Purposed: an ASIFA-Hollywood Student Animation Film Festival

When Dori Littell-Herrick, Chair of Woodbury University Animation, first suggested the origination that is growing into the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Educators` Forum she opened the doors to a number of important possibilities.

Every year at Annie Awards rules review time the ASIFA-Hollywood Executive Board bats around the idea of a Student Annie Award. And every year it gets tabled because of the logistics and cost of a student film festival. With the advent of an ASIFA-Hollywood sponsored education origination this all changes.

Almost ever animation program requires the creation of a short animation as a prerequisite for animation student graduation. There is always the possibility that students will submit their animation to existing film festivals. But in practice this seldom happens.

Festival deadlines do not take into account the timing of college semester deadlines. Festival competition pits students against professionals. And entrance to most festivals are juried which can weigh unduly against student filmmakers who may have a good concept but might be still week in craft. Lastly a professional level festival definitely is intimidating to most students.

The Animation Educators` Forum is in its infancy but one of the first subjects brought up at our very first meeting was the idea of a L.A. / Orange County wide student animation festival.

I invision 2 competitions per year (end of Fall and Spring semesters) timed to the semester deadlines of the majority of collage and university programs.

The festivals to be open to all college age animation students. Attendance to be free and open to the animation community. The festivals to be held on college campuses on a rotating basis. Thus cutting down the cost or at least spreading cost across a wider area.

Judging to be by an industry panel of animation professionals not connected to any of the animation programs with students competing in the festival and selected by the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Educators` Forum.

Maybe with the establishment of an ASIFA-Hollywood sponsored student short animation festival the long dreamed of Student Annie Award will be a step closer to becoming a reality?

Comments? Ideas? email me at: larry@agni-animation.com subject line: Student Animation Festival