A good friend of mine, Issam Zejly, animation extraordinaire and animator at Ubisoft, finally posted his short, “Starry Night” on CGTalk a few days ago. Since then, it’s been plugged on the forum’s Frontpage, and has already gotten tons of views and positive feedback.
Flash version on his website (Check out his other work too!)
It took him a really long time to do it, and all I can say is…told you so Z man! 
Worth a good look!
So I was surfing around the other day when I ran into some blog posts concerning last year’s DC Independent Film Festival. It reminded me that I have a backlog of festival photos I never really showed anyone (on or offline). I figured I might as well share some of my (limited) film festival experiences, starting with last year’s San Diego Asian Film Festival.
After graduating, I contemplated the idea of submitting my senior project animation to a bunch of festivals, but I wasn’t nearly confident enough in the final product to justify potentially wasting a large amount of money and time on entrance fees/shipping costs/DVD reproductions, etc.do so. I did, however, want to see if it could make it into at least one film festival.
At night, the SDAFF logo was projected on the ground in front of the theatre
Luckily, Glimmer did make it into SDAFF. I was pretty excited (with it being my first film festival and all), so I decided to fly out there, check it out, and visit a few friends I know in the area. I felt rather clumsy getting around, not exactly knowing where to go, who to ask, etc., but the volunteers were pretty nice and helpful, so things turned out well in the end.
I must say, there’s something really uncomfortable about having to get around with a giant tag that says “Director” on it. I felt rather pretentious 
I didn’t know anyone there, so it was a little uncomfortable twiddling my thumbs waiting for the screening to begin. With the overall high quality level of work there, I was also starting to get a little embarrassed about my animation. But when my work started playing, I finally saw the result of a year and a half’s worth of work. Despite Glimmer’s numerous shortcomings, there was something special about seeing it on the big screen.
The screening was followed by brief introductions of those filmmakers who were able to attend the event. We all introduced ourselves, talked a little bit about our animations and our influences; and then questions were opened to the floor.
Following the discussion, all the filmmakers reported back to the lounge area, where we chatted and socialized a bit. I wasn’t able to stick around too long, since my friends, whom I have not seen in quite some time were waiting for me. I regret not having taken advantage of that time more and gotten to know the other filmmakers, especially since I got to meet Sam Chen. I even completely forgot to take pictures! I must not have been thinking too clearly that day!
From left to right: Yorico Murakami, Will Kim, Andy Huang, James Kim, Youngwoong Jang, me, and Sam Chen
Photo by Tak Asanuma
I finally got to visit the West Coast for the first time, I met some very nice people, saw some really cool animations, and met up with friends. All in all, I had a great time there. Looking back, I do wish I had submitted to more festivals (if nothing else, I may have been able to cling to the bare minimum standards of quality), but this was one festival I was glad I it to.
Some links:
San Diego Asian Film Foundation
SDAFF 06: Illusion of Life Program Information
Twitch – SDAFF Report (I’m mentioned here! )