet Festival, organized in conjunction
with Imagina (France), and the Santa Clarita Film Festival (California,
USA). The Calendar of Upcoming Events is a constantly changing reference
source for what's happening around the World of Animation. Use it to stay
abreast of animation related activities across the globe. If you know of
animation related events that we don't have listed, send an email with the

Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis' short film, "When The Day Breaks" won the
Grand Prize (Goldene Taube) at the 42nd International Leipzig Festival for
Documentary & Animated Films (Germany). This recent award is just another
accolade in "When The Day Breaks'" dazzling international career, which
started with the Palme d'Or for best short film at the 52nd Cannes
International Film Festival in Cannes, France, last June. "When The Day
Breaks" also won the coveted Grand Prix for best animated short film at

* "The Art of Disney Storybooks" Exhibit, New York, New York, USA. November
13 - December 23, 1999.


The Gifted Images Gallery, located in Rockville Centre, will host the exhibit. "The Art of Disney Storybooks," is a collaboration between Walt Disney Art Classics and Disney Publishing. The exhibit features reproduced
artwork from various storybook adaptations of Disney's most beloved films.
Included in the exhibition is "An enchanting dress," from CINDERELLA and
"Magic mirror on the wall" from SNOW WHITE. Appearing at the premiere event

THE FIRM DESIGN GROUP, a creative concept studio specializing in broadcast design and image campaigns, has hired creative director/director PETER BUREGA. Burega will head up the West Coast studio in Venice, California, USA and direct commercials for The Film Design Group's parent company, Fourth of July Productions. Burgega's recent credits include indentity spots for the USA Network and commercials for House of Blues International and Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

The 42nd International Leipzig
Festival for Documentary & Animated Films took place in Leipzig, Germany
from October 26 - October 31, 1999. 49 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

Ontario, Canada-based Sheridan College, one of the leading animation
programs in North America, is expanding its facilities with the latest
animation equipment including new computers, software, cameras and pencil
test systems. For pencil tests, Sheridan has purchased six Video
LunchBoxes. Created two years ago by Oregon-based Animation Toolworks, the
Video LunchBox captures still images from a video camera and plays back
this sequence of images at the same rate as film images or television

* November 8-10, 1999. New York, New York, USA.

*Sunday, November 14, 1999, 5pm. West Los Angeles, California, USA.

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 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

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)

OLAF OLAFSSON has been named vice chairman of TIME WARNER DIGITAL MEDIA.
Olafsson's appointment becomes effective November 15. Olafsson will work
with Michael Pepe, president and chief operating officer of Time Warner
Digital Media, and the rest of the management team at Time Warner Digital
Media to continue developing strategic business plans for Time Warner's
diverse digital media businesses and identifying emerging growth
opportunities for the company in the digital realm. Olafsson joins Time

The 2nd Annual Worldfest-Flagstaff International Film Festival. Worldfest,
which has been held in Houston for 32 years and additionally in Charleston,
South Carolina for five years, takes place in Flagstaff, Arizona, the
festival's second appearance there. The festival's focus is on independent
works that have not yet been picked up for distribution. The wide
competition program features eight animation categories and several others,
which may accept animated works, such as "computer generated/mixed media."