Computer Animation Festival Unveils its Winners Ahead of SIGGRAPH Asia 2017

BANGKOK, Thailand, 9 November 2017 – Four talented animation artists and teams will be honored at SIGGRAPH Asia’s annual Computer Animation Festival Awards on 28 November 2017. A celebration of top animation talent, the Festival showcases the most creative animated short films in 2017. This year, the program received 477 submissions globally, of these, 57 films will be screened at the Electronic Theater and Animation Theater at SIGGRAPH Asia.

Two of the films, Here's the Plan by Fernanda Frick (Chile) and Garden Party byFlorian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux, Victor Caire, Théophile Dufresne, Gabriel Grapperon and Lucas Navarro (France), have been shortlisted as contenders for the nominees of the Academy Award’s Best Animated Short in 2018.

Juck Somsaman, Computer Animation Festival Chair and Founder/Creative Director of The Monk Studios, Thailand, said, “We are extremely excited with the excellent content and amazing talent that will be showcased at SIGGRAPH Asia in Bangkok this year. Some of the most innovative individuals and experienced professionals from around the world will not only share their achievements as presenters, but also seek to build new relationships and forge fresh collaborations. SIGGRAPH Asia will be the nexus of these talents, connecting the East and the West. We hope that every professional from our Industry will be able to join us in Bangkok to participate in this unique opportunity.”

In addition to the awards ceremony, the Computer Animation Festival will host several panel and production sessions. Prashant Buyyala, Computer Animation Festival Co-Chair said, “This year, we have compiled a stellar lineup of presentations by industry renowned artists and technicians from leading studios around the world. We are covering a wide range of production topics from the making of Pixar’s, Coco and Marvel’s, Thor: Ragnarok to sessions given by Google Spotlight Stories and Jaunt China on the challenges of VR filmmaking. We have programmed the conference to provide a rewarding experience for everyone, and I expect SIGGRAPH Asia in Bangkok to be truly fun and memorable!”

Some of the panel and production sessions include:

• The Making of Pixar’s, Coco - Learn how Pixar filmmakers created the world of Coco, telling an epic adventure story celebrating the art and culture of Dia de los Muertos. Eight of Pixar’s top artists and supervisors will discuss the artistic and technical challenges in creating the huge cast of characters, beautiful environments, and epic crowds in the film, and how they brought the Land of the Dead to life;
• The Making of Thor: Ragnarok - Marvel Studios, Framestore, Industrial Light & Magic, and Method Studios take SIGGRAPH Asia audiences through their VFX journey as they created some of Thor: Ragnarok's most heart-stopping moments;
• From Pepe to Piggy, the Evolution of Google Spotlight Stories, by Mark Oftedal Co-director of “Piggy” and Juan Miguel de Joya, Software Engineer, DigitalFish at Facebook who will discuss the evolution of Google Spotlight Stories and the challenges of interactive storytelling in VR and 360-degree mobile;
• Disney’s Moana- Demystifying characters, by Avneet Kaur, Lead Character Simulation Technical Director, Walt Disney Animation Studios, who will talk about how they brought Moana’s world and colourful characters to life;
• Production Challenges and Lessons from making VR Films, where James Fong, Chief Executive of Jaunt China, Ido Banai, Creative Director and Jake Kahana, Co-founder of Cavedaywill delve into the production processes, experimental techniques and on the ground challenges of making story driven VR Films and life changing VR experiences;
• ILM Presents: Behind the Magic, the Visual Effects of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Alex Prichard, Associate Visual Effects Supervisor, Industrial Light & Magic, will discuss the Academy Award nominated effects work that went into "Rogue One"; and
• Thailand Animation Studios Showcase, where top animation studios in Thailand will present case studies of some of their award-winning original animated contents and discuss how they keep up with the best of the animation industry around the world through their unique Thai style.

The SIGGRAPH Asia 2017 Computer Animation Festival award categories and winners are:

BEST IN SHOW

AFTERWORK (Ecuador)

Directed by Luis Uson, Uson Studio/Matte CG and Andrés Aguilar, Matte CG, produced by Andrés Aguilar, Matte CG

We are all condemned to work and repeat, again and again the same empty routines. But can we reach that carrot that is dangled before us or will we be forever occupied by eternally chasing for something we do not need? Groompy, a funny cartoon character, is about to find out.

JURY AWARD

Here's the Plan (Chile)

Directed by Fernanda Frick, produced by Fernanda Frick, Maria José Barros

A married cat-dog couple dream of opening their own cupcake bakery. One day their oven breaks and they have to postpone their dream in order to earn money and replace it. Somewhere down the line, they drift apart from their dream and from each other.

JURY AWARD

(OO) (South Korea)

Directed and produced by OH Seo-ro, Chungkang College of Cultural Industries

The animation depicts the messy results inside a nose when you get rhinitis and allergies.

BEST STUDENT FILM

Garden Party (France)

Directed by Florian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux, Victor Caire, Théophile Dufresne, Gabriel Grapperon and Lucas Navarro, produced by MOPA

In a deserted rich house, a couple of amphibians explore their surroundings and follow their primal instincts

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Notes to editors:

• Click to view the Computer Animation Festival trailer here
• Annex A: Winners’ biographies and supporting quotes
• The Computer Animation Festival Awards Ceremony will be held at 11am on 28 November 2017, at GH 202 & 203, 2^nd Floor of BITEC
• Computer Animation Festival will host the Thailand Animation Studios Showcase at 4.15pm on 29 November 2017 at Silk 1 & 2, 2^nd floor of BITEC
• For media accreditation to SIGGRAPH Asia 2017, please register at: http://bit.ly/2yhpWRR

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About SIGGRAPH Asia 2017

The 10^th ACM SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Asia will take place in Bangkok, Thailand at the at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) from 27 – 30 November 2017. The annual event held in Asia attracts the most respected technical and creative people from all over the world who are excited by research, science, art, animation, gaming, interactivity, education and emerging technologies. The four-day SIGGRAPH Asia 2017 conference includes a diverse range of juried programs, such as the Art Gallery, Computer Animation Festival, Courses, Emerging Technologies, Posters, Symposium on Education, Symposium on Mobile Graphics and Interactive Applications, Symposium on Visualization, Technical Briefs, Technical Papers, VR Showcase and Workshops. A three-day exhibition held from 28 – 30 November 2017 will offer a business platform for industry players to market their innovative products and services to the computer graphics and interactive techniques professionals and enthusiasts from Asia and beyond.

About ACM SIGGRAPH

The Association of Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (ACM SIGGRAPH) sponsors SIGGRAPH Asia 2017. Founded in 1947, ACM is an educational and scientific society uniting the world’s computing educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field’s challenges. ACM strengthens the profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. The ACM SIGGRAPH deals with all aspects of graphical user/computer communication and manipulation: hardware, languages, data structure, methodology, and applications

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