Australian International Animation Festival 2015

The Australian International Animation Festival 2015 featured a celebrated collection of the world's finest animation for its 12th Anniversary. The festival secured amazing exclusives from more than 3,500 submissions from all around the world. 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 was the Australian premiere of The Story of Percival Pilts, a brand new stop motion animated puppet film made in Melbourne by Janette Goodey & John Lewis, and narrated by Mark Hadlow (The Hobbit). Sound Designer Damian Candusso discussed the creation of the soundtrack for the animated blockbuster film The LEGO Movie. Weta Digital Motion Capture Animator Pete Divers, shared his workflows for animation and motion capture gained from his past experiences on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Furthermore, there were special children's shows, public seminars, and a broad representation of national filmmakers introducing the Australian Showcase. As co-director, producer and editor for the event, I organised the venue, technical duties and marketing for the three-day event. The festival premiered on Friday 15th May to Sunday 17th May, 2015 at the Forum 6 Cinema, Wagga Wagga. The success of the event secured Wagga playing host to AIAF in 2016. This event also toured in a compact format to other major cities funded by other promoters.