Festivals rarely make animated spots to encourage film submissions, much less spots that are as cool as the one above. The piece was created by Diego Akel to encourage filmmakers to submit to the MUMIA Underground World Animation Festival. The festival, which is celebrating its 10th edition this fall, screens in various Brazilian cities including Belo Horizonte, Betim and Nova Lima.

If I understood their submission rules correctly, they also have an awesomely renegade film selection process: “There will not be selection of the films and videos submitted. As long as four hours of the festival programming is completed, the selection will be over.” If you’re interested in showing your film at MUMIA, go here for submission details. Entries need to be postmarked by May 31.

What if a couple of guys decorated a van with colorful images, drove around the countryside, and invited children to come into their van to watch cartoons? Normally, I’d caution parents to be wary, but Spanish artists Carles Porta and Toni Tomàs are the real deal.

Their whimsical art project on wheels, Puck Cinema Caravana, is returning for its fourth season. They bill themselves as the smallest cinema on earth, and with only seven seats in their van-theater, they’re probably pretty close to that. The trailer above, created by Carles Porta, promotes this year’s programming theme, “Follies de la Simpatia a l’Absurd.”

Everything about Puck is thoughtfully designed from their promotional materials to the van itself. They also have great taste in curating films, and do a great job of introducing quality animated shorts to an audience that may not otherwise experience such films. This year’s all-star line-up of filmmakers includes Mark Baker, Grant Orchard, Torill Kove, Bruno Bozzetto, Alexey Alexeev, Juan Pablo Zaramella, Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Txesco Montalt, Yann Benedi, Antoine Robert, Dorianne Fibleuil, Maud Sertour, Paulin Cointot, and Nathan Hall.

Puck travels around Spain throughout the summer months. Visit PuckCinema.com for more details.

Tonight, ASIFA-East handed out prizes for its 43nd annual Animation Festival. The Rauch Brothers took home the Best in Show for their 9/11-themed short John and Joe. Two children’s films that I particularly enjoyed at the screening were Michael Sporn’s inspiring I Can Be President (which was shown in excerpted form) and an adaptation of Mo Willems’ book Don’t Let The Pigeon Stay Up Late directed by Pete List. The latter showed that preschool animation can engage audience participation without talking down to kids.

The most surprising film of the evening was Leah Shore’s Old Man. The “old man” in question is Charles Manson, and Shore uses a breathless array of techniques and styles to illustrate recordings of his schizophrenic ramblings. Though we’ve posted Shore’s films here before—see BOOBatary and Meatwaffle—I’d suggest that Old Man is a breakout work for the young filmmaker. She is a talent to watch.

A full list of winners follows the jump.
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America’s oldest animation awards show—43 years running—takes place tonight: the ASIFA-East Animation Festival. It’s in Manhattan and it’s free! Details on CB Biz. Go!

Thursday and Friday this week, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is running two great evenings of animated art.

First, I’m presenting a mini survey of Paramount theatrical animation (1930-1967) this Thursday, April 26th. As part of the museum’s film series celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Paramount Pictures, there will be a double bill saluting the studio’s animated legacy. At 7:30pm South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut will screen – followed at 9pm by my tribute (introduced by yours truly, Jerry Beck); a full program of rare 35mm archival film prints, which will include Fleischer Betty Boop, George Pal Puppetoons, Famous Studios’ Baby Huey, Gene Deitch’s Munro and John Hubley’s Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass Double Feature. An incredible show that would be difficult to repeat. If you want to buy a separate admission ticket ($5) for just the Paramount shorts at 9pm, click here.

On Friday April 27th LACMA will host a double feature of experimental classics. First, at 7:30 Design In Motion: Oskar Fischinger and Abstract Animation a program of 35mm preserved prints of Fischinger’s visual music films: Allegretto, Motion Painting no. 1, Composition in Blue, Kreise, An American March, Radio Dynamics, Spirals, Spiritual Constructions, Studies 5,6,7 and 8, and more. At 9pm, a program of modernist animation by California artists (including 16mm films by Jordan Belson, Jules Engel, Harry Smith and others). These programs will introduced by Cindy Keefer of The Center for Visual Music.

