News Updates
KAFI Announces Winners of 2007 Film Competition
KAFI is proud to announce the winners of this years competition. Over 500 entries from 35 countries entered this year. Click here to view the winners.
Show Line-up set for KAFI
The screenings of the KAFI finalist films are scheduled to run at The State Theatre and Stryker Theater in Downtown Kalamazoo. Click on each competition event to see a detailed listing of the films being screened.
- #1 Friday May 18, Stryker Theater- 2:45pm
- #2 Friday May 18, State Theatre- 9:00pm
- #3 Saturday May 19, State Theatre- 10:15am, Family Hour
- #4 Saturday May 19, State Theatre- 7:15pm
- #5 Saturday May 19, State Theatre- 9:00 pm
- #6 Sunday May 20, State Theatre- 11:30am
Red-carpet treatment for "Shrek the Third" at KAFI
A preview showing of "Shrek the Third", complete with spotlights flashing across the sky, arriving limos, and the red-carpet treatment will kick off the 2007 Kalamazoo Animation Festival International (KAFI) in downtowm Kalamazoo Michigan. Click here for more....
Mike Reiss Emmy winner at KAFI
Noted humorist and four-time Emmy winner Mike Reiss will speak at 7:00
pm on Friday May 18 at The State Theatre. Tickets are $10.00 and
include admission to the *adults only* film competition screening
that follows Mike's presentation. Around 11 p.m., "Queer Duck: The
Movie", one of Reiss's creations will be shown. Tickets for that
event, also at The State, are $6. These events are sponsored through a
grant from the Arcus Gay and Lesbian Fund. For more information click
here...
Top films selected as KAFI Finalists
From over 500 films, KAFI has narrowed down the list to 102 "finalists" that will be judged in competition. Winners
of the competition will be announced at the Sunday Awards Show, May 20, in Kalamazoo Michigan. Our special thanks
to all of you that entered KAFI this year. It was a tough decision selecting these finalists from such a great group of films...
To see a complete list of the 'finalists" click here.
The Picasso of Papier Mache Designs KAFI Award
Stephen Hansen, "The Picasso of Papier Mache" has agreed to design, create and sign the KAFI Cartoon Challenge Awards for 2007.
These one-of-a kind awards will be presented Sunday, May 20, 2007 at the KAFI Awards Ceremony. Click here for more information
and a sample of Steve's work.
Cartoon Challenge Teams Selected
Ten teams from animation programs spanning the United States will
engage in a *24/4* cartoon-creating competition prior to the
convening of the fourth Kalamazoo Animation Festival International
(KAFI) scheduled for May 17-20 in downtown Kalamazoo, Mich.
Entered in the 2007 *Cartoon Challenge* are four- and five-person
teams from:
- San Jose State University in California.
- College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
- The Art Institute of Houston in Texas.
- Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University.
- Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC), the host institution for KAFI
- University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne, Ind.
- Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N. Y.
- Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna, Calif.
- Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia.
- Bowling Green State University in Ohio
To learn more about the teams and the Challenge click here
KAFI Roster of Speaker Grows
Three additional speakers with connections to major studios have been
added to the roster for KAFI 2007.
Charlie Bonifacio, an animation veteran with Disney.... Karen Aqua,
whose animation has been featured
on "Sesame Street".... Jacques Drouin, a member of the national Film
Board in Canada.
Click here for the complete story.
Kafi Announces Signal Films
Open call…… to all studios, filmmakers and would-be filmmakers:
Be a part of KAFI by producing your OWN trailer for our festival! Entry rules apply.
Click here for details.
Producer, Mike Reiss from "The Simpsons" Keynote
One of the featured attractions of KAFI 2007 will be a comedy writer who has been involved with “The Simpsons” for more than half of its 20-year run.
Mike Reiss, a four-time Emmy winner for co-producing more than 200 episodes and penning a dozen "Simpson" scripts, will be featured on Friday, May 18, at 7 p.m. in the State Theater. Click here for more information.
