A Multitude of Animation Shows Is Upon Us

Thursday, April 23, 7:15 PM
The longest-running animation festival in the US comes to San Francisco, for one night only at The Exploratorium’s McBean Theatre. Join us for the West Coast screening of the 39TH ANNUAL ASIFA-EAST Animation Competition (2008). Public invited, admission is free.

Saturday, April 25, 3:00PM
Art Institute of California San Francisco presents its 3rd Annual Animation Festival 2009 featuring the best student work of the school year, including the four films from the Master of Fine Arts program: 

One Seed by Zachary Ruef (pictured above); Bird Brain by David Gantz; Palus Somni by David Feng; Tsuribar (The Hook) by Mark Riehl

See them all at the "big" Roxie Theater 3117 16th Street, S.F. Student and Faculty I.D. gets you in for free, all others pay $5.00. The show is presented by Stash DVD Magazine.

And, at the San Francisco International Film Festival…

Battle for Terra  SFIFF52’s lone animated featured is the beautiful, independently produced Battle for Terra (pictured at top), directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas, who is expected to attend his Saturday, April 25 screening. The peaceful denizens of a small planet face their greatest challenge from a maurading batch of space invaders—from Earth.

Sat, Apr. 25, 12:00noon • Sunday Apr. 26 2:00pm • Wed, Apr 29, 6:45pm at the Kabuki Theater

A Thousand Pictures • A Compilation of Short Animated Films including:

AANAAT poses a perspectival conundrum: Are we upside down? (Max Hattler, England 2008, 5 min)

Far Away from Ural A tour-de-force in stop-motion puppetry, features a Prussian soldier who is part man, part horse, part suitcase. (Katarina Lillqvist, Finland 2008, 25 min)

The Heart of Amos Klein Hand-drawn, live-action and archival footage combine to explore significant moments in the history of Israel. (Michal and Uri Kranot, Israel 2008, 15 min)

Kanizsa Hill Where the mind goes the body will follow. Usually. (Evelyn Lee, USA 2008, 8 min)

Lies A series of true stories, centering on the machinations and effects of lying. (Jonas Odell, Sweden 2008, 13 min)

Photograph of Jesus An archivist details the strategies involved in informing customers that there is no photograph of Jesus available. Or Santa Claus. (Laurie Hill, England 2008, 7 min)

Slaves Two children abducted by government-sponsored militia in Sudan recount their experiences. (David Aronowitsch, Hanna Heilborn, Sweden 2008, 15 min)

Sun, Apr. 26, 9:45pm • Mon, May 4, 1:00pm and Wed, May 6, 2:00pm at the Kabuki Theater

Handle with Care Seven artist-made films gathered in this program vary from cutout collage and hand-processed film to puppet and costume drama to two films with 3-D imagery. Artists Kerry Laitala and Paul VanDeCarr will appear to present their works.

Sunday Apr. 26, 8:30pm • Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley

You can order tickets, become a member, and save with festival passes at the SFIFF site.

See the Winners and Cast Your Votes!
This Thursday Apr. 23, 7:15 PM 

The longest-running animation festival in the US comes to San Francisco, for one night only at The Exploratorium’s McBean Theatre. Join us for the West Coast screening of the 39TH ANNUAL ASIFA-EAST Animation Competition (2008). Public invited, admission is free, and you can arrive up to an hour early to see the exhibits at no extra charge. Please check in at the ASIFA-SF table in the lobby for free admission to the museum (no charge to our guests either). The museum will be open for After Dark, another special event. Beer and wine will be for sale.  

As a special bonus, audience members get to vote on the films and we will award the selected filmmakers with $200 in prizes!

