AWN reports that Ottawa International Film Festival which will be held Sept. 17-21 this year in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada have just announced their Official Film Selections.

From the record-breaking 2,149 entries received, there were 105 films representing 70 countries. Of those, 97 short films, four feature films and four schools have been chosen for Official Competitions. An additional 26 films will be shown in out-of-competition Showcase screenings. This year’s film selection is comprised of film, video, and digital animations from Germany, France, Russia, Australia, Korea, U.K., Israel, Sweden, U.S., Italy, Brazil, Japan, and Canada.

Included in the selection are IDIOTS & ANGELS, from Oscar-nom Bill Plympton, FEAR[S] OF THE DARK, an anthology by six international animator/directors, SITA SINGS THE BLUES, and WALTZ WITH BASHIR, an animated documentary by director Ari Folman.

Last night, Warner Bros premiered it’s summer blockbuster “The Dark Knight” at a fancy Manhattan premiere. This screening was the first large scale celebration of the film and the hard work put into it’s creation. But it also served another purpose: to test the potential of Heath Ledger winning an award come Oscar season, an accomplishment that is virtually unheard of for a summer blockbuster particularly a comic book movie. To this end, it seemed to be possible as several midscreening ovations were given for Ledger. With that a possibility and the fact that the film is poised to challenge the biggest opening in history, producers are finding it difficult to keep calm.

Said Legendary Pictures principal and financier/producer Thomas Tull: “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get excited about all the feedback we’re getting.”

AWN is reporting that Cannes audiences will be very lucky to see snippets from Pathe and Sylvain Chomet’s upcoming film “The Illusionist” at the Marche du Film.

Chomet began working on the film in June 2006. He is writing and directing the adaptation of the original and previously unproduced material by Jacques Tati. Pathe said it plans to release the $22 million film in France and the U.K. in 2009. Pathe International will handle worldwide sales.

The film combines traditional 2-D character techniques and CG.

Chomet is well known for his character animation and story sensibilities in his outstanding previous film, “The Triplettes of Belleville.”

(L.A. Times)

AWN is reporting that

DreamWorks Animation kicked off the 61st annual Cannes Film Festival today, as Jack Black, star of the company’s June 6 release, KUNG FU PANDA, spread “Panda-monium” as he emerged from a water taxi to be greeted on the Carlton Hotel pier by nearly 40 life-sized Po, the Panda’s — his on-screen persona and the hero of the film.

The worldwide premiere is today at 7:30pm at Cannes and the ongoing spectacle of pandamoniumness is expected to continue on the red carpet. The film opens nationwide on June 6th.

Variety announced that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is honoring two giants in the Animation industry on March 24th. Tex Avery and Michael Maltese will be toasted in a tribute fondly called, “Putting L0oney in the Toons”. This event is to celebrate the centennial of their births, both in 1908, and will highlight their amazing careers in animation.

Highlights from the duo’s iconic “Looney Toons” collection — and individual contributions to animated film — will be shown alongside rare recordings from an interview with film historian Joe Adamson. A panel including Maltese’s daughter Brenda Maltese Moulthrop and Looney Toons vets Martha Sigall, Jerry Eisenberg and Don Jurwich will further illuminate the pair’s work.

The event will be held at the Linwood Dunn Theater in the Pickford Center located in Hollywood. For more information and tickets, check out the AMPAS website.

The 2008 British Animation Award finalists were announced this morning. Winners will be announced on March 13th in a ceremony at the BFI. Digital Arts reports

Aardman Animations lead the way with four nominations: Best Children’s Series, New Media: Best Commissioned Animation, Craft Award and Best Short Film. Internationally-acclaimed Pearce Sisters, created by Aardman’s Luis Cook, received two nominations. In the hotly contested Craft Award, Aardman will find tough competition from Dreams & Desires: Family Ties by renowned animator Joanna Quinn as well as Ian Mackinnon’s Adjustment. Best Short Film nominations also include Elizabeth Hobbs’ The Old, Old, Very Old Man, and Yours Truly directed by Osbert Parker who is considered one of Britain’s strongest new talents.

Other nominations of note: Sweeney Todd was nominated for Best Film and TV Graphics for its title sequence, and Suzie Templeton’s Peter & the Wolf (which has also been nominated for an Oscar) is up for Best TV Specials. Congratulations to all nominees!

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning. Here are the noms related to Animation/VFX:

Best Animated Feature:

• “Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
• “Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird
• “Surf’s Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in Film Editing:

• “The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Christopher Rouse
• “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Juliette Welfling
• “Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment) Jay Cassidy
• “No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
• “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Dylan Tichenor

Best Animated Short Film:

• “I Met the Walrus” (A Kids & Explosions Production) Josh Raskin
• “Madame Tutli-Putli” (A National Film Board of Canada Production) Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
• “Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)” (Premium Films, A BUF Compagnie Production) Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
• “My Love (Moya Lyubov)” (A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production) Alexander Petrov
• “Peter & the Wolf” (A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production) Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Achievement in Visual Effects:

• “The Golden Compass” (New Line with Ingenious Film Partners) Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
• “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney) John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
• “Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro) Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier