ASIFA (Association Internationale du Film d'Animation)

ASIFA (Association Internationale du Film d'Animation) is an international non-profit organization devoted to the art and promotion of animated film and animation techniques. Founded in 1960, it brings together practitioners, festivals, educators, and institutions to foster exchange among creators and audiences across France, United States, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom and many other countries. The association supports festivals, awards, preservation, and educational programs linking notable figures and organizations in animation.

History

ASIFA was established in 1960 during a period of rapid postwar cultural exchange that involved individuals associated with Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and institutions such as the National Film Board of Canada, the British Film Institute, and the Studio Ghibli precursors. Early participants included representatives connected to Walt Disney Studios, United Productions of America, Studio Ghibli, and avant-garde filmmakers who had worked with Surrealist movement figures and experimental programs in Prague and Warsaw Film School. ASIFA's early years intersected with prominent events like the Cannes Film Festival screenings, exchanges with the Festival du nouveau cinéma, and collaborations involving figures from Hollywood, Soviet Union animation studios such as Soyuzmultfilm, and influential artists linked to Experimental Animation circles. Through the Cold War, ASIFA mediated contacts among delegates from United States, France, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Japan, contributing to networks that included creators associated with Pixar Animation Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Laika (company), and independent auteurs whose works appeared at Berlin International Film Festival and San Sebastián International Film Festival.

Organization and Membership

ASIFA operates via national and regional chapters and a central committee that liaises with cultural institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and academies including the Académie des Beaux-Arts and the School of Visual Arts. Membership encompasses animators, directors, producers, scholars, curators, and festival organizers from entities like Walt Disney Animation Studios, Warner Bros. Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studio, HBO, and independent workshops connected to CalArts, Rhode Island School of Design, and the National Film and Television School. ASIFA's governance includes elected officers, advisory panels with professionals linked to BAFTA, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Annecy International Animated Film Festival juries, and representatives from cultural ministries in countries such as Canada, Germany, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, China, and India.

Festivals and Awards

ASIFA is best known for supporting and affiliating with animation festivals and awarding prizes that recognize achievement across forms represented at events like the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Ottawa International Animation Festival, Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films, Hiroshima International Animation Festival, Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, and regional showcases in Buenos Aires, Sydney, Seoul, Moscow International Film Festival, Jury Prize contexts, and retrospectives at the Tate Modern and the Louvre. ASIFA chapters have participated in juries that have honored filmmakers connected to Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Nick Park, Tim Burton, Satoshi Kon, Winsor McCay Award recipients, and rising directors featured at Sundance Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival. The association's awards and endorsements often intersect with prizes from institutions such as BAFTA, the Academy Awards, and national film academies in Spain, Italy, and Poland.

Preservation and Education Initiatives

ASIFA collaborates with archives and museums including the Cinémathèque Française, the Library of Congress, the British Film Institute National Archive, and university programs at Columbia University, UCLA, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and Sorbonne University to preserve original animation cels, storyboards, and film prints. Preservation projects have connected to collections associated with Max Fleischer, Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Emile Cohl, Lotte Reiniger, Oskar Fischinger, and contemporary studios like Industrial Light & Magic and Blue Sky Studios. Educational initiatives include masterclasses, workshops, and scholarship schemes that involve teachers from CalArts, practitioners linked to Pixar, academics from University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, and curators from institutions such as the Museum of the Moving Image. ASIFA also supports publications, retrospectives, and catalogs that document works by directors featured at Annecy, Ottawa, Zagreb, and university presses specializing in film studies.

Regional Chapters and Activities

ASIFA maintains regional chapters that organize local festivals, screenings, retrospectives, and training across continents: chapters in France (including activity in Annecy), United States (notably Los Angeles and New York City), Canada (Ottawa), Japan (Tokyo), Poland (Kraków), Czech Republic (Prague), Argentina (Buenos Aires), Brazil (São Paulo), Mexico City, South Africa (Cape Town), Australia (Sydney), South Korea (Seoul), China (Beijing), and India (Mumbai). Regional programming frequently features collaborations with local cultural centers, film schools such as the National Film School (Łódź), museums like the Queens Museum, and television broadcasters including NHK, BBC, CBC Television, and TV Tokyo. Chapter activities range from film restoration projects linked to national archives to community outreach and youth workshops in partnership with organizations like UNESCO, municipal cultural agencies, and independent studios.

Category:Animation organizations Category:Film preservation organizations