SOCIETY FOR ANIMATION STUDIES NEWSLETTER Volume 18, Issue 1 Winter 2005 A divided Art? Animation in Germany and Europe A Society for Animation Studies (SAS) conference in co-operation with Deutsches Institut für Animationsfilm, Dresden (DIAF) and Hochschule für discussions. Therefore, the relationship of animation in Bildende Künste, Dresden both Germanys with animation in the East European countries is a central topic of the conference. Beyond the 12. to 15. April 2005, during the 17th Filmfest Dresden German perspective, divisions between animation as an art form and animation in the applied arts are discussed, The conference “A divided Art? Animation in as well as questions about conditions of learning and Germany and Europe” will discuss the history and producing animation film have to be raised. The aesthetics of German animation film, focussing in conference also looks at the current situation of particular on the developments after 1945. As the two animation studies in Germany. Other topics on German states were in the front line of Cold War for European animation will be considered. decades, the European and international context of German animation plays an important role in the panel The conference will feature three days of papers and screenings in Dresden – a city closely connected with animation film for, here, the DEFA Trickfilmstudio, German biggest animation company, produced for 35 IN THIS ISSUE years. At night, public screenings in the course of the 17th Filmfest Dresden will present highlights of German 1 Conference in Dresden animation film. The conference is part of the 17th Filmfest Dresden, April 2005. 2 Book and Essay Awards The organisers encourage contributions not only from researchers in the fields of animation film studies and 2-4 President’s report film studies but also from researchers with other interdisciplinary approaches and practitioners. 4 Annual General Meeting 2004 Submissions that develop questions with reference to the conference’s main issues are privileged. However, papers on other topics of European animation are also highly 4 Greetings from Sunny San Antonio, Texas! welcome. Please submit paper title, a 200-word abstract 5-8 and short biographical information before 28 February SAS Conference 2004 2005. Conference languages: English and German. Translations will be provided. 9-14 Keynote Address by Mark Langer, ‘Birth of the Boop: thoughts on cartoon stardom’ http://divided-art-conference.com Paper proposals: [email protected] SAS Newsletter 1 McLaren Lambert Scholarly in English, and select five to be elaborated further or submitted complete. Around 15 June entrants will be Book Award notified as to whether their abstracts have been accepted The Society for Animation Studies is seeking nominations and that they can work on their essays. The essays will then be sent to the NIAf by 15 August. The jury will from SAS members for the Norman McLaren-Evelyn then have until 1 November to pass on the results to the Lambert Award for the 'Best Scholarly Book on Animation'. Books should have been published in 2001, NIAf. An essay may be no longer than 8,000 words. The 2002, 2003 or 2004 and can be in any language. (Note: We jury can work out the criteria. A winner will be selected reserve the right to disqualify a book in a language that we from these five essays. The winner will receive Euro 500 and the other four entrants, each Euro 250. The NIAf cannot find a willing SAS member to read and evaluate.) will send out a call for abstracts. Please send us the The award committee comprises Dr. Karin Wehn (University of Leipzig, Germany), Dr. Suzanne Buchan addresses of Institutions and academics around the (Animation Research Centre, Farnham, UK) and will be world. The award committee comprises Dr. Karin Wehn (University of Leipzig, Germany), Dr. Suzanne Buchan chaired by Michael Frierson (University of North Carolina (Animation Research Centre, Farnham, UK) and will be Greensboro, USA). Please submit the title, publisher, and ISBN # for your nomination to: Michael Frierson, chaired by Michael Frierson (University of North Department of Broadcasting and Cinema, University of Carolina Greensboro, USA). The Netherlands Institute North Carolina at Greensboro, PO Box 26170, for Animation Film will sponsor this award. Greensboro, North Carolina, USA 27402-6170. Or via e- Ton Crone mail to [email protected]. The deadline for submissions is 15 April 2005. This award will be sponsored by the National Film Board of Canada President’s Report Society for Animation Studies Later than expected, we wish our members all the best for the New Year. Automatically, when writing this Essay Award report at the beginning of 2005 I look back over the During the last General Meeting we discussed the past year. Last year we lost a very special member of expansion of the SAS awards. In addition to the McLaren- our organisation - William Moritz. He was a valued Lambart award