The fifth Irish Animation Festival weekend is organised and run by Anamu Animation Base, a voluntary organisation founded by Irish animators Denise Mulvaney and Ruth Maher. While both are from a traditional animation background, Denise is currently senior designer for an Irish Internet service provider and Ruth has specialised in multimedia and CD-ROM production.
They came together in 1988 to create a resource and information centre, and quickly got involved with the animation festival. Its goals are to: increase and strengthen the independent animation sector of the Irish film industry; promote the production and exhibition of independent animated film; highlight channels for bringing animation to distributors; and provide an infrastructure for Irish animation on the Web.
The Motorola Irish Animation Festival runs from Thursday, November 16th to Sunday, November 19th. The official website (http://www.ani-fest.com) includes event information about film showcases, master classes and breakout sessions. The main venue for this year's festival is the Irish Film Centre (IFC), Temple Bar, Dublin. There will also be a company exposition and master classes all day Friday and Saturday at the Clarence Hotel.
For those who like video gaming, there will be a competitive tournament at Planet Cyber Cafe, Andrews Street, Dublin 2, featuring 12 hours of non-stop game play with the Irish national Quake team. For more specialised workshops, the Zenark offices at Cornmarket, Christchurch have been hijacked on Saturday for in-depth sessions.
Other specialist events over the weekend include:
Screenings, on Friday night, of seminal Japanese animation from 1924 to the present day, with guest speaker Takashi Namiki. Manga characters will be on display at the IFC all weekend.
A showcase of work by Cartoon Saloon from Kilkenny at the IFC.
A children's showcase, beginning on Saturday morning, featuring work from Nickelodeon and Galway-based Magma Films, creators of Norman Normal.
Discounts and concessions are being offered to festival members by some bars located around Temple Bar (four-day membership available). Look out for flags sporting the festival logo.
For further information, contact Joyce Nolan/Sharon Plunkett on 01-662 0355.
