The Kalamazoo Animation Festival International (KAFI) is an organization that encourages and educates animation

Animation

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...

 artists, promotes Kalamazoo's animation industry, and provides community entertainment. KAFI is a project of Kalamazoo Valley Community College

Kalamazoo Valley Community College

-History:The community college district was established by voters in 1966, enrolled its first students in the fall of 1968, and currently enrolls more than 13,500 students. With the selection of Marilyn J...

. In addition to a biannual festival, KAFI sponsors events such as film screenings and workshops throughout the year.

Festival

KAFI's first festival, spearheaded by a local animation artist, drew 235 submissions and nearly 1,000 attendees in 2002. A second festival was held in 2003. Since then, an every-other-year schedule has been adopted, and KAFI has developed into one of the top 20 animated film festivals in the world. The 2007 festival attracted over 500 entries from 37 countries. In addition to an animated film competition with $15,000 in prizes awarded, the festival features events for students, artists, educators, filmmakers and the general public. Past KAFI award winners include Bill Plympton

Bill Plympton

William "Bill" Calvin Plympton is an American animator, former cartoonist, director, screenwriter and producer best known for his 1987 Academy Award-nominated animated short Your Face. and his series of shorts Guard Dog, Guide Dog, Hot Dog and Horn Dog.- Biography :Bill Plympton was born in...

, Karen Aqua, Chris Landreth

Chris Landreth

Chris Landreth is an American animator working in Canada, best known for his work on the 2004 film, Ryan. He has made many CGI animated films since the mid-90s, including The End, Bingo, The Listener, Caustic Sky: A Portrait of Regional Acid Deposition, and Data Driven The Story Of Franz...

 and John Canemaker

John Canemaker

John Cannizzaro Jr. , better known as John Canemaker, is an independent animator, animation historian, author, teacher and lecturer. In 1980, he began teaching and developing the animation program at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts', Kanbar Institute of Film and Television Department...

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