Events: Competitive Festivals

The International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is organizing its iEmmys Festival and International Emmy Awards. The event highlights excellence in television from producers from all over the world. The festival features industry speakers, discussions and screenings. The winners are selected by members of the international council.

The RICA (Rencontres Internationales du Cinema d'Animation) is a competitive festival promoting animated film and filmmakers. For its 4th edition the festival will present 250 short and feature films. The official competition will include several feature films and about forty shorts. Five prizes will be awarded, including: the International Jury Prize, Children's Jury Prize and Best Feature Film Prize. Film formats for submissions are: 35 mm (preferably), 16 mm and BetaSP (No Digital Beta). There is no entry fee.

The Barcelona International Television Festival is devoted to children's television programs. Specifically, the festival awards national and international productions that showcase ethical and humanitarian values. The festival is seeking shorts, 60 minutes in length or less. Live-action and animated works are accepted. Works must have been completed after January 1, 1999. Non-selected works will still be presented during the Festival in the Video A La Carte section.

Every year, ASIFA-Hollywood, the Los Angeles area-based branch of the International Animated Film Society, honors the best in film, television and Internet animation with their Annie Awards. The award ceremony will take place at the famed Alex Theater in Glendale, California.

This year, Cinanima is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Since 1977, Cinanima has been promoting the international art of animation in Espinho, a city located on the Northern coast of Portugal. Every year, the Cinanima International Animated Film Festival presents an international animation competition program, as well as retrospectives and exhibitions. Categories for competition include: shorts, features, first films, title sequences, educational films and TV series. Cash awards range from Euro 3,800 (Grand Prize) to Euro 1,200. There is no entry fee.

The 3rd annual Week With The Masters Animation Festival is a unique conference that serves as a creative meeting place for some of the world's most talented and renowned animators, artists and writers in the business. For the 2nd year, there will be an Animation Competition which last year attracted widespread interest from Singapore, The Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and India. Entries include films by student and independent filmmakers and its goal is to increase the visibility of Asian animation filmmakers.

The Gemini Awards is the top honor in television from the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. Programs eligible for this year's event must have aired between May 1, 2000 and April 30, 2001. The 1st entry deadline (March 8, 2001) is for programs aired between May 1 - August 31, 2000. The 2nd entry deadline (March 22, 2001) is for programs aired between September 1 - November 30, 2000. The 3rd entry deadline (April 5, 2001) is for programs aired between December 1, 2000 - April 30, 2001. The opening gala will take place on October 27, with the industry gala following on October 28.

The Chicago International Children's Film Festival (CICFF) is an annual, competitive film festival presented by Facets Multi-Media, Inc. The event is the largest festival of children's films in North America. Last year's festival presented over 200 films and videos from 40 countries. An adult and children's jury will hand out awards for animated features and shorts. The festival also features a category for child-produced films.

On Wednesday, October 17th 2001, The Illinois Institute of Art-Schaumburg will host the second annual ARTimation Festival at the AMC Barrington 30 Theatres, 175 Studio Drive from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. There will be two theatres devoted to the showing of Animation and Multimedia programs.

The 3C Cinefotoclub Cascina presents the2nd International Golden Bit, an international competition of 3D virtual images.

The contest is opened to all digital authors that intend to present images of synthesis - virtual representations of reality which are not originated by photography yet are computer-generated. There is no entry fee.

The Hope and Dreams Film Festival is seeking features, shorts, documentaries, animation and screenplays for its fourth annual competitive film festival. All types of animation accepted. The Hope and Dreams Film Festival is a program of Hope and Dreams Art Center, Inc., a non-profit corporation created to stimulate, advance and harmonize the arts with the natural environment. Their mission is to educate the community through a combination of filmmaking, traditional fine arts and cultural activities.

The Los Angeles International Short Film Festival will kick off Wednesday, October 3rd with an Opening Night Gala at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles. The evening will be a fundraising event with part of the proceeds benefiting The American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The Gala will also feature the LA SHORTS FEST 2nd Annual Celebrity Fashion Show.

The festival continues October 4-8 at the Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood. Over 250 films in 40 programs will be featured, making this one of the largest exhibitions of short films in the world.