Jon Hofferman reviews five short films fresh from the festival circuit: The Affectionate Punch by Thor Adam Goodall, Les Chasseurs de Poissons (The Fish Hunters) by Rosana Liera, The Dark Side of the Morning by Erik Rosenlund, Dog by Suzie Templeton, and From the 104th Floor by Serguei Bassine. Includes QuickTime movie clips!
An Oscar nomination has indeed transferred into real business for Ireland's Darragh O'Connell and Cathal Gaffney of Brown Bag Films. Give Up Yer Aul Sins came out of nowhere it seemed to capture the Academy's heart last yearby this year it has transformed itself into a phenomena. Article includes QuickTime movie clips.
The Rushes Soho Short Film Festival, to be held in London July 26-August 1, 2003, is accepting submissions for the following categories: The Short Film Award, The Newcomer Award, The Title Sequences & Idents Award, The Animated Short Award and The Music Video Award. The film should be no longer than 12 minutes in duration and produced in the last 12 months, up until May 6, 2003. The six-day festival screens the shortlisted films for free throughout Soho's cafes, bars and cinemas, culminating with the awards ceremony on July 31, 2003.
The 20th Annual Sundance Film Festival wrapped up on January 26, 2003 after announcing the festival winners. Animation was represented in the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize winner AMERICAN SPLENDOR, directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. AMERICAN SPLENDOR tells the story of comic artist Harvey Pekar using documentary footage mixed with narrative live-action and animation created by Gary Leib and John Kuramoto of the New York-based design and animation company Twinkle.
Two blockbuster special editions are available on DVD November 26, 2002 and both feature some innovative CG animation.
On October 20, the LA International Short Film Festival honored Sony Pictures Imageworks CG short THE CHUBBCHUBBS as Best Animated Short Film. The comedy, directed by Eric Armstrong (animation supervisor for STUART LITTLE 2 and HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE), features an alien hero named Meeper who valiantly tries to warn the patrons of the Ale-E-Inn of impending intergalactic danger. THE CHUBBCHUBBS is the first digitally animated short film produced by Imageworks, and it also recently took Best Short Film honors at Digital Media World's LEAF Awards.
The 2002 Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) concluded on October 6, 2002 with a gala awards presentation at the Theatre of the National Arts Centre. Robert Bradbrook's HOME ROAD MOVIES scored the Grand Prize for Best Independent Short Film or Video.
In a truly international showing, the jury of the 2002 edition of the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) chose five films from five different countries as the top prize winners in the Independent Short Films Competition. The festival concluded on October 6, 2002 with a gala awards presentation and Robert Bradbrook's HOME ROAD MOVIES (UK) scored the Grand Prize for Best Independent Short Film or Video. The film, which recently won the coveted 2002 Cartoon d'Or, is a true account of a shy father and his wish to bring his family closer together by taking them on automobile outings.
South By Southwest Film Conference And Festival
Austin, Texas, USA
Friday, March 07 - Saturday, March 15, 2003
Entry Deadline: Monday, December 09, 2002
The National Film Board of Canada has compiled on one DVD, seven short animated films, each created with a different technique. SEVEN TO SEE/SEPT À VOIR!
Sony Imageworks first 3D animated short, a 5 1/2 minute comedy titled THE CHUBBCHUBBS, is now playing in theaters before the feature film MEN IN BLACK II. Produced by Imageworks, and directed by Eric Armstrong, animation supervisor for STUART LITTLE 2, THE CHUBBCHUBBS features an alien hero named Meeper who valiantly tries to warn the patrons of the Ale-E-Inn of impending intergalactic danger. According to VARIETY, the short was never intended for the public and was made as an internal systems test.
Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Friday, January 31 - Saturday, February 08, 2003.
Entry Deadline: Saturday, October 19, 2002.
Chicago International Children's Film Festival (CICFF), Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Thursday, October 24 Sunday, November 3, 2002.
Entry Deadline: Wednesday, May 1, 2002.
Los Angeles-based short film distributor Apollo Cinema will showcase all five Oscar-nominated animated short films, along with the five live-action short film nominees. This is the second consecutive year Apollo has presented the films in association with Laemmle Theatres. Beginning in Los Angeles on February 28, 2002, the screenings will continue to run every weekend until the Academy Award winners are announced on March 24.
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz. This week, we're asking questions about...
With categories like Best Animation on the Cutting-Edge, Best Music Video and Best Student Film, the British Animation Awards (BAA) honor all aspects of the U.K. animation scene, from student work to commercials, children's entertainment to short and experimental films. This year the BAA introduced two new award categories: International Award for Best Short, and an award for Best European Animated Feature.
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz. This week, we're asking more questions about...
The 17th Berlin International Short Film Festival took place November 6-11, 2001 and featured 70 screenings including six competitions and twenty special programs. HASTA LOS HUESOS by René Castillo took the prize for best animation, and Gabriele Pennacchioli's THE SHARK AND THE PIANO won first prize in the Children's Short Film Competition. All of the animated winners are listed below:
Best Animation:HASTA LOS HUESOS by René Castillo,
Short Film Award3rd Place: THE MAN WITH THE BEAUTIFUL EYES by Jonathan Hodgson
The American Cinematheque
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.
Cinemakids is a non-competition program of short films, videos and computer animations created by kids 18 and younger. Bringing together younger and older filmmakers from different walks of life for mutual inspiration and education, Cinematexas and Cinemakids are devoted to inspiring young media producers and honoring their unique perspective.
Maureen Furniss reviews five more short films straight from the festival circuit. This month we learn about:The Shadow of Doubt by Cynthia Wells, Patrick Smith's Drink, Grace by Lorelei Pepei, Chicken Kiev by Thomas Stellmach and We Are Immortal (Nous sommes immortels) by Daniel Guyonnet. Includes four QuickTime movie clips!
* Puppet Short Film and Video Festival: Sunday, July 22, 2001, Silverlake (Los Angeles), California USA.
The Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry is holding its first Puppet Short Film and Video Festival. See some of your favorites, some oldies, some you've never heard of and have some lovely Japanese food too! Admission is free. The event will run from 7:00 pm to approximately 9:30 pm. Material is not suitable for children. If you are interested in submitting a short for next year, please contact the organizers.
* Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival: Friday, February 01 - Saturday, February 09, 2002, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Entry Deadline: Friday, October 19, 2001
The second annual PlanetOut.com Short Movie Awards has awarded NUMB the First Prize in the Animation category. Directed by Dino Alberto and Dave Hughes, this eerily animated short takes you to a land of lost souls with a secret. The film can be viewed at PlanetOut.com, along with all the other winners. Taking home the audience prize for animation was PIKI AND POKO: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS! By Mark Ewert and David Cutler. This highly stylized digital animation follows two Japanese schoolgirls who have a very special bond. PIKI & POKO is syndicated around the Internet by Mondo Media.
