Melbourne Digital Media Festival has announced that it will screen STARSHIP TROOPERS 2: HERO OF THE FEDERATION, the sequel to Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 cult hit STARSHIP TROOPERS. The film marks the directorial debut of Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor Phil Tippett (who worked on VFX for the original). STARSHIP TROOPERS 2: HERO OF THE FEDERATION will debut this month from Columbia TriStar Home Ent. on Special Edition DVD.

Tippett Studios visual effects supervisor Eric Leven will profile the sequel at the Australian Effects & Animation Festival Melbourne, June 1-3, 2004 at the Melbourne Convention Centre. Leven was hired as a technical director on the original STARSHIP TROOPERS in 1996. Since that time, he has advanced his career from technical director to animator, fx animator, associate vfx supervisor and CG supervisor. After a short stint on LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS, he returned to Tippett Studio where he has significantly contributed to shaping the effects animation department, creating shop-wide protocols for integrating these special visual effects into their overall products.

AEAF Melbourne's program also includes the creative and technical talent behind LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING, SHREK 2, MASTER AND COMMANDER and Columbia Pictures movie HELLBOY. Full event programs for AEAF, DVFest and Digital Imaging (Melbourne) are available at the Digital Media Festival Website at http://www.dmw.com.au/.