Geographical Region: North America

TRON, Disney's innovative computer-animated feature, is set to return to the big screen for a special one-week limited engagement (May 14-20) at the Disney-owned Pacific El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, USA with a new 70mm print. A special panel discussion on May 14 and 15 will feature several filmmakers involved with the 1982 production including director Steven Lisberger, visual effects supervisors Harrison Ellenshaw and Richard Taylor, and computer-image choreographer Bill Kroyer (who went on to direct TECHNOLOGICAL THREAT and FERNGULLY: THE LAST RAINFOREST).

The School of Visual Arts in New York City will offer a course for credit on "Japanese Animation: History and Style" as part of its Continuing Education program. Instructor Brian Camp, author of several articles about anime, will focus on the recent history and stylistic development of anime, from the pioneering work of Osamu Tezuka in the '60s, to the epic space sagas of the '70s, to the visionary achievements of a host of innovative animators in the '80s and '90s.

The E3 '99 Exposition takes place Wednesday, May 12 - Saturday, May 15 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, USA. This year's Exposition will feature over 400 exhibitors displaying new software titles and the latest hardware. Don Tapscott will deliver the keynote address on Thursday, May 13 at 8:45 am about the area of digital economy and the net generation.

Shui-Bo Wang's Oscar nominated SUNRISE OVER TIANANMEN SQUARE makes its US TV debut Sunday, May 16 at 8 pm on HBO's Signature Channel.

SUNRISE OVER TIANANMEN also debuts in Canada on Thursday, May 27 at 9 pm and 2 am ET/PT on Vision TV. It repeats on Friday, May 28 at noon, 8 pm, and 1 am; and on Monday, May 31 at 11 am. It also airs on SCN on Friday, June 4 at 8 pm; and on TVO on Monday, June 7 at 10 pm.

*Friday, May 7th - Sunday, May 9th, Valencia, California, USA.

Students in the Character Animation program at CalArts will screen theirfilms at the Bijou at CalArts, 24700 McBean PKWY, Valencia, California.Open shows: May 7th at 8 pm; May 8th at 7 pm; and May 9th at 1:30 pm and 7pm. Producers Show: Thursday, May 13th at 7 pm. For more information call(805) 253-7818.

A boxed set of TV shows made by Sid and Marty Krofft in the 1970's collectsepisodes from thirteen Krofft programs, including the short programs thatwere part of "The Krofft Super Show," and will be released by Rhino HomeVideo on May 18 in the USA. These shows are not animated, but their cheesy"special effects" have a camp appeal for many fans of animation, especiallyfor the children of the Seventies.

Tape 1 (120 mins.) includes:

H.R. PUFNSTUF - "Book, Flute, & Candle" Episode 12. Jimmy finds Freddie The

WATERSHIP DOWN, a $10 million TV series of 26 half-hour episodes based onthe novel by Richard Adams and the feature film directed by Martin Rosen,both of which are also called WATERSHIP DOWN, is being produced by Britishindependent Alltime Entertainment and Toronto-based DECODE Entertainment.Beth Stevenson, of DECODE, and Simon Vaughan, of Alltime, are producing;Neil Court, of DECODE, is executive producing with Steven DeNure and MartinRosen. The series will debut this Fall in the UK on ITV and Canada on YTV,

On Monday in the USA, toymaker Hasbro introduced a series of actionfigures, play sets, vehicles, and other toys based on STAR WARS: EPISODE I- THE PHANTOM MENACE, the prequel to the STAR WARS trilogy. Most Toys R Usstores and some FAO Schwarz and K-B Toys stores opened at 12:01 a.m. on May3, and within hours their stock was sold out. "It was unbelievable.Insane," says AWN's Heather Kenyon, who visited four stores in the LosAngeles area. "People were leaving with shopping carts filled up. It was

Released last week in the USA, Pixar's A BUG'S LIFE was the week's bestselling video and DVD title, selling enough copies to already put it at No.4 on the list of the year's best selling videos, and No. 10 on the list ofthe year's best selling DVD's. (There are no plans to release the Pixarfilm on laser disc.) It is already ahead of ANTZ and just behind THERUGRATS MOVIE, but farther behind MULAN. Other best selling VHS titles forthe week include THE RUGRATS MOVIE, which finished third; SCOOBY-DOO'S

Nickelodeon will preview SP0NGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, a new animated series, onMay 1 at 9:30 ET/PT in the USA. The cartoon features the adventures ofSpongeBob, a hopelessly optimistic and earnest sea sponge. Creator andexecutive producer Steve Hillenburg (ROCKO'S MODERN LIFE, THE GREEN BERET,WORMHOLES), studied art and marine biology before earning a degree from CalArts in Experimental Animation. Soon you will be able to visit Nick.com formore information about the series.

The California Sun Festival, which took place at California StateUniversity Northridge on April 10 - 11, handed out the following awards:

The Golden Sun (Best of the Festival) went to Hannes Rall, Germany, for"Der Rabe" (The Raven), an 8-minute film freely adapted from the poem "TheRaven" by Edgar Allen Poe.

The Silver Stars (Best in each Category) wentto:

Traditional Animation: Andrea Guaraldo, Italy, for "Soffioni"

Computer Animation: Heiko Lueg, Germany, for "Sandland"