“The idea of a reverse alien invasion popped in my head a couple of decades ago while reading H.G. Well’s classic War of the Worlds.” recalls director Aristomenis (Meni) Tsirbas, “Beyond the novel’s allegorical use of imperialism, I was intrigued by the Martians’ backstory and their motives for invasion. However I was left wanting to know more about these violent aliens, and specifically why they were painted as uniformly evil. So out of these thoughts came ...

The Short Film Corner May 13 - 22, 2009 Call for Entries - Click here Deadline for submission is April 18, 2009. Information: Paris offices until May 1, 2009 Short Film Corner - Festival de Cannes 3 rue Amélie 75007 Paris - 33 (0)1 53 59 61 30 33 (0)1 53 59 61 53 [email protected] Management Jérôme Paillard, Executive Director Project Manager: Alice Kharoubi Assistants : Virginny Tassart Ali Khechen Augustine Aldighieri ...

Ouar Lordz 2 minutes Directed by Jean Paul Suau FastTrack winner 2004-2005 for best animation   The synopsis Two battle chiefs, Ouar Lordz are fighting against territory, using all kinds of means and weapons untill the moment when their madness destroys their own planet. An animation short film with a short and simple message. WATCH THE FILM   "To celebrate the 20th Irish and British Film Festival that took place in Cherbourg from 5th to...

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The Perfect Pitch is a new program to premiere at The European Independent Film Festival, taking place March 13th-15th, 2009, at La Bibliotheque Nationale de , Francois Mitterand, in Paris. The program begins with a series of workshops - taking place on Friday, March 13th- related to preparing and executing a pitch presentation.   Following the workshops each participant will have the opportunity to pitch in a practice pitch session, from which twenty individuals will be selected to pit...

Animation Attack! has opened the Early Bird Call For Entries for the 2009 season.   Enter your film before February 1, 2009 and receive $10 off your entry fee.   visit:   http://festivalleague.com/submissions     ...

Last Sunday morning I ended my tour of the San Francisco International Animation Film Festival with a retrospective of animator Gene Deitch's work for children. Deitch and his wife Zdenka who reside in Prague, were in attendance for the screening. The showing included Oscar Winning Monroe, The Three Robbers, TomTerrific, Maurice Sendak's In the Knight Kitchen, and Where the Wild Things Are, Sylvester and the magic Pebble, Why Mosquitos Buzz in Peoples' Ears, and Tom and Jerry. Seein...

This weekend at the San Francisco International Animation Film Festival, my eyes were opened to a new world! It is that of Encyclopedia Pictura. EP is an animating collective of three young men from Santa Cruz who are currently enjoying a lot of attention since their animation and production for Bjork's 'Wanderlust.' View here. -Darren Rabinovitch, Sean Hellfritsch, and Isaiah Saxon of EP, and Sean Uyehara, Programmer of SFIAFF Encyclopedia Pictura are definitely on top of their ...

Sita opened the San Francisco International Animation Film Festival this weekend, where I got to see it, and where director Nina Paley (check her blog) and Sound Designer Greg Sextro were in attendance for some q & a. IFC Film Center, New York, Sunday Nov. 9, 2008. Photo by Ken Levis. Paley introduced her movie, and having lived in the Bay Area before, she was awe-struck to be back introducing a movie she made. "It's really weird to be in this position. I've been to s...

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One week from today is opening night... THIRD ANNUAL SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL NOVEMBER 13–16, This year the festival includes: Opening Night Nina Paley’s Sita Sings the Blues, Cannes Highlight Waltz with Bashir, Bill Plympton’s Idiots and Angels, Retrospective of Gene Deitch’s Films for Children and Award-Winning Shorts from Around the World The San Francisco Film Society presents the third annual San Francisco International Animation Festival (SFIA...

The History of African Animation By Mohamed Ghazala African animation started about 70 years ago in Egypt and was founded by the Frenkel brothers. It’s interesting to note that the first pioneers of animation in Africa were not professional artists or animators; they were just a group of Jewish carpenters who immigrated to Egypt from Russia in search of freedom and work. They achieved the unexpected; the first African animated cartoon was created. Despite problems...

We will be reporting live from the festival Currently one of the most fertile, creative and productive forms in cinema and television, animation occupies a pressure point between artistic, experimental, commercial and industrial media. It ranges from the latest visual FX-based arthouse films to family-friendly cartoons. The four-day San Francisco International Animation Festival celebrates San Francisco’s preeminence as a hub for one of the most creative form...