for scientific books on animation, we also member of the animation film community as has want to establish a prize for essays on animation. This is emerged from the many written responses to his death. the first year that we will be awarding this prize. The essays On a global scale, last year came to a tragic end with have to be submitted in English. We have discussed this at the Tsunami in Asia killing more than 200,000 people. length because we would have preferred having them And for us in the Netherlands with the murder of the submitted in the various languages in question but that filmmaker Theo van Gogh on 2 November while would create too many problems. We realise that in doing riding his bicycle to his office. Murdered because of the this we discriminate against many people who do not use short film Submission that he made for a special English as their language of communication. Those people television program in collaboration with Ayaan Hirshi not writing their essays in English will encounter additional Ali, a Dutch politician of Somali origin. The film was translation or correction costs. The Netherlands Institute intended as an indictment of the Koran and the for Animation film would like to make the sum of Euro oppression of women in the name of Islam. His death 1,500 available this time to go some way towards meeting caused a shock that we are still coming to terms with. our wishes and also towards encouraging entries from As I write this, the International Film Festival non-English native speakers. We could then call the award Rotterdam has just started. During this festival a debate - the Society for Animation Studies Essay Award. The five will be held on freedom of speech. That same film essays would be published in the SAS eNewsletter and broadcasted once on television (August 2004) was also could be downloaded on the web site(s). to be screened during this festival in a special program but the producer withdrew it because of the possibility Abstracts of no more than 400 words should be sent to of threats. the SAS, Netherlands Institute for Animation Film, [email protected]. The deadline for abstracts is 15 April 2005. We are not accustomed to withholding our opinions in Applicants should also send a bibliography with the the Netherlands because of the threat of what could abstracts. A jury will adjudicate these abstracts, all written follow. The Rotterdam festival has always been a refuge SAS Newsletter 2 for filmmakers to screen films either forbidden in their Joanna Bouldin, Pierre Floquet and Richard Leskosky. own country or, if screened, films that could pose a Nominations should be submitted before 30 April 2005, threat for the filmmakers. Now the same has happened together with a short resume stating opinions about the to us in a country that we thought was civilised. My Society for Animation Studies and what the candidate thoughts go out to animation filmmakers who have made would like to achieve as president. Some management their films under the same circumstances or those who, experience is desirable, and a good command of the through their animation films, voice a complaint against English language and one other foreign language would oppression or those who feel they are not free to voice be to the candidate’s advantage. Nominations can be sent their opinions. We are familiar with the book by Karl F. to Mark Langer, [email protected]. Given the fact Cohen Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and that there will be no SAS conference after Dresden this Blacklisted Animators in America but there must be more. It year, voting will have to take place mainly electronically, would be a good idea to draw up an inventory of something new within the SAS. animation films and literature on this theme and to learn from it. Membership and membership fee In order to be able to vote as a member of the Society Urbana-Champaign for Animation Studies it is of course necessary to be a The conference in Urbana-Champaign was a success, legitimate, and consequently a paid-up, member. We will thanks to Richard Leskosky. The discussions were lively once again be sending you electronic invoices that should and the paper presentations were interesting. The be paid by return. Payment of the contribution fee is still ambiance on the campus of the University of Illinois was by means of traditional cheques or transferring money to good. Speaking as a European, the facilities on such a a bank account (Europe) but next year we hope to collect campus never cease to amaze me. Paul Wells has written the fee via PayPal. a detailed report on the conference. This edition of the SAS eNewsletter also includes the interesting key note Official status address by Mark Langer ‘Birth of the Boop: ‘Thought’s During the conference in Urbana-Champaign a small on Cartoon Stardom” that he presented at the beginning working party was set up comprising Michael Frierson, of the conference.