Australian International Animation Festival 2012

The Australian International Animation Festival 2012 featured a celebrated collection of the world's finest animation for its ninth consecutive year. The festival secured amazing exclusives from more than 2,200 submissions from over 30 countries. The range of styles, genres and techniques is testament to the vibrancy and relevance of creative animation. The International Competition programs were made up of an eclectic mix of films and offered audiences a complete, up-to-date snapshot of the international creative animation scene. In addition to these were programs that focused on children's films, 2011 highlights (post AIAF), Japanese works from The Calf Collective and Tokyo University of the Arts. As co-director, producer and editor for the event, I organised the venue, technical duties and marketing for the evening. The festival premiered on Friday 18th May to Sunday 20th May, 2012 at the Forum 6 Cinema, Wagga Wagga, and featured a special seminar with Australian filmmakers including Julia Bourke, Jane Shadbolt, Lissa Pascale, Jason Glenfield, Alissa Rothwell, Susan Stamp, John Lewis and Janette Goody. Malcolm Turner rounded up the international scene with the Klasky Csupo collection, British animation (in a town where they still throw burning tar-pots in the main river every Guy Fawkes Day), Polish animation and the latest highlights from festivals, studios and schools. Julia Bourke showcased 'Glossy' an 18 minute stop-motion film with seminar; and Lissa Pascale & Jason Glenfield hosted a special workshop on the CG and design of 'The Last Photo'. The success of the event secured Wagga playing host to AIAF in 2013. This event also toured in a compact format to other major cities funded by other promoters.