“ASIFA-Hollywood will raise the curtain on a timeless art form by hosting the Stop-Mo Expo, a daylong event celebrating the art of stop-motion animation at Woodbury University on Saturday, April 21, 2007.”


The art of stop-motion animation will be on center stage in one-day Expo hosted by ASIFA-Hollywood

Burbank, CA (April 6, 2007) – ASIFA-Hollywood will raise the curtain on a timeless art form by hosting the Stop-Mo Expo, a daylong event celebrating the art of stop-motion animation at Woodbury University on Saturday, April 21, 2007.

The expo will be comprised of two distinct events: beginning at 9 a.m. panel discussions and seminars with animation professionals and at 6 p.m. a film festival that will showcase classic and current stop-motion animated films, including rare 16 mm stop-motion films from the collection of animation director Mark Kausler. Running concurrently with these two events will be a stop-motion animation jam, a unique feature where professionals, students and members of Movies By Kids will combine their talents to create a stop-motion film.

Special guests for the panels will include Academy Award and primetime Emmy Award winning director/producer Will Vinton; members of the special effects animation company Chiodo Brothers Productions; animation producers Mark Caballero & Seamus Walsh of Screen Novelties; lighting and visual effects animator Jim Aupperle; Robot Chicken and Moral Orel animator Tennessee Reid Norton; visual effects supervisor Gene Warren, Jr.; animation designer Randy Cook and many more! There will also be artifacts on display from the ASIFA-Hollywood Archive, including part of the set from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, the stop motion model from the animated short Africa Parting and a number of items from Chiodo Brothers Productions.

“Once again, ASIFA-Hollywood will celebrate an art form that is still relevant today as it was forty years ago,” said animation professor and ASIFA-Hollywood board member Larry Loc. “From King Kong to Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, stop-motion animation took audiences to places they’ve never been before and still excites the imagination of twenty-first century movie-goers.”

Reservations are not required and tickets for both events can be purchased at the door together for $50 or separately: $25 for the panel discussions and seminars and $35 for the film festival. Members of ASIFA-Hollywood can enjoy a $10 discount on each separate admission or $15 off an all-access ticket. Parking is free. Woodbury University is located at 7500 Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank 91510-7846.

About ASIFA-Hollywood
The International Animated Film Society: ASIFA-Hollywood is a California non-profit organization established over thirty-five years ago to promote and encourage the art and craft of animation. ASIFA-Hollywood offers screenings of current and rare animated films, supports film preservation, and hosts the Annie Awards, an annual gala event recognizing individual and collaborative excellence with animation’s highest honor. ASIFA-Hollywood has also created the Animation Archive, an ambitious project that includes a digital animation archive, museum, and library for the benefit of the animation community, students and general public. For more information on ASIFA-Hollywood and the Stop-Mo Expo, visit www.asifa-hollywood.org or call (818) 842-8330.