Networking/Hang Out for Stop-Motion & VFX artists
All others welcomed!
Justin Kohn is having another gathering that’s a must for fx & stop-motion minded people (or maybe people looking for their mind?) – Other animation-minded people are also welcome!
You all know the drill: Come on down Friday night May 18th at Scott Kravitz’s bar (known as The Residence) in the Castro district, located at 718 14th St., between Church and Sanchez. From 7:00 ish till whenever! See ya’all there!
Be a part of this year’s ASIFA-SF Spring Show!
Friday, June 15th 7:30pm
No forms to fill out and no entry fee. Just send us a DVD or bring it the night of the show.
Please limit your entry to less than 10 minutes so all works submitted can be shown. You do not have to be an ASIFA member or even live in Northern California (but you are invited to become a member and we hope you can be present!) We can show work on thumb/flash memory drives if you let us know you are bringing one.
Mail work in advance to: ASIFA-SF c/o Karl Cohen, 478 Frederick, SF, CA 94117
There will be prizes… Probably a small grand prize (cash and/or a free year’s membership) and other awards for best student film, best film by a teenager and best independent or professional animator prize. We may also present an award for the funniest film of the evening, and (if appropriate) the most educational or intelligent work. Details about the prizes will be in the June newsletter.
If you are thinking about entering a film, let us know before May 22 and your name and film title will be on the flyer listing expected contestants. karlcohen@earthlink.net Otherwise, you’ve got until June 15th to show up with your project, still warm from last-minute tinkering!
Come on out to meet, greet and share the fun! At the Exploratorium’s McBean Theatre, FREE, public invited, free parking.
52nd Annual Film Finals This Week!
An SF State tradition since the Cinema Department’s inception in the 1960s, Film Finals is the annual showcase of juried student films from the past academic year (2011–2012). Demonstrating narrative and experimental approaches to film practice by way of 16mm, Digital-SLR and animation (to name a few), Cinema students trek on the frontiers of visuality and storytelling for a night of outstanding film work. The evening program screens 7-10pm in Creative Arts, McKenna Theatre,
Friday May 11; get tickets here.
But let’s cut to the chase for ASIFA-SF fans: The Animation Finals will kick off the day on Friday, May 11, 3 pm. The program screens in the Coppola Theater of the Fine Arts Building. FREE, public invited—but get there early, it’s always a SRO event!
And if you’re ready for a butt-numbing commitment, the Film Previews will be going on ALL DAY on Monday, May 7, 10am-5pm. Come and vote for your favorites, in this two-day marathon screening of about 80–100 student films. The films that collect the highest scores and pass a student-faculty jury will screen at The 52nd Film Finals on May 11. Also FREE in Fine Arts Building, Coppola Theatre
SF Indie Fest Wants Your Films
Just a reminder from their website: SF Indiefest is a year-long organization presenting three two-week long festivals: the SF Independent Film Festival in February, Another Hole in the Head in June and the SF Documentary Festival in October. (In addition to the film programs, IndieFest is known for throwing some great parties, including annual Roller Disco Costume Parties, the annual Big Lebowski Party and live music events.)
They are looking for the best short and feature narratives, documentaries and animation for this years’ fest. This is their 15th year presenting SF IndieFest. Check out the Archives to see what they’ve shown in the past. Click here to learn more about their fests and for submission links.
We need more animated films in local festivals—enter yours today!
The 55th annual Film Festival is full of animated surprises!
April 19 – May 3
The San Francisco International Film Festival is always a destination event for film fans, but there’s quite a bit of special interest to animation fans, specifically:
Chicken with Plums is a live action feature with animated segments by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, (France, Germany, Belgium). Marjane told her own story in Persepolis, and now it is the life of her great-uncle Nasser Ali Khan, a revered Iranian musician. It is a story of lost love, familial tensions and musical genius shimmers with visual riches. Much of it is set in Tehran ca. 1958.
Crulic – The Path to Beyond, Anca Damian, (Romania, Poland, France) This sounds live a powerful Kafkaesque feature about a wrongly convicted man who dies while on a hunger strike to protest his incarceration. His death caused a public outcry that didn’t exist when it was needed.
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (feature, USA) “An entrancing journey through the heart and mind of aggressively intelligent filmmaker Terence Nance, who turns the camera on himself in this documentary-narrative hybrid.” He combines “vérité realism, dramatic recreation, tone poetry and a wild array of animation… as the artist tries to understand himself and the nature of love.” “Wholly unique!”
