Once Upon a Dream: The Art of Sleeping Beauty

The Cartoon Art Museum is honoring the Disney production’s 50th anniversary. The show will feature pencil drawings, model sheets, animation cels, color guides and behind-the-scenes photographs of the cast and crew.  Almost ten years in the making, Sleeping Beauty was designed to look like no other Disney film, drawing from both medieval illustrations and cutting-edge 1950s graphic design. Artist Eyvind Earle, who supervised the film’s look and hand-painted most of the dozens of lavish backgrounds, gave the film its unique blend of lush detail and bold, stylized designs.  Disney production designer Ken Anderson developed these elements into a visually arresting feature, much of it animated by members of the Nine Old Men. Sleeping Beauty was the last Disney film to use fully hand-inked animation cels and it was filmed in 70mm scope.

The show runs July 18 – January 10, 2010 at Cartoon Art Museum
655 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone: 415/CAR-TOON

Toon Boom Software Demo in S.F.

ASIFA-SF Members and guests are invited to learn about how to maximize their work using the Toon Boom line of animation software. Toon Boom is coming to SF on their “Animate More for Less Tour.”  Learn about the current state of the worldwide animation industry and find out how you can access the Toon Boom global corporate network.  Toon Boom says the best animation talent is still in North America (they’re based in Canada) so learn how you can maximize your potential through their Animate software. Toon Boom’s CEO Joan Vogelesang and CTO Francisco Del Cueto will be presenting the “More for Less” seminar. Francisco will demonstrate why Animate is quickly being recognized as the tool of choice by animators and studios around the world. Vouchers to buy Animate for $399.99 will be given to attendees along with appetizers and drinks. There will also be one free prize, a copy of Toon Boom Animate!

Monday, July 13, 2009, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Marriott San Francisco, Room: Foothill G, 55 Fourth Street, San Francisco

Pre-register at: toonboom.makeswebsites.com/
(click on RSVP)

ASIFA-SF Potluck Party

It’s our annual sumer get-together for food, drink and animated fun in real (or is that reel?) 16mm. Come welcome the arrival of summer—network, eat, drink and laugh. Have fun with Felix, Betty Boop, Popeye, Bugs, Daffy and other great stars at Oddball Films (where else?), doors open at 6 pm, movies start around 8.

This Sunday, June 21, 6pm - ???

Oddball Films 275 Capp St. San Francisco, third floor, FREE! Bring a friend!

Drawn and Quarterly artists Adriane Tomaine & Seth are traveling together and each will be presenting their own slide shows, which are more than comics, less than animation, but absolutely fascinating in their own right. They’re promoting their latest books, new editions of Shortcomings and 32 Stories by Tomine and Seth’s new graphic novel George Sprott 1894-1975–as well as the releases of the books they have each edited and designed–Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s A Drifting Life (Adrian Tomine) and The Collected Doug: Canada’s Master Cartoonist (Seth). The two authors will present slide shows, chat with each other, take questions from the audience and sign books.

Thursday, June 18 at 7:30 pm at the Park Branch Library, 1833 Page St. in San Francisco. Presented by The Booksmith in San Francisco.

A Week of Miyazaki in July

Don’t miss the premiere of PONYO, a film retrospective, and more special events in Berkeley honoring renowned animation director Hayao Miyazaki! In conjunction with The Center for Japanese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, which is awarding the 2009 Berkeley Japan Prize to internationally acclaimed filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.

BAM/PFA is very happy to be a co-presenter of the Northern California premiere of PONYO, Miyazaki’s prize-winning newest film. The Center for Japanese Studies and BAM/PFA will co-present the Northern California Premiere of PONYO at Wheeler Auditorium on the UC Berkeley campus at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 24. Tickets to the premiere are sold out, and tickets for the retrospective are going fast.

Even if you already treasure Miyazaki’s films on DVD, you won’t want to miss this chance to appreciate their beauty as it was meant to be seen: on the big screen. Sunday, July 12, 2009 4:00 p.m.: My Neighbor Totoro/Totari no Totoro (Japan, 1988) Tuesday, July 14, 2009 7:00 p.m.: Porco Rosso/Kurenai no buta (Japan, 1992) Sunday, July 19, 2009 2:30 p.m.: Castle in the Sky/ Tenku no shiro Laputa (Japan, 1986) Tuesday, July 21, 2009 7:00 p.m.: Princess Mononoke/Mononoke Hime (Japan, 1997)

The PFA Theater is located at 2575 Bancroft Way, on the southern edge of the UC Berkeley campus. Films shown at the PFA Theater are presented in 35mm prints, in Japanese with English subtitles.

William Kentridge at the SFMOMA thru May

ASIFA-SF president Karl Cohen recommends…

I finally saw William Kentridge: Five Themes and it is an amazing, not-to-be-missed exhibit.  If animation as art interests you, his is the most exciting art exhibit that I’ve seen in several years. The show isn’t about storytelling, but about technique, presentation and personal content. There are several unique installations in the show including entire large rooms given to 8 and 9 projections of his animated work. One is a homage to Russian constructivist art in the 1920s and it is even more exciting than the Jewish Museum’s present exhibit of this form of art (and I loved that show). Another of the multi-screen displays was inspired by George Melies Trip to the Moon. A third is rear-projected onto a stage set with music by Mozart playing, and yet others include images of Ubu Roi.
 
There is one work presented that really needs to be seen, not described, but I’ll try: A video projector shows animated images distorted on a very large concave round mirror, which also contains a reflective cylinder in the center of that disc. In that mirror you see the image correctly—it is a fascinating optical experience.
 
William Kentridge: Five Themes will be on display thru the end of May and provides a comprehensive survey of the South African artist’s work. The exhibition explores five primary themes that have engaged him over the past three decades. It features more than 75 works in a range of media—including animated films, drawings, prints, theater models, sculptures, and books. For more information and museum times/location visit SFMOMA.org.
 

Academy of Art University 2009 Spring Show                              

Everyone’s invited to view this year’s student showcase of fresh talent; while the school encompasses a huge range of artistic studies, there’s a substantial animation component as well. In addition to film clips you can see original artwork in the form of traditional illustrations, 3-d maquettes, and more. The exhibit runs thru July but the grand opening and reception is this Thursday, May 21, from 7pm to 9pm at Academy of Art University 601 Brannan Street (at 5th Street) San Francisco, CA 94107.

This event is open to the public, and–oh yeah, admission is Free!

(above artwork by Tzu-Ying Ho and N. Suwankiri)

Trek FX Chief beams down to Balboa

If you haven’t seen Star Trek yet (and don’t worry, we won’t tell), or more likely, you’d like to see it again, the Balboa Theatre is thrilled to announce that the Visual Effects Supervisor for the series reboot and many other films will appear after the 4pm and before the 7pm shows on Sunday, May 17. He will discuss the making of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek and other aspects of working at Industrial Light & Magic.

He might not be able to change the laws of physics but Roger Guyett has been bending them onscreen with ILM since 1994. His credits include Casper, Twister, Dragonheart, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and lots more. If the show itself isn’t enough enticement, the great venue and Roger’s insights should make the difference. Don’t miss it!

Sunday, May 17, 4pm and 7pm
Balboa Theater 3630 Balboa Ave (@38th) San Francisco