THE PROGRAM

2008 Opening Film, Celia Bullwinkel

The award winning student films:

Doxology, Michael Langan
The Scritch-Scratch of Busy Little Hands, Joy and Noelle Vaccese
The Ballad of Thaddeus Lowe, Kelly Jones
Shark: The Musical, Stephen Neary
Hedgehug, Dan Pinto

The award winning commercials
Esurance: “Homeowners,” Wildbrain Animation Studios, Phil Robinson   
Pick It Up, Willy Hartland   
Idaho Lottery: “Twister,” Acme Filmworks, Chris Hinton   
Powershares: “Escape Average,” Acme Filmworks, Dave Wasson   
Bonnaroo Trailer, Bill Plympton   
Bronx Zoo: Ad Campaign, Dancing Diablo

The award winning sponsored films   
Leonardo the Terrible Monster, Mo Willems, Weston Woods   
Virgin America Safety Video, Wildbrain Animation Studios, Gordon Clarke   
I Can Add, Dave Cowles and Adam Sacks   
The Upstate Four, Fran and Will Krause   
Maraka, Wachtenheim/Marianetti Animation   
The Seven Days of the Week, Dave Cowles and Sean McBride
Adventure Time, Nickelodeon                                          

The award winning independent films
Compost, Visual Voice   
Sensorium, Karen Aqua and Ken Field   
A Letter to Colleen, London Squared Productions   
Last Time at Clerkenwell, Figli Migli Productions   
Veternarian, Signe Baumane   
Teat Beat for Sex, Signe Baumane   
Germans in the Woods, Rauch Brothers Animation and Story Corps   
Hot Dog, Bill Plympton   
Fantasia in Bubblewrap, Metcaff Loves You       

A complete list of the awards presented in NY is at www.asifaeast.com

KFJC’s Psychotronix Film Festival
Saturday April 18 at 7:PM @ De Anza College

The Psychotronix Film Festival shows only 16mm films, the vinyl of visuals, an archaic medium that brings us wondrous images of a near forgotten time. Antiquated commercials, neglected cartoons, previews from old movies, various short subjects which may have been intentionally educational then that are now just unintentionally funny.

Before you get too smug, remember that the distance of time allows us to see a culture’s conceits. How will the future look at you, look at us?

Regardless, the laughs (and cultural anthropology) are all for a good cause—KFJC 89.7fm is one of the Bay Area’s few remaining independent radio stations. Previous Psychotronix have sold-out, so for best seating, get there early. Doors open at 6:00 PM.
   
The KFJC Psychotronix Film Festival takes place at Forum 1 on De Anza College Campus
Cupertino, Stevens Creek exit off Highway 85
Parking Lot B or C off Stelling Road in Cupertino. Forum 1 is near both lots.
Downlaod this map for more information.
Donation just $5.00 to Benefit KFJC and $2.00 for Parking

Friday, April 17, 2009, 7:30 pm

Impresario Ron Diamond returns with his 10th edition of award-winning animated shorts from around the world— and it is free to the public! Come on down to the Morris Dailey Auditorium at San Jose State University.

Skhizein by Jeremy Clapin (France). Having been struck by a 150-ton meteorite, Henry has to adapt to living
precisely 91 cm from himself.

Glago’s Guest by Chris Williams (Walt Disney Animation Studios). A Russian soldier in the Arctic gets an unexpected break from his routine.
Presto by Doug Sweetland (Pixar). Oscar nominated short from some little outfit in Emeryville
KJFG #5 by Alexi Alexeev (Hungary). A short humorous visual work that is extremely well told. Winner of the Sacem Award at Annecy 08.

La Maison en Petits Cubes by Kunio Kato (Japan). A wonderful and moving history of a man’s battle with a rising ocean—and his past. Winner at Annecy ‘08, the Hiroshima Prize and the Audience Prize in Japan, and the 2009 Academy Award.
Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor by Koji Yamamura (Japan) is a surreal journey into the troubled mind of a doctor called to treat a patient during extreme winter conditions. Grand prizes at Hiroshima 08 and Ottawa 07.
Can’t Make it Tonight by Felix Massie (Univ. of Wales, UK). Office politics turn nasty.
Hot Seat by Janet Perlman (Canada). A silly story with rabbits and office etiquette.
Kudan by Taku Kimura (Japan). Unlike the Minotaur and other monsters of Western culture, Japan’s Kudan has a human head and the body of a cow.
I Slept with the Cookie Monster by Kara Nasdor Jones (Mass. College of Art), details a woman’s struggle and triumph over domestic violence. Grand prize in the student competition at Ottawa.
 
