CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SIGGRAPH 2016, the world’s largest annual event in computer graphics and interactive techniques, announces the winners — and highlights — of the 43rd annual Computer Animation Festival. With the tagline "Render the Possibilities," SIGGRAPH 2016 will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, 24–28 July 2016.
The leading annual festival for the world’s most innovative, accomplished, and amazing digital film and video creators, the Computer Animation Festival has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival. Since 1999, several works originally presented within the festival have been nominated for, or have received, a “Best Animated Short” Academy Award.
“The festival never rests on its laurels. Since its inception, it has been a beacon, attracting the attention of the best creators in the industry from every corner of the world. The 2016 Computer Animation Festival will offer a mix of juried and curated content and it is a real honor for me to serve as this year’s Director, helping to present the ‘greatest show on earth.’ It is going to be awesome,” said SIGGRAPH 2016 Computer Animation Festival Director Roy C. Anthony.
For 2016, submissions were evaluated by an expert jury of professionals who span the visual effects, animation, research and development, games, advertising, and education industries. The 2016 award categories and winners are:
BEST IN SHOW
Borrowed Time (USA)
Directed by Andrew
Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj, produced by Amanda Jones
A weathered
sheriff returns to the remains of an accident he has spent a lifetime
trying to forget. With each step forward, the memories come flooding
back. Faced with his mistake once again, he must find the strength to
carry on.
JURY’S CHOICE
Cosmos Laundromat (Netherlands)
Submitted
and Produced by Ton Roosendaal
In this short, Franck, a
depressed sheep, sees only one way out of his boring life, until he
meets with the quirky salesman Victor, who offers him any life he ever
wanted. The piece was created as a pilot for a feature film project
that, if it happens, will be the first free, open-source animated
production.
BEST STUDENT PROJECT
Crabe-Phare (France)
Directed
by Mengjung Yang, Gaetan, Benjamin Lebourgeois, Clarie Vandermeersch,
and Alendandre Veaux
The Crabe-Phare is a legendary crustacean.
He captures the boats of lost sailors to add them to his collection. But
the crab is getting old, and it is more and more difficult for him to
build his collection.
The 2016 Computer Animation Festival is comprised of two programs: the Electronic Theater and Daytime Selects. An evening event, the highly popular Electronic Theater will contain over 20 primarily narrative-driven short films from around the globe, showcasing technical excellence, art, and animation. In addition to juried pieces, this year’s theater will feature curated works such as Disney Pixar’s “Piper” and Disney Animation Studios’ “Inner Workings.”
The Daytime Selects program has been revamped for 2016 and will offer four, varied sessions targeted to the diverse demographics of the attendee base. These new, unique formats will include:
- BREAK IT DOWN – A chance for attendees to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how movie magic is created, featuring demonstrations of today’s most stunning visual effects from major studios and a glimpse at how standard techniques can be used in new ways. Celebrate the art of the breakdown with participating studios ILM, MPC, Framestore, Weta, Digital Domain, Pixar, Spin VFX, OLM, Mr. X, and many more!
- THE ARCADE – An audience experience that focuses on games from concept art through technology to implementation in cinematic and real time. The show touches on everything from look development through to the amazing accomplishments being made today with modern real-time engines.
- DEMOSCENE – A representation of an international computer art subculture that specializes in creating self-contained programs that produce audio-visual presentations. It is designed for computer scientists, GPU lovers, shader architects, and extreme real-time graphics artists to exhibit programming, artistic, and musical skills within highly constrained limitations.
- WINNERS’ CIRCLE – A celebration of Computer Animation Festival award winners from the past seven years for attendees who wish to revisit some of their favorite winning content from Electronic Theaters of the past.
SIGGRAPH 2016 Conference Chair Mona Kasra said, “The Computer Animation Festival always attracts the best content from around the world. From the highest quality student work to the most amazing achievements in modern computer graphics, the 2016 festival will be yet another assembly of the most stunning work currently being produced today.”
To view the trailer for the 2016 Computer Animation Festival visit: https://youtu.be/Uz6dh6Ky8p8. To learn more about the festival and this year’s selections visit the conference website. For all SIGGRAPH 2016 news, follow the conference on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Vine, Google+, Snapchat (user: SIGGRAPH), or the ACM SIGGRAPH blog.
About SIGGRAPH 2016
The annual SIGGRAPH conference is a five-day interdisciplinary educational experience in the latest computer graphics and interactive techniques, including a three-day commercial exhibition that attracts hundreds of companies from around the world. The conference also hosts the international SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival, showcasing works from the world's most innovative and accomplished digital film and video creators. Juried and curated content includes outstanding achievements in time-based art, scientific visualization, visual effects, games, real-time graphics, virtual -+reality, and narrative shorts. SIGGRAPH 2016 will take place from 24-28 July 2016 in Anaheim, California. Visit the SIGGRAPH 2016 website or follow SIGGRAPH on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram for more detailed information.
About ACM SIGGRAPH
The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques is an interdisciplinary community interested in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. Members include researchers, developers, and users from the technical, academic, business, and art communities. ACM SIGGRAPH enriches the computer graphics and interactive techniques community year-round through its conferences, global network of professional and student chapters, publications, and educational activities.
About ACM
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field's challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession's collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for lifelong learning, career development, and professional networking.
