SPARK FX 2009 Festival

SPARK FX '09 - Festival & Conference
January 21 - 26, 2009
Vancity Theatre
1181 Seymour St.
Vancouver, BC Canada

Admission:
Films: $8 Members / $10 Regular
Featured Speakers: $15 Members / $25 Regular
Talks & Panels: $10 Members / $20 Regular
Info & Tickets: http://siggraph.ca/festivals/

ON SALE NOW!

Yes! SPARK FX '09 is open for business. On behalf of Vancouver ACM SIGGRAPH and the Vancouver International Film Centre, we would like to invite you to join us from January 21 - 26 for our second annual celebration of cinema magic. With most films now confirmed, we've opened sales up today – the last film should be confirmed by the end of the week. Sales for the speaking sessions will start this Wednesday (Jan. 7) at noon.

Once again this year, we're bringing you a fantastic mix of classic and recent effects-laden popcorn-chomping eye candy. Films like the original Alien, the classic Forbidden Planet, the blockbuster Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and from this century, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – a film which set a new standard for the creation of digital characters.

Films are fabulous, but if you'd really like to learn something, then you might want to sit on your refresh button at lunch time on Wednesday – sales for some of the talks are likely to move really fast! We'll have Dennis Muren, winner of 9 Academy Awards including 6 Oscars®. Dennis will be talking about where he sees visual effects going in the future, and since he's the man driving the bus, he probably has a pretty good idea. Then there's Jeff Barnes, CEO of CafeFX, and Chairman of the Board of the Visual Effects Society. Jeff is coming to talk about the creation of the effects in Pan's Labyrinth, while Harrison Ellenshaw, one of the leading matte painters working today, is coming to share his thoughts about the relationship between computer graphics and narrative film, and how they influence each other. On the more technical side, Dr. Paul Debevec is joining us to talk about recent advances in the creation and animation of believable human characters.

Tickets for the films are $8 for members and $10 for non-members, while most of the talks are $10 for members and $20 for non-members. With over 15 speaker and panel sessions lined up, now would be a great time to become a member. For only $35 a year (+GST), you could save hundreds, and don’t forget to thank all our great sponsors – without them, ticket prices couldn’t be nearly this low.

There are literally dozens of excellent speakers with enviable credit lists taking part in SPARK FX this year, and we can't wait to see you at the Vancouver International Film Centre!

Megabyte Sponsor: BC Innovation Council
Kilobyte Sponsors: Electronic Arts Canada, Autodesk
Byte Sponsors: Annex Pro, Vancouver Economic Development
Festival Partner: Vancouver International Film Centre
Friends of the Festival: Visual Effects Society, Visual Effects Association of BC