Philippine International Cartoons, Comics and Animation (PICCA) Festival 2010

The Philippine International Cartoons, Comics and Animation (PICCA) Festival is all set in inviting members and the public to join the PICCA main event on October 22 to 25, 2010 at the SM City North EDSA.

PICCA will have rundown of activities and showcases like cartoon and comics exhibits, comics drawing contests, animation creation contests, talks by local and foreign guests, book launches, workshops for children, caricature sessions, game demos and animation showing.

PICCA will also hold a trade exhibit and showcase at SM City North Annex. Participants will be comics publishers, content creators, animation studios, mainstream and indie comics artists, gaming producers and multi-media schools. Booths and displays will also be set up in the CyberZone floor.

The four-day event is open to the public except the talks and the showings where PICCA members will have the reserved seats. In addition, PICCA members will be have draw of raffle tickets, awards night party and discounts on special skills training.

The annual event is dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of creative content generation in the Philippines, particularly in the fields of comics, animation and also gaming.

Resource persons will come from the US, Canada, China, Japan, Israel, Singapore, Australia and Pakistan. PICCA members are expected to benefit from the talks.

PICCA is presented by Mango Comics and SM malls. Partners include Japan Foundation, CITEM, Samahang Kartunista ng Pilipinas, Cosmopolitan International Institute of Technology, Seventoons, UP College of Fine Arts, Creative Media Professionals Guild of Asia and the Pacific, Holy Cow Animation and Design Plus Printers, Panda Travel Service and Derwent Art Supplies.

For details, contact PICCA Secretariat at (632) 403-8681 or log on to www.piccafest.com.

Job Fest Career Fair, Super Kids 2010, and Best of Anime 2010

Primetrade Asia Inc., showcased three events in four consecutive days at the SMX Convention Center last September 16-19.

The first event is the Job Fest Career Fair 2010 presented in cooperation with Jobsdb.com, Studio 23, and the Manila Bulletin. The Career Fair opened September 16 and concluded with hundreds of jobs provided on the second day.

Meanwhile, the second event is in partnership with Maximus Inventus and Promil Nurture Network which set foot from September 17 to 18. Super Kids 2010 aims to support creative learning and champion minds to excel in their chosen endeavor. The event was supported by Johnson’s Pure Essentials, Johnson’s Baby, Junior, and the Manila Bulletin.

The last event, moreover, is an extravagant anime expo entitled The Best of Anime 2010, which was conducted in cooperation with Hero. The event showcased the best of anime movies, trends, and costumes on its one-day event last September 19. Tie-Up organizers of the said event include Japan Foundation, Cosplay.ph, Creativoices, and Society of Young Voice Artists of the Philippines (SYVAP). Sponsors of the successful expo were MSI-ECS, Suspended Animation Media, Yoshinoya, Netopia, GAME, ClicktheCity, Tempest Films, and the Manila Bulletin.

For more information, contact Primetrade Asia Inc., at (632) 896-0661, 896-0682 or visit http://www.primetradeasia.com/

15th Graphic Expo and Photo Video Expo 2010

The 15th Edition Graphic Expo 2010 celebrated back to back with this year’s Photo Video Expo last June 17-19 at the SMX Convention Center.

The three-day expo presented seminar topics including Desktop Publishing, Digital Photography and Imaging, Pre-Press Print Production, Large Format Printing, Sign making, Out-of-Home, Web Publishing, Multimedia, and Animation and Video.

The first day of the expo focused on Advanced Photoshop and discusses on other Adobe Programs’ tips and techniques. The second day is more on Color management and studied some of the business side of creativity which also discusses more on photography and event coverage. The last day is more focused on the moving pictures like video clips and animation, which uses Adobe After Effects.

The event was organized in cooperation with its sponsors: Canon, GPI, the Philippine Star, Business Mirror, adobo magazine, Inquirer.net, ComputerWorld, PC Buyer’s Guide, PC World, MediaG8way, sulit.com.ph, i-mag, Jam 88.3, Wave89.1, Magic 89.9, Techforge, Enterprise, and FISSI.

For more information, contact Fiera de Manila at (632) 896-0639, 896-0637, 899-6216 or e-mail fiera@info.com.ph. Visit the website at www.fmi.com.ph.

Pinoy Animators Hailed at Animahenasyon 2009

during the Animahenasyon 2009: 3rd Pinoy Animation Festival held last November 25-28, 2009 at the Gateway Mall, Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City.

Organized by the Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ACPI), the festival aims to encourage the production of original content in Philippine animation, recognize the Filipino talent in the field of animation, and achieve local and international animation excellence and competitiveness.

The four-day event was filled with animated films exhibition, international and business forums, master class/workshop. Creative Media (CreaM) and Film Society of the Philippines’ environment-oriented animated film “Likas Ligtas: Gubat at Dagat” (Zipzappers of the Tree and Sea) had a special screening as the opening film for the event. The 34th Metro Manila Film Festival winner for Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Musical Score and Best Theme Song “Dayo (sa Mundo ng Elementalia)” was shown as the closing film for the festival.

Gateway Mall also had exhibit of works of this year’s lifetime achievement awardee Jose Zabala Santos, nephew of renowned artist Nonoy Marcelo.

Mr. Santos received the posthumous lifetime achievement award for his significant contributions and outstanding original body of work that have shaped the beginning of Philippine animation, for his pioneering spirit in promoting, instilling and integrating Filipino culture in his work, for continually demonstrating and setting aesthetic excellence in his craft, and for all his artistic endeavors and unwavering effort in keeping the creative industry alive in the country.

