What is KAFI?

KAFI is… art, education, entertainment, showcasing, encouragement, and commitment to quality. A truly artistic adventure!

Because of its success, KAFI has moved from a biannual event to an ongoing organization whose flagship event is the Festival. Special events are scheduled throughout the year to support its mission, from classic animated movie screenings to KAFI ACADEMY animation workshops for middle and high school students. Click here to get more information on these Special Events.

History: KAFI is a project of Kalamazoo Valley Community College. It started as a dream in 2001 from a local artist to bring animation to the Midwest. The dream became a reality, and in 2002 the first KAFI was held. The first festival drew 235 entries and close to 1000 seats were filled in the screenings and seminars. Since then, KAFI’s attendance has grown over 150% and entries received for 2005 increased to nearly 500, from 20 countries. KAFI has been privileged to screen many Acedemy Award winning and nominated films for Best Animated Short Film such as, “Ryan” (2004) by Chris Landreth, “The Moon and the Sun” (2005) by John Canemaker, “Guard Dog” (2004) by Bill Plympton and “Das Rad” (2003) by Chris Stenner and Heidi Wittlinger.

Festival Events: KAFI four-day festival is filled with events for students, artists, educators, professionals, independents and the general public.

• Screenings- The 2007 Call-For-Entries opens Nov.1, 2006 and closes Jan.30, 2007. A panel of industry educators and professionals will select only the best to be screened and judged for awards. Come to downtown Kalamazoo to view these fantastic films on the big movie screen at the historical State Theatre. Great family entertainment! Click here to see our film Screening schedule.
• Cartoon Challenge™- Ten teams of animation students spend four days and nights on the downtown campus of Kalamazoo Valley Community College. Their mission is to create a 30-second animated PSA for television broadcast on a topic chosen by the event’s sponsor. During that time, the competing teams will live together, eat together and, most importantly, create together. At the Saturday evening screening, the Festival audience will gather in the 1500-seat State Theatre to view the work of each team and vote for the People’s Choice Award. At Sunday's Awards Ceremony, the audience will again view all of the PSAs and learn the winners of the people’s Choice Award and the Judges Scholarship Award. For information on the Cartoon Challenge™ or how to enter your school, click here.
• Educators Conference- A unique 1-day conference that brings animators and educators together in discussion panels, workshops, and roundtables to center on successful ways to bring out the talent in our students and prepare them for the real world of animation. Attendees will learn successful ways to challenge students, understand the role education plays in industry, apply information for developing curricula, develop new strategies for teaching and network with colleagues. For more details on the Educators Conference schedule and presenters, click here.
• Workshops, Seminars, Trade Shows- This is the place to hear, see and experience the best in animation techniques, trends, business, education and entertainment from leaders in the industry and education. Whether you are a student, professional, independent, educator or the general public, audiences from all levels will benefit from these events. Check our Schedule-Events link for more details.
• Portfolio Reviews- What a great way to get an honest and professional assessment of your portfolio by leaders in education and the industry. Click on the Schedule-Events link to find more information on this event.