The 2nd Animahenasyon Pinoy Animation Festival, organized by the Animation Council of the Philippines Inc. (ACPI), will be launched on September 24, 6:30 p.m. at the Center Plaza, Eastwood City. Hon. Herbert Bautista, Vice Mayor of Quezon City, will formally open the event.

Animahenasyon 2008, organized by ACPI, is an annual festival that features the different animation works of both aspiring and professional animators in the country through a competition. It is composed of the professional and the student/amateur divisions that will have different running time categories: 1 to 5 minutes; 6 to 20 minutes, 21 to 60 minutes, and the full-animated feature (more than 60 minutes). There will also be categories for music video, title sequence, public information, demo reel, and TV series. Deadline for submission of entries is on October 8.

ACPI is a non-stock and non-profit organization duly recognized and supported by the Philippine government, with 2D and 3D animation companies for its members. Its objectives are to showcase original content in Philippine animation, to recognize the Filipino talent in the field of animation, and to aim for local and international excellence and competitiveness.

Prior to the launch, a series of activities will take place from 1 to 5:30 p.m. Seasoned animators will be demonstrating the process of animation production and claymation (clay animation) at the venue. Experienced voice talents will also be handling mini voice acting workshops. There will be some art activities such as henna tattooing, face painting and caricaturing. The launch will also exhibit and screen last year's grand prize winners: "Inday Wanda" and "Doodle of Doom," both by Nelson "Blog" Caliguia, Jr. The event will also feature Teta Tulay's winning animated short entitled "Ang Paglilikha," which will be scored live by Uniitima. The trailer of "Dayo," the first full-length digital animation and official entry to the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival, together with the Animahenasyon 2008 teaser, will also be shown.

Animahenasyon 2008 will run from November 12-16, 2008. One of the highlights of this festival is the "homecoming" of two successful Filipino animators from PIXAR and a professor from the University of California who will impart knowledge in multimedia and animation trends. There will also be an exhibit of the selected works of Nonoy Marcelo and Larry Alcala.

Also part of the festival is the one-day animation congress where renowned animators and respected media scholars will trace and write the history of Philippine animation. International animators will also be joining the festival to handle the animation master classes which will be held at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, School of Design and Arts building. On the other hand, the venue for the screening and awarding will be at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

For more information about Animahenasyon 2008, please call 8172727 local 108 or email the secretariat at animationcouncil@gmail.com, or visit www.animationcouncil.org.