ASIFA-Hollywood, an American non-profit organization in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, is a branch member of the International Animated Film Association. Its purpose is to promote the art of

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

in a variety of ways, including its own archive and an annual awards presentation, the

Annie Awards The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origi ...

. It is also known as the International Animated Film Society. Many branches of ASIFA exist throughout the world; in the U.S. there are chapters in

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, the

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

area, and others, while internationally, organizations exist in

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, and

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. ASIFA also sponsors several animation

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

s throughout the world, including the ASIFA-Hollywood Student Animation Festival. It includes a virtual archive, museum, library and research facility, containing the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Project.

History and projects of ASIFA-Hollywood

ASIFA-Hollywood was founded in 1957, by Bill Scott,

Stephen Bosustow Stephen Reginald Bosustow (November 6, 1911 in Victoria, British Columbia – July 4, 1981) was a Canadian-born American film producer from 1943 until his retirement in 1979. He was one of the founders of United Productions of America (UPA) and pr ...

Ward Kimball Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honor ...

, William T. Hurtz, Les Goldman, and Bill Littlejohn.

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American Voice acting, voice actress and radio personality, best known as the voice of such animation, animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha F ...

was another early member, and recalled that she joined "a year or so" after the organization was chartered. , its board of directors includes Sue Shakespeare (President), David Derks (Vice-President),

Jerry Beck Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955) is an American animation historian, author, blogger (person), blogger, and video producer. Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including ''Looney Tunes and ...

(Vice-President), Brooke Keesling (Vice-President), Jeff Wike (Treasurer), Jeannette Bonds (Secretary), Paul Husband (General Counsel), J.J. Blumenkranz, Tom Caulfield, Dori Littell-Herrick, Jennifer Klein, Todd Kurosawa, Bob Kurtz, Aubry Mintz, Charles Solomon, William Turner, Danny Young, and Frank Gladstone (Executive Director).

The Annie Awards

Since 1972, ASIFA-Hollywood has hosted an annual awards ceremony to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the art of animation. Originally designed to honor the lifetime achievements of veterans of the field, the Annie Awards now recognizes the year's best animated productions and individual achievements in the field of animation. Qualified members participate in the nomination process and final voting.

Film preservation

Prior to 1950, motion pictures were shot and printed on unstable, flammable

nitrate film Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitration, nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitri ...

stock that decomposed over time, placing many early animated films in danger of being lost. Through the Animation Preservation Project, ASIFA-Hollywood seeks out to save endangered cartoons, and raises funds to preserve them on safety film stock and digital film.

References

External links

Official SiteASIFA-Hollywood TwitterASIFA-Hollywood FacebookASIFA Hollywood Youtube
{{Portalbar, Animation, Arts, Cartoon, Film, Visual arts Film archives in the United States Animation organizations Non-profit organizations based in Los Angeles International Animated Film Association Educational organizations based in the United States Cinema of Southern California