Is your team ready? The 2007 KAFI Cartoon Challenge™ entry opens January 2nd.
KAFI is now accepting entries from school teams to participate in the famous Cartoon Challenge™. Ten teams of animation students from college and art schools across the continent will spend four intense days and nights on the campus of Kalamazoo Valley Community College. Their mission is to create a 30-second animated public service announcement (PSA) for television broadcast. Click here for more information.
Hurry, only 30 days left. Final Call for Entries, KAFI 2007.
It’s time to get your film entered in KAFI, Kalamazoo Animation Festival International. The deadline for entries is January 30, 2007. Click here for more information.
KAFI Educators Conference: Thoughts from our Creative Director
Ellen Besen shares her views on this years theme: Animation in the Global Marketplace, and extends the deadline for Call-For-Papers to December 7th. For more information click here.
KAFI Picks Creative Director
Ellen Besen, who spent more than 10 years on the faculty of the Sheridan College School of Animation in Oakville, Ontario, between 1987 and 2002 and has directed award-winning animated films shown around the world, is overseeing the four-day festival of competitions, screenings, professional development, and networking interaction between today’s and tomorrow’s animators booked for the Southwest Michigan community May 17-20.
Read more about Ellen’s appointment here….
Call-For-Entries OPENS
The KAFI 2007 Call-for-Entries in now is open! Make sure you are part of KAFI and enter your films for one of the top Animation Festivals in North America. $15,000 in prize money and NO entry fee. Check out the Registration details and Deadlines.
Get your entry in today, Call-for-Entries closes January 30, 2007
Revised Cartoon Challenge student eligibility
KAFI has revised the student qualifications to Cartoon Challenge™ to clarify eligibility.
“A student is eligible to participate as a team member if he/she is enrolled (part-time or full-time) at the time the application is submitted between January 2nd and February 9th, 2007. Additionally, the student cannot be employed full-time within the creative industry.” Check out the Cartoon Challenge Deadlines-Regulations for more information.
Educators Conference issues Call-for-Papers
Today, more and more companies contract out work to dozens of animators with project leads and art directors directing the workflow across state and national lines. Preparing students for this international marketplace is key to their future success.
Meeting this challenge requires that educators keep aware of the ever-changing digital workflow and networked environments upon which industry is reliant. It also means that animation instruction needs to be better coordinated between institutions with sharing of curricular resources key. So is current curriculum up to the challenge? If not, where and how can it be improved?
The KAFI Educators Conference is issuing a Call-for-Papers from academic and industry communities from all areas of animation and video game design on this year’s theme "Animation in the Global Market Place". Click here to find out more…
Cartoon Challenge easier entry now...
KAFI has made it easier to enter your school into the Cartoon Challenge. The submission reel requirements have changed from ten-minutes of samples and interviews to five-minutes of just sample work. Schools can now submit a five-minute DVD that showcases each team member's work. Check out the Cartoon Challenge Regulations - Deadlines for more details. Hurry, deadlines to enter the Cartoon Challenge are approaching fast. Entries are accepted January 2 through February 9, 2007.
8-1-2006
Stay tuned!
KAFI will be bringing you updated news on this page about our May 2007 Festival, Special Guests, and the Cartoon Challenge™ as it happens.
If you would like to receive an email when this page is updated or be added to our mailing list, click here to fill out the Contact Form.
8-1-2006
Call-For-Entries 2007
The KAFI Call-For-Entries will open on November 1, 2006 and close January 30, 2007. The festival will run four days in May 2007, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th. Mark your calendars now.
A new on-line registration process is in the works to make registering your entries much easier. Details will be posted on this page soon.
8-1-2006
Educators Conference 2007
One of the best places for educators and industry to come together and share new ideas, teaching strategies, curricula, techniques and network with others. The Educators Conference will be held as part of the four day KAFI event on May 17, 2007.