And/Or by Emily Hubley, (USA) In her new short an artist negotiates with interior and/or exterior muses using colorful hand-drawn animation.
Plus, there’s two collections of interesting shorts, the first called Shanimation:
Belly (Julia Pott, England) Oscar is coming of age…
Dust and Glitter (Michaela Copikova, Slovakia) the filmmaker reflects back on her year studying in SF. She wrote me, “The movie is not based on one character, but on images, scenes and feelings that I have witnessed and crossed in SF”
Lack of Evidence (Hayoun Kwon, France) A translation of an application for political asylum is the touchstone for multiple perspectives on the consequences of civil war.
La Luna (Enrico Casarosa, Pixar – Oscar nominated)
The First Time I Ran Away (Joel Trussell and M. Ward)
Oedipus (Paul Driessen, Canada) a delightfully strange trip to a shrink’s office where screwed up Oedipus meets other well-known NFB-animated characters.
Plume (Barry JC Purves, France) A masterpiece in which a primeval winged man falls to earth and is robbed of freedom by his alter egos.
663114 (Isamu Hirabayashi, Japan) The 66-year cicada has been waiting a long time to creep up your wall…
20 HZ (Ruth Jarman, Joseph Gerhardt, UK) An experimental work that captures “tweeting and rumbling caused by incoming solar wind, captured at the frequency of 20 hertz.”
The Storytellers Show is a shorts program for ages 6 and up:
Storyteller (Kahanikar) (Nandita Jain, UK) When grandfather can no longer remember details of a favorite story a child recreates the fable of fishing and coconuts.
Keenan at Sea (Jeremy Galante, USA) Adrift at sea in a small boat, two girls sing a sea shanty about food and hunger.
Play Lunch (Cassandra Nguyen, Australia) A small girl finds a clever way to make new friends.
Little Boat (Nelson Boles, USA) Like a nautical Red Balloon: A tiny boat wends its way across the globe, both besieged and beloved by all it encounters.
Panyee FC (The Glue Society, Thailand) In a water-bound Thai village a group of boys is determined to pursue a love of soccer despite having no land on which to play.
The Boy in the Bubble (Kealan O’Rourke, Ireland) A gothic love story of a heartbroken boy who finds a magic spell to shield him from emotion forever.
The Vacuum Kid (Katie Mahalic, USA) Kyle, aged 12, has an odd obsession: he owns over 160 vacuum cleaners.
Paper Piano (Papierowe Planino) (Marianela Maldonado, Poland) A Venezuelan girl who lives in an urban jungle take part in a groundbreaking youth orchestra.
The Girl and the Fox (Tyler Kupferer, USA) In this beautifully animated tale a girl tracks a mysterious fox through a foreboding snow-covered wilderness.
Orange O’ Despair (John Banana, France) Life in the orange box seems awfully boring compared to the pineapple dance party going on across the way. How can a sad little orange make the leap to the fun side of the store?
Most films have more than one scheduled showing; you can check the extensive program and buy tickets at the SFIFF website.
Careers in Animation
Sunday, April 1, 1pm -4pm
ASIFA-SF & the Animation Society of San Francisco State University present this annual event for animation students. Come learn from people with experience in stop-motion, 2D and 3D animation, games and other related fields. These experts have worked as writers, animators, directors and more—and will answer as many questions as possible.
The Panel Discussion will include:
David Andrews, DIGITAL DOMAIN
Animation Director, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Christopher Bannister, ILM
Visual Effects Coordinator, Super-8, Rango, Battleship
Lauren Freeman, KABAM
Production Services Manager
Justin Kohn, STOP-MOTION ANIMATOR
Coraline, Nightmare before Christmas, etc. and Fonco
Clarissa Matalone, WALT DISNEY IMAGINEERING
Special Effects Design Associate
Seth Podowitz (formerly of AVO TALENT)
Voice over director and agent
Plus additional guests, not yet confirmed.
Careers in Animation is for people who want to know how to find employment in the local animation industry. Representatives from the industry will discuss their careers, background, the kinds of work they do, who gets hired, what training you need to get a job, portfolio tips, what will impress people who are in a position to hire you and other basics. This is your chance to ask and get your questions answered about careers in animation. NOTE: Please leave your portfolios at home, as this is not a portfolio review!
