The grand prize went to "Life Without Gabriella Ferri" by Priit and Olga Parn. This is a complex, sensual, poetic film. "Wallace & Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And Death" by Nick Park took the special jury prize. Even though they are masters of the art, these filmmakers were pleased and genuinely touched by the recognition.
First of all I want to say that it's really hard to make an excellent film. I'm just completing my fifth film, and believe me it's very easy to fall in love with your work, not so easy to see it with some objectivity.
So what is it about I Castelli Animati that makes it one of the most loved animation festivals in the world? The answer is simple... and evident from the first moments of arrival. It's the people.
I Castelli Animati takes place about an hours drive from Rome, in the large and bustling ancient Roman town of Genzano on Lake Nemi. Narrow cobbled streets, ancient stucco buildings with red tile roofs, black iron gates, shuttered windows...this area has been a busy center since before the birth of Jesus.
I'm sitting here in the KLM lounge in Toronto waiting for my flight to Paris so I can make my connection to Rome where I'm on the jury of this year's I Castelli Animati.
The CTN Animation Expo is a new animation event based at the Burbank Convention Center in California. The Expo is mixed with traditional artist, computer artists, schools, software companies, book publishers, Women in Animation and ASIFA, recruiters from well established companies, and several other animation related companies.
CTN-X kicked off its first edition on Friday. Nov. 20th, bringing a new animation conference to Los Angeles. In it's first year, the event had quickly outgrown its home at the Burbank Convention Center with attendees lined up to attend various standing-room only panels.
The First International Zhengzhou Animation Forum and Trade Fair in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, brought together provincial officials and 50 foreign visitors from the US, Europe and Asia.
Day 3 of the View Conference was a fantastic day for me, highlighted by presentations from Isaac Kerlow, Glenn Entis, Roger Guyett and Michael Giacchino.
Too much work, too little sleep. So many friends, old and new. Amazing things flying on the big screen. This is VIEW Conference 2009. But everything has a price, like not being able to make it for the first session in the morning.
The sparkling energy behind VIEW is Maria Elena Gutierrez who is driving a group of partner institutions, private and public sector, in investing in innovation and knowledge-sharing in the field of Technology and Creativity.
In my humble opinion, the quality of the animated entries surpassed 2008. Perhaps it is the passion and vision of young student filmmakers that freshened the fare.
Exhibitors including Walt Disney, Rainmaker, Nelvana, Pipeline Studios, Starz and Studio B, as well as such schools as Algonquin College, Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Sheridan College, Carleton University Interactive Media and Design, Vancouver Film School and Durham College made the AniMarket a huge part of Day 4.
Coraline director Henry Selick and the annual Animator Picnic / Pumpkin Carving Contest highlight Day 3 at the Ottawa Animation Festival.
"The Simpson's Movie" director David Silverman spoke to a packed house on Day 2 of the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
Day 1 of the 2009 Ottawa International Animation Festival got off to a brisk start with the Television Animation Conference (TAC) plus 41°F weather.
The 20th annual Cartoon Forum took place September 22-25 in the beautiful town of Stavanger, Norway. Always marked by a convivial atmosphere, the event in this milestone year had an especially positive and cohesive vibe, with attendees seemingly enjoying simply being together to share their common enthusiasm.
AWN's Editor in Chief Bill Desowitz walks us through Day 5 of his SIGGRAPH 09 adventure.The key word is 3-D
Press reports have attendance at about 10,000, which is extremely low, of course. But, as I previously noted, it's resulted in a very appropriate quaintness. You can tell that the people who have come here are very passionate.
A look at some of the short films from the Evening Theater’s Festival Chair’s Reel.
A breakdown of the Evening Theater’s Jury Chair’s Reel, which included the following shorts.
Naturally Autodesk had some big announcements, including 2010 versions of Maya, MotionBuilder and Mudbox and along with new suites for digital entertainment creation and new education initiatives.
Day 2 of the animation competition kicked off at 9am with a loud drumbeat and Afro Brazilian performers. The sound drew a large crowd in to watch the performances. The animation teams had worked through the night on their films so the very lively dancers lent some much needed energy to the competitors.
Monday nights' Evening Theater began with the introduction of host Miles Perkins, senior staff at Industrial Light and Magic. He kicked off the award ceremony by paving the way for Scott Farrar, visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic.
SIGGRAPH's Fjorg! competition, created by Patricia Beckmann as an Iron Animator event challenges the competitors to create a short film (15-45 seconds) from concept to finish in the short time span of thirty-two hours. To make the task more demanding, distractions are scheduled throughout the day to entice them away from the film making process.