Meanwhile, the first Animahenasyon Institutional Award was given to the Digital Arts and Computer Animation department of the Ateneo de Naga University for its consistent and active participation in the Animahenasyon Pinoy Animation Festival for three consecutive years, for producing a body of animated works on a par with industry standards that has resulted in the creative melding of the academe and industry, and for its continuous effort in promoting and creating original Filipino content in animation.

Former Philippine Daily Inquirer comic strip contributor Nelson “Blog” Caliguia, Jr. went home as the Grand Prize winner and bagging two other awards, Best Animation - Category B (6-20 minutes) and Hero’s Choice for his entry “Mutya” (maiden or muse). “Mutya” revolves around the unlikely friendship of a girl with forest spirits or “anitos.” Mr. Caliguia received a total cash prize of P 120, 000.00 (P100, 000.00 for Grand Prize Award and P20, 000.00 for Best Animation - Category B) and his work will be aired on local anime/cartoon cable channel Hero TV.

Aside from Mr. Caliguia, Mr. Santos and Ateneo de Naga University, aspiring and professional animators also showcased their works and won in their respective categories.

Professional Division:
Best Animation - Category A (1-5 minutes) – Edison and the Moths by Maria Cristina “Tinay” Sison
Best Animation - Category F (TVC/OBB/demo reel) – Pasintabi trailer by Jeff Capili

Student/Amateur Division:
Best Animation - Category H (1-5 minutes) – Clownes by Neil Paul Molina
Best Animation - Category I (6-20 minutes) – The Handbook by Jose Luis R. Buan
Best Animation - Category K (Music video) – Yugto by John Kristoffer R. Sta. Clara
Best Animation - Category L (TVC/OBB/demo reel) – Philips Light Bulb by Samuel Elias Kirk Bacsain

Special Awards:
Special Citation - Robotica by Allan Ray Bumanglag [lone entry for Category J (21 – 40 minutes)]
Best Regional Entry - Lukso by John Kristoffer R. Sta. Clara of Ateneo de Naga University
Audience choice - The Handbook by Jose Luis R. Buan

For more information, contact the Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ACPI) at (632) 483-9501, (632) 817-2727 local 108, email animationcouncil@gmail.com, or visit their website at http://www.animationcouncil.org/

Celebrating the Love for Pinoy Comics

Intent on preserving and promoting the love and pride for Filipino made comics, cartoons, and animated features, and expanding international awareness of these works, Mr. Hugo “Boboy” Yonzon III (together with partner Ms. Guia Yonzon) helmed the first ever Philippine International Comics, Cartoons, and Animation (PICCA) Festival at the Ortigas Business and Commercial District, Pasig City.

The four-day event, which began on Oct. 15, saw to many pre-event exhibits held at different venues around the metro, including “Komiks Yaring Pinoy,” which showcased contemporary comics art by Filipinos at SM Fairview and SM Hypermart Pasig (Sept. 21); “Slice of Life,” which featured the classic works of Pinoy comics pioneer and master Larry Alcala at the Yuchengco Museum (Sept. 24); and “Expats Express,” an exhibit of editorial cartoons by Edd Aragon and DengCoy Miel, held at the GSIS Museum. Messrs. Aragon and Miel and their works have been gaining increasing popularity and recognition in the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia and the Singapore Strait Times, respectively.

Several events were held at different locations in the Ortigas Business District, including the Samahang Kartunista ng Pilipinas (SKP) “SKP and Friends” at the Podium Mall, hosted by the Intellectual Property Office, which honored Messrs. Mars Ravelo, Nestor Redondo, Alfredo Alcala, Francisco Coching, Pablo Gomez, Larry Alcala, and Nonoy Marcelo.

Other activities included drawing workshops for children and art contests in which high school and college students competed for the Larry Alcala Awards for cartoon comics creation and the Hugo Yonzon Jr. Awards for caricature. Meanwhile, the Boy Togonon Awards for editorial cartooning, under sponsorship from the National Press Club, was held up for grabs for SKP members only.

Several other activities such as film showings; seminars and discussions regarding editorial cartooning and comics publishing; industry talks on film production; as well as forums on protection and promotion of intellectual property rights of artists and writers, the global comics trend, and animation in the Asia and the Pacific. The speakers included Messrs. Aragon and Miel; local artists Messrs. Gerry Alanguilan and Gilbert Monsanto; Ms. Yonzon; executive producer of the film “Urduja” Ms. Mimbi Eloriaga; Director General Adrian Cristobal, of the IPO; Dr. John A. Lent of Temple University; and Liuyi Wang of the Asia Pacific Association of Cartoons and Animation.

The PICCA, a non-stock, non-profit organization, was founded by Mr. and Ms. Yonzon, together with Mr. Alanguilan, Ms. Sherry Baet, Mr. Victor Cruz, Ms. Eloriaga, Mr. Orvy Jundis, Ms. Lulu Jundis, and Mr. Monsanto. It aims to promote the global recognition of the Filipino talent and comics creation, as well as serve as a watershed international forum in the Philippines for cartoons, comics, and animation. The organization is also targeting support from the government, corporate patronage, and academic endorsements.

For more information about the PICCA, please visit their website at http://www.piccafest.com. You may also contact the organization via telephone numbers (02) 529-8178 and (02) 892-9421, or email them at picca@piccafest.com.