Sunday, April 1, 1 PM
At San Francisco State University, August Coppola Theater
(Fine Arts 101, between Creative Arts and the Student Union), FREE, public invited
Presented by the Animation Society of SFSU and ASIFA-SF
FREE Animation Reel Review For Students
7pm – 10pm March 29th in Emeryville
A group of pros had a Free Reel Review last December. The turnout was huge—they reviewed over 150 reels in one night—and they’re doing it again. If you are an animation student, bring your reel and get free advice and feedback from some of the top animators in the Bay Area, including lead and supervising animators from ILM, Tippett studio and Massive Black!
If you don’t have a reel yet, but are working on an animation clip, bring it for review. It will be a great chance to find out where your reel is at. This is a rare opportunity, for one night only. Get your notebook ready!
Here is the details: March 29th from 7-10 pm at Lanesplitters in Emeryville.
For more information, here is a link to the event site.
Curious about our previous event? We created a short video, here.
The 16th Tournee of Animation Returns!
The SF Exploratorium, March 22, 7:30pm
For ASIFA-SF’s March event, we are proud to (re)-present this legendary program of animated films from around the world. A state-of-the-art (for 1981) collection curated by Prescott Wright, this amazing presentation will be shown from a pristine 16mm print—say what you will about DVDs, there’s a shimmering brilliance to analog projection from a good source. This program is largely pre-CGI (with one pioneering exception) and includes:
Little Rural Riding Hood (Tex Avery, USA)
Opens Wednesday (Barrie Nelson, USA)
Premiers Jours (aka Beginnings, Clorinda Warny, Canada)
Sunbeam (Paul Vester, UK)
Showreel (Computer Image Corporation, USA)
Precious Metal (David Erlich, USA)
Ubu (Geoff Dunbar, UK)
A Bogar (The Fly, Ferenc Rofusz, Hungary – Academy Award Winner! )
Alternativa (The Alternate, Roumen Petkov, Bulgaria)
Showreel (Kurtz & Friends, USA & UK)
Commercial (Richard Williams, UK)
Opening Titles (Zagreb ’80 World Animation Festival)
Der Fluss (The River, Katji Georgi, East Germany)
Jue De Coudes (Elbowing, Paul Driesen, Canada)
Instant Sex (Bob Godfrey, UK)
History of the World in Three Minutes (Michael Mills, Canada)
This event is FREE and open to the public—don’t miss it!
Exploratorium McBean Theater San Francisco
NW ANIMATION FESTIVAL 2012
Our friends up north in Portland remind us that there’s just one month left to submit your film for the Northwest Animation Festival! The final deadline is April 1. Screenings will be held on May 18-19 at the historic Hollywood Theatre in Portland Oregon. See website for details:
In their first year, the NAF screened 78 films from 9 countries, including two from Oscar nominees. They aim to make their second year even grander, showcasing the breadth of the animation world. All methods are represented: hand-drawn, computer-generated, stop-motion, pixilation, and experimental hybrids. All styles are welcome: hilarious, heart-warming, dark, cerebral, or abstract. The festival makes a point of showing films both from masters and remarkable amateurs.
This is a festival created by animators, for animators, and all lovers of animation. The aim is to bring together and inspire a community of artists, and expand audiences’ understanding of what can be done with the art form.
ELIGIBILITY
• Place of origin: Films may come from anywhere in the world.
• Length: Films may be of any length, short or long.
• Completion date: You may submit films made at any time during your life.
• Other festivals: You may show your work at other festivals simultaneously.
• Internet: You may show as much of your work online as you like.
You can submit everything electronically or by mail. For full instructions, visit the site.
Volunteers needed for website and newsletter
This is your chance to get involved! ASIFA-SF can use some light administrative help managing the mailing list for our newsletter (and printing labels for mailing). It isn’t complicated, but obviously very important This is a board-level position and you can consult on the direction of ASIFA-sf and also be invited to small special events including our more-or-less annual board dinner/meeting. ASIFA-SF pays for your expenses (labels, etc.). We currently use File Maker Pro to keep our records up to date, but new ideas are welcome. We have a few hundred members and most rejoin so it isn’t an overwhelming amount of work. If you can help contact us, below.
This website is also looking for bloggers to increase the number of posts and enlarge the information we offer. The site is run on WordPress and is super-easy to update—what we really need is a few enthusiastic animation fans to comment on the local scene. Or, if you know a bit more about WordPress but don’t have time for regular contributions, we could also use a little-behind-the-scenes consultation to make the site more robust. Being an active board member with ASIFA is a great calling card in the animation scene!
If you’re interested in helping on the print or web side of things (and be among the first to know what’s going on in and around the chapter, contact us at:
