AWN Headline News

Bitfilm Festival 2005Hamburg, GermanyNovember 2-6 2005Deadline: July 15, 2005

The Bitfilm Festival for digital film and new media shows films that use digital technology in a creative and innovative way. There are six categories:

* 3D Space: Computer generated 3D animations.* FX Mix: Digitally composed hybrids, mixing live action, effects and animation.* 64K Demos: Audiovisual programs that work with a PC's processor and videocard.* Flash: Linear films and interactive works made with Macromedia Flash.

NVIDIA Corp. will be demonstrating its NVIDIA Quadro FX 4000 SDI with PureVideo technology with a group of partners and customers at NAB2005 (April 18-21) at the Las Vegas Convention Center (#SL5501).

Through a deal between BCI Eclipse and U.K. media company Entertainment Rights, BCI will distribute all 130 episodes of the original HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE animated series on DVD. BCI Eclipse is working on an initial two-year release strategy, and the first, two-disc set will be available July 12, 2005 during San Diego Comic-Con International convention. The special, 10 episode Collectors Edition will include a number of extra features. The announcement was made today by

FUNimation announced that Cartoon Network will return DRAGON BALL Z to a daily strip in June, in a time slot to be announced at a later date. In addition, FUNimation announced that the latest DRAGON BALL Z feature, BROLY: SECOND COMING, had broken all FUNimation records for first week sell-through of a DRAGON BALL Z DVD release.

Funimation (www.funimation.com) is a leading brand management company for anime content and one of the nation's largest independent home video entertainment companies.

EM.TV´s subsidiary EM.Entertainment GmbH will be responsible for the distribution of the new animation series STAINES DOWN DRAINS, which is at present being co-produced with Australian animation studio Yoram Gross-EM.TV and New Zealand producer Flux Animation. EM.Entertainment will be responsible for international sales to non English-speaking territories whilst Yoram Gross-EM.TV will cover English-speaking countries.

After 13 years as head of international sales, Nelvana has promoted Emmanuele Petry to the new role of overseeing European development and international co-production.

"Emma has done an outstanding job building Nelvana's business in Europe and establishing important relationships with all of our key broadcasters," said Doug Murphy, evp business development.

France 2 has commissioned the development of a second series of DELTA STATE from Alphanim. After a launch at the 2004 Annecy Animation Festival with the show winning the Special Prize for a TV series, France 2 and Alphanim have launched the development of 26 new half-hours.

DIC Ent. and Mainframe Ent. have announced the world premiere of the all-new full-length animated feature INSPECTOR GADGETS BIGGEST CAPER EVER: THE CASE OF THE FLYING LIZARD at Cartoons on the Bay 2005 in Positano, Italy.

The movie features the beloved detective in CG animation for the first time. Cartoons on the Bay will screen the film at 9:30 pm on April 27 the inaugural evening of the festival at the Cartoons Village.