ANIMAHENASYON 2013: Philippine Animation Festival to be held in Iloilo

(Manila, Philippines, October XX, 2013) — Organized by the Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ACPI), this year’s “Animahenasyon 2013: 7th Philippine Animation Festival” will be held in West Visayas State University in Iloilo on November 19 to 22.

Iloilo, one of the Next Wave CitiesTM for 2012, is proving to be a reliable world-class location for IT-BPM operations. Thus, it is a perfect location for showcasing the best in Filipino animation services.

Animahenasyon, a combination of the word “animation” and “imahenasyon”, the Filipino word for imagination, is an annual festival featuring screenings, conferences and workshops organized by ACPI. The heart of the festival is to provide a platform for Filipino animators to exhibit their skills and capabilities in 12 different categories. Each year, the festival also accepts special nominations for its Lifetime Achievement Award and Outstanding Emerging Artist in Animation to recognize and promote individual talents of the local animation industry.

Opening this year’s festival will be “The Bequest: Origin ofDinagyang”, a film by an Iloilo animation group, Kuris Animation. The filmwill tell the story behind the famous cultural festival in Iloilo with the same name. The festival will also have a competition program where students and professional animators can participate in a wide range of categories for music videos, title sequences, infomercials, demo reels, TV series.This year, a plethora of international animated films will also be provided by embassies and international cultural institutions of Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, USA and UK to give the audience a feel of the style and how animation is produced in these respective countries.

“Animahenasyon gathers over a hundred entries each year from all over the Philippines and even abroad,” said Michael Kho Lim, ACPI executive director. “And eventually we do hope to have Animahenasyon as an international animation festival in a few years’ time.”

Sessions during the festival will be led by speakers from international studios and thought leaders in the animation industry. Topics include The ‘Oldest 3D Medium’ & How It Will Prosper in the New Filipino Cinema on the history of stop-motion animation; 3D Animation to Teach Philippine History discussing the use of 3D animation to effectively teach Philippine history; Character Concept Sculpting for 3D Animation to be presented using 3D sculpting software; More than Meets the Eye: Gaming Responsibly about career paths in the gaming industry; Digital Content Theft and Valuing IPR on effects of uploading content in social media on value; Animating Sugidanun Mythology – Revitalizing Panay Island’s language, identity, and visions from the past; and Visual Narratives for Film.

“As an association of animation studios, schools and vendors, ACPI’s main objective is to nurture the Filipinos’ passion for animation and to be central to growth of the Philippine animation community,” said Lim. “Animahenasyon does not only serve as a platform for them to present their work, but a place to get insights from industry veterans and each other.”