AnimationWorld Magazine — August 7, 2018
SIGGRAPH 2018: A Chat with Computer Animation Festival Director Larry Bafia

The SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival started as an annual showcase of advances in computer graphics and since then has come to celebrate the rise of computer graphics as a medium for storytelling, not just in animation, but also in visual effects for movies and games. In-line with the 2018 conference theme of “Generations,” this year’s Electronic Theater lineup is poised to epitomize a next-generation showcase of 25 short films selected from more than 400 submissions. Attendance is a fundamental part of the SIGGRAPH Conference experience, and this year is no different.

Though newer than the Electronic Theater, the 2018 Computer Animation Festival VR Theater promises to pack just as much punch. In its second year, the VR Theater will present daily ticketed screenings — expanded from 25 to 32 seats each — along with individual kiosk programming, culled from more than 30 global submissions.

The SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival is recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival. An internationally recognized jury receives hundreds of submissions and presents the best work of the year, with awards for Best in Show, Jury’s Choice and Best Student Project. Since 1999, several works that were originally presented in the Computer Animation Festival have been nominated for or have received a Best Animated Short Academy Award. Winners of this year’s Computer Animation Festival competition include MoPA short Hybrids (Best in Show), Supinfocom’s Overrun (Best Student Project), and DreamWorks Animation’s Bilby (Jury Award).

(Read more at AnimationWorld Magazine…)