Some of the animators may be present. Please note that the program is subject to change.
 
AWN.COM may offer for sale the Animation Show of Show DVDs in San Jose.. Each DVD is only $5.00 Read more at http://www.filmporium.com.

The Inspired Concept Art of DreamWorks Animation
Opens @SJSU Music Concert Hall at 5 pm, Tuesday, April 14

A 60-minute panel discussion with Rex Grignon and Kendal Cronkhite will be held in the SJSU Music Concert Hall at 5 pm, Tuesday, April 14 to introduce this facinating show. From its inception in 1994, DreamWorks Animation has attracted some of the most talented artists and designers in the world. Together, they have conceptualized ancient and modern worlds, designed beloved characters, and created for their 16 films an ever-expanding universe of the imagination: diverse, stylish, humorous and fresh. Now you can see the art in person, and you may be surprised to see the range of interpretations and differences from the final films.

The show contains numerous never-before-seen early concept works and character designs from the DreamWorks Animation archive. Included in the show will be paintings, drawings, sculptures and even miniature sets that helped the designers and directors turn their flat art into lush 3d environments suitable for the big screen. Don’tmiss this peek into some of the hidden magic that has driven and sustained almost 15 years of creativity, and helped DreamWorks Animation become a leader in the feature animation industry.

The artwork will be on display at San Jose State University, School of Art and Design, Natalie & James Thompson Gallery from Tuesday, April 14 thru Friday, May 8
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Friday 11am-4pm & Tuesday evening 6-8pm

The Cable Cartoon celebrates one year and 100 posts

Where did the time go? Probably lost in a dark theater somewhere, but the official blog of ASIFA-SF is going strong and will continue to spotlight the local animation scene for a long time to come. Thanks for your continued attention, support, and occasional comments.

In what feels like a month of activities to celebrate our birthday (but is really just another way to keep your humble blogger chained to his post), April is chock full of screenings and shows to please most any animation buff. Watch for more details to come, but mark your calendars for:

Friday, April 17, 7:30 pm • San Jose State University

- The Return of the 10th Annual Show of Shows
Ron Diamond’s round up of the best animated shorts (including some Oscar nominees)

Saturday, April 18, 7:00 pm • DeAnza College, Cupertino

- The KFJC Psychotronix Film Festival
Enjoy wild, wacky & wonderful 16mm films of the past (It’s the vinyl of the film industry!)

Tuesday, April 21, 2:30, 5:00 and 8:00pm • Castro Theater, San Francisco

- The Animation Madness of Max Fleischer 2:30, 5:00, 8:00
Groovy shorts and Gulliver’s Travels in 35mm on the Big Screen!

Thursday, April 23, 7:00pm • The Exploratorium’s McBean Theater

- The Best of ASIFA-EAST 2008
The 39th annual showcase of indie, commercial and student work from our New York Chapter.

Saturday, April 25, 7:00pm • The Art Institute of San Francisco

- Student Animation Show
Another range of work from freshmen to the Master of Fine Art post graduates.

15TH ANNUAL BRAINWASH MOVIE FESTIVAL

This juried show of eclectic and outrageous films held in Oakland has an "Early Bird" deadline of April 15 ($20 for Shorts) or regular submission date of May 1 ($25) and a late deadline of May 10 ($35). Prizes for winning films include "Gorilla" filmmaking production software from Jungle Software. For more indo about the festival and submissions, visit the Brainwash site.