All Entries Tagged With: "News"
Mickey, Jerry are evil. Kill them!
Are the lovable Mickey Mouse and Jerry evil? Sheikh Muhammad Munajid seems to think so and would like nothing better than to see them killed. He claims the mouse is “one of Satan’s soldiers” and makes everything it touches impure. He warns that cartoon depictions of the animal such as Jerry and Disney’s Mickey Mouse has led children to believe that it was in fact loveable!
So who is Sheikh Muhammad Munajid and why is he accusing our beloved rodents? The Telegraph, UK, reports that he is a cleric and a former diplomat at the Saudi embassy in Washington DC, said that under Sharia, both household mice and their cartoon counterparts must be killed. Mr Munajid was asked to give Islam’s teaching on mice during a religious affairs programme broadcast on al-Majd TV, an Arab television network.
ABAI Fest 2008 - a 2 day celebration of animation
Bangalore, the IT Hub of India also has a large animation and gaming community, ‘officially’ brought together under the name of ABAI - Association of Bangalore Animation Industry. Studios and Institutes have come together to form this association and they celebrate the creative trinity of Animation+Gaming+VFX every year with the ABAI Fest. This year also studios, institutes, professionals, students and animation enthusiasts are converging at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore on the 5th and 6th of Sep. for the third edition of the ABAI Fest and AllAboutAnimation is a proud Supporter of the event 
The first day went of well with the auditorium packed to full capacity and I’m looking forward to the second day today with some very interesting presentations announced.
India gets its First Ever Professionally Managed Gaming Team
Just received a press release announcing the formation of India’s first ‘Gaming Team’ - “INDIAN INFERNO”
Indiagames, India’s benchmark online and mobile games company and a leading global developer and publisher of mobile games and the E-Sports Council of India announced the formation of India’s first professional gaming team – Indian Inferno.
Icy N Spicy …God help Indian animation!!!
Animation lovers of India, unite! And do something to stop this movie from shaming us in front of the world!
It’s been a long time since I last blogged but this frightening piece of news brought me back from my brief blog hiatus. Apparently, India’s First 3D Mainstream Animation Movie is about to be released on 18th July. It’s called Icy N Spicy - A Journey to Tonga and is produced and directed by Anil Goyal, “a most experience person in the field of 3d animation” (that’s what his website claims). You only need to take a look at the stills from the movie (see below) to know why it is something we all need to seriously worry about.
Good News! Persepolis coming to India.
Just received a press release from NDTV Lumiere that they will be releasing ‘Persepolis’ in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore on June 20th, 2008.
I am really looking forward to this. I don’t have the details but once I do, I shall put them up here on the blog. It is sad that they seem to be releasing the film only in 3 metros. I am sure there are a lot of people in smaller cities who would have liked to see this beautiful film.
Persepolis is writer-director Marjane Satrapi’s magical and ingenious award-winning story of a young girl coming of age in Iran, that is both lively and thought-provoking. The animated film is an adaptation of graphic novels about her childhood. Persepolis, which has won, among others, the Jury Prize at the Festival de Cannes in 2007, and an Oscar nomination in 2008 sees Iran through the eyes of the precocious and outspoken nine-year-old Marjane. Critically acclaimed and widely enjoyed, Persepolis is a magical and ingenious film based on Satrapi’s own experiences of growing up in an increasingly fundamentalist Iran.
The Road From New Delhi To Annecy
The Annecy Festival is exactly a week away and with India as the Focus Country this year; everyone is excited about the implications. NASSCOM is taking a large Indian delegation to Annecy including some of the biggest and best studios in India - Toonz Animation, Paprikaas, Accel Animation, Sanra, Kahani World, Big Animation, FX Labs, ettaminA, Blowfish FX, Dawson, Cornershop, Graphiti, Green Gold, Picasso Digital, to name just a few.
NASSCOM is organizing THE INDIA PAVILLION together with Government of India - Ministry of Information & Broadcasting at Annecy 2008 – the world’s largest creative festival for animators and the animation world.
The 27 square meters large ‘Indian Pavilion’ is the largest showcase of Indian animation companies at any single event and the stand will present the logos, play the show reel and display the logos of all the participating companies. The ministry and trade delegation will be meeting several counterparts from other countries and discussions will range from proposing growth initiatives including co-production treaties, reciprocal participation in trade shows and official visits by trade delegations between themselves. To celebrate the ‘Spotlight on India’, NASSCOM and the delegation will be the hosts for the opening gala evening on the 10th where an Indian Fair has been planned. A show-reel of student and professional films compiled by ASIFA India will also be showcased by the delegation. A handbook on India, with updated information on the industry and profiles of visiting delegates will be presented.
Speaking about this Col. S V Ramachandran, Regional Director, NASSCOM said, “NASSCOM Animation and Gaming Forum has decided to participate in selected international markets as a platform to present the Indian Industry. MIFA at Annecy is the largest ‘pure play’ animation market and NASSCOM’s participation last year convinced us about the possibilities for our members and the positive role the government can play in turbo powering some of the initiatives.”
I caught up with Biren Ghose, CEO Kahani World Inc. and Chairman of the NASSCOM Animation & Gaming Forum and here is what he had to share about NASSCOM’s role at Annecy and in the country’s Animation and Gaming scenario.
India Goes to BANFF for “nextMEDIA - The Future of Digital Content”
nextMEDIA - The Future of Digital Content is where the world’s content creators, broadcasters, financiers, carriers, digital publishers, technology solution-providers, and advertisers meet to extend their knowledge and nurture key business relationships. The conference is set in spectacular Banff, Alberta, nextMEDIA is the sister event to the world renowned Banff World Television Festival. The event takes advantage of the synergies connecting the television and new media industries by facilitating a high-value networking environment.
Attendees at nextMEDIA gain an expert understanding of the most important areas of development in the interactive media industry and learn how to create and execute profitable digital media strategies.
AAA caught up with Biren Ghose, CEO of Kahani World Inc. who is one of the prominent speakers at the digital content show in Banff, Alberta, Canada from the 6th to 8th June 2008, where India is featured as the “emerging market” for discussion. Biren Ghose will be presenting his thesis on “Storytelling 2.0″ which will explore how storytelling will change in a world where the viewer will influence its course.
There is a panel on emerging markets where key decision makers from major media companies network in a retreat based environment. Key participants featured here include:
CGTExpo 2008 - A successful start!
After spending two full days at the CGTExpo 2008, I must say the experience was unique. Hundreds of volunteers from all over the country, the CGTantra team, the Nine team, the participants and the supporters, all put in their best to make the event a truly successful one.
The planning was perfect, arrangements flawless and the least possible glitches ensured that everyone had a lot of fun and went back having gained something. Newbies, students, job-seekers, curious spectators, anxious parents of would-be animation students, were all milling around together in the two main halls and two smaller ones.
