Los Angeles, CA -- PLATFORM, the internationally acclaimed animation festival, is hosting a three-day event in Los Angeles October 26-28, 2012. In collaboration with CalArts and the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT), PLATFORM will showcase exciting and innovative new animated films and talent while also celebrating animation’s heritage through special screenings and informative panel discussions.

Drawing upon some of the freshest perspectives on the world of animation, Festival Director Irene Kotlarz has discovered a new generation of curators for this year’s festival. Says Kotlarz, “It has been a special pleasure this year to work with a talented group of CalArts animation students who have helped select the program. Their creative thinking perfectly complements the festival’s mission to be a platform for artists, to break boundaries, and to reflect developments in new media. Together we are really excited to bring PLATFORM to Los Angeles with an outstanding range of premieres, exclusive screenings, and special guests.”

CalArts Dean of the School of Film/Video Steve Anker is thrilled to have his students partner in crafting the event for Los Angeles. "The PLATFORM Animation Festival makes a great case for the continued vitality of animation as an independent, personal art form. In just one weekend an astonishing array of programs has been organized that will give L.A. viewers a chance to see dozens of films, ranging from the beginning of cinema to the latest Internet sensations, that together present a wonderful kaleidoscope of animation as a visual art,” says Anker.

Introducing films that have won worldwide acclaim to animation fans in Los Angeles, PLATFORM will screen highlights from the Annecy International Animation Festival. One program will focus on student films, and a second will present films from established artists, offering viewers a wide variety of story-telling and stylistic entertainment.

Embracing the latest platforms for animation, the festival will feature both screenings and panels that focus on how the internet has changed the industry. Showcasing another realm of groundbreaking animation, PLATFORM is honored to present a special preview screening of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Paperman, followed by a panel discussion with the key filmmakers of this short film.

To honor the history of animation and those who have broken boundaries through the years, PLATFORM will share special retrospective screenings of some of the student films from CalArts’ most famous alumni. Reaching even further back into animation history, PLATFORM will present an archival screening of the short films by Ladislaw Starewitch, the surrealistic stop-motion pioneer. His work in the 1910s-1950s initiated the genre of fantastical, gothic stop-motion animation whose line of influence can be traced directly to contemporary filmmakers like Tim Burton and Henry Selick.

Funded in part with generous support from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, PLATFORM is honored to have additional support from its founding sponsor Cartoon Network, as well as Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney Television Animation and ASIFA-Hollywood.

The schedule for the festival is as follows:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26^th

L’Epouvantail (The Scarecrow) by Ladislaw Starewitch