On the afternoon of Saturday, May 19, Brad Bird will speak at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. The subject of his talk will be “The Disney Treatment: Walt’s Versions of Classic Stories.” Brad always has thought-provoking things to say, and this is a topic I’ve never heard him discuss at length so it sounds like a can’t-miss event. This is the lecture description:

Director (The Iron Giant, Mission: Impossible/Ghost Protocol) and two-time Oscar®-winner (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) Brad Bird will discuss how Walt adapted well-known and even previously-filmed stories and created what are widely regarded as “definitive” versions. From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men; Treasure Island to Swiss Family Robinson, Bird will explore the appeal of these tales to Walt-and how his individual and personal viewpoint made them enduring classics.

Tickets are $12 and available on the Walt Disney Family Museum ticketing site. Their system doesn’t seem to recognize the event, which may indicate that it’s already sold out.

Three, count ‘em Three (3), animation events hosted by yours truly, all within a week of each other and coming up soon. Please consider joining me and my cartoon pals at any or all of the following screenings in Hollywood, California:

Saturday April 21st: The first of my all-new series of monthly animation matinees at The Cinefamily on Fairfax. This inaugural show features a collection of the trippiest animation in cartoon history, as classic toon-dudes from Porky Pig to Popeye enter strange new worlds, see spaced-out sights, and smoke some seriously wacky weed (no joke — we are running the Andy Panda cartoon called Wacky Weed)! You won’t need any prescriptions to inhale these hallucinations — so just sit back, relax and let the sunshine in. Munchies will be on sale at the candy counter, but the good stuff will be on screen in rare film prints (some in psychedelic Technicolor, even.) Tune In, Turn On, Admit One! Showtime is 4:30pm. For more Info, click here!

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Monday April 23rd: Yep, its that time of the month again, and boy am I cranky. A bunch of truly awful cartoons surrounded by an absolutely hilarious live comedy/music show with Frank Conniff, J. Elvis Weinstein (both of MST3K) and Erica Doering. We call it Cartoon Dump and perform it at the Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood. Showtime is 8pm and tickets can be purchased here. Check out the new FaceBook page for more information and updates.

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Thursday April 26th: Part of the LA County Museum of Art film series celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Paramount Pictures is this one-night tribute to the studio’s animated legacy. At 7:30pm South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut will screen – followed at 9pm by a tribute (curated by me, Jerry Beck) to Paramount Cartoons where I will introduce a full program of 35mm archive prints – including Fleischer Betty Boop, George Pal Puppetoons, Famous’ Baby Huey, Gene Deitch Munro and John Hubley’s Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass Double Feature. The double bill with South Park is $10. There will also be a separate admission available ($5) for just the Paramount shorts at 9pm. Come! LACMA ticket info here.

I’ve been a huge fan of Scott Shaw’s Oddball Comics presentations at Comic Con since I first saw them over 20 years ago. Scott projects a selected comic book cover on a huge screen and points out (if it isn’t already obvious) how ridiculous it is. Scott’s comics and comments are simply hilarious. If you haven’t been able to catch this in San Diego, Scott’s now performing the presentation (for a limited time only) at a theater in Hollywood – Saturday nights at 8 PM at the Oh My Ribs! Comedy Theater on Santa Monica Boulevard near Cahuenga. I am honored to join Scott this week (4/14) as a special guest, where I will screen several Oddball Comics as Oddball animated cartoons! Yes, Jack Mendelsohn’s Jacky’s Diary and Hal Seeger’s Muggy-Doo Boy Cat, two of the strangest comics creations ever to make it to the screen (as theatrical cartoons, yet!), will be shown. Join us on Saturday night for this once-in-a-lifetime comics/cartoon event!