Hi everyone! Last week I went to the Annecy International Animation Festival in France. I had a great time. Here are some of the highlights:

* I gave a presentation about my short film “Stripes” to a room full of people. I’m pretty proud of how it came out. I also watched the other six presentations in the short film category.

* I was awarded a free copy of the professional animation software Animate Pro and Storyboard Pro courtesy of the company Toon Boom. It’s really great software and I wanted it anyway. The software costs several thousands of dollars, so I’m very happy not to have to buy it!

*As part of winning in the competition, I met with three producers and screenwriters in the animation industry who gave me feedback on the Stripes script. I was really grateful that they read the script carefully and gave great comments. There was a lot of positive feedback and some great suggestions on how to make it better!

*Met with a few different production companies who I could hire to produce Stripes if I get the financing. I learned a lot of things about the animation biz this week. One of the companies was a production company from Iran. The guy I met with laughed out loud when he saw a story idea I had sketched. He said that if I wrote it up, their company would finance and produce it into a short series (4 episodes at 2 minutes each). Exciting!

*I had my storyboard portfolio reviewed by recruiters from Sony Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios.

*I met and connected with other cool creative peers – artists, animators and film music composers. It’s really nice to meet other people who love animation!

*I watched a few new animated films: 1. “Tezuka Osamu no Buddha -Akai Sabaku yo! Utsukushiku” – A Japanese film based on Osamu Tezuka’s “Buddha” comics. 2. “The Tibetan Dog” – a Japanese and Chinese cooperative project set in Tibet. 3. “The Rabbi’s Cat” – French film based on a comic.

*I took a few walks around the beautiful “Lac d’Annecy.” I saw a beaver for the first time. And an adorable pair of baby swans!

*Ate lots of pain de chocolat and baguettes and croissants. Mozzarella with heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil. Lots of different kinds of prosciutto. Delicious!

*Learned a smidgeon of French: Bonjour. Au revoir. Voila. Bon a petit. Très bien. etc.

*Overall, I feel very inspired by my trip! I’m excited to get back to lots of writing and drawing

A new friend of mine created a fantastic summary of Stripes in Japanese. Check it out:

舞台はケニア。縞模様（ストライプス）をした子羊と二人の男の子が繰り広げるショートストーリー。パトリックの日課は、羊たちに牧草を食べさせに行くこと。毎日まじめに仕事をこなす彼の前に、ジョンという男の子が現れる。ジョンはパトリックと友達になりたくて彼についていくけれど、性格がちょっとがさつ。ある日、パトリックの子羊がいたずら好きのシマウマにさらわれてしまう。二人は子羊を取り返すことができるのだろうか…。

If anyone is going to the Annecy International Film Festival this year, come and check out my presentation on Stripes!

I will give my presentation at the Creative Focus, at 11:40 am Wednesday June 8th.

Come and see!

BIG NEWS for STRIPES!

STRIPES is a winner in the Annecy Animation Festival Call for Projects Competition 2011! Woohoo!

The Call for Projects competition is meant for people STARTING animation projects and could use help getting it off the ground. Back in February, I submitted a package of materials regarding the Stripes projects, including an essay of intent, artwork, storyboards and more.

I recently learned that I am one of five short film winners. We will present our projects at this year’s festival and be evaluated for further prizes by a jury. One possible prize is 6500 euros!

The presentations will take place Wednesday June 8th, 2011. 10:00 am – 12:30 pm. If you are going to Annecy, please check it out!

Check out all the winning projects on the Annecy website: here

I’m so excited, I can’t tell you! Yippee!