ASIFA-Hollywood

ASIFA-Hollywood

File:Asifa-hq.jpg Entrance to ASIFA-Hollywood Headquarters and Animation Archive/Center on 2114 West Burbank Boulevard in Burbank
Formation	1957 (1957) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Founders	Bill Scott Stephen Bosustow Ward Kimball Bill Littlejohn William T. Hurtz Les Goldman
Website	asifa-hollywood.org

ASIFA-Hollywood, an American non-profit organization in Los Angeles, California, United States, is a branch member of the "Association Internationale du Film d'Animation" or "ASIFA" (the International Animated Film Association). Its purpose is to promote the art of film animation in a variety of ways, including its own archive and an annual awards presentation, the Annie Awards. It is also known as the International Animated Film Society.

Many branches of ASIFA exist throughout the world; in the US there are chapters in San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta, Seattle, Washington, the Detroit area, and others, while internationally, organizations exist in Annecy, France, in Italy, and Japan. ASIFA also sponsors several animation film festivals throughout the world, including the ASIFA-Hollywood Student Animation Festival.

ASIFA-Hollywood has the largest membership internationally of all other chapters, largely because the most popular cartoons ever produced were by studios and animation professionals located in the city of Burbank, which is also the location of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Center. It includes a virtual archive, museum, library and research facility, containing the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Project.

History and projects of ASIFA-Hollywood

ASIFA-Hollywood was founded in 1957, by Bill Scott, Stephen Bosustow, Ward Kimball, William T. Hurtz, Les Goldman, and Bill Littlejohn, and later chartered by UNESCO in 1960. June Foray was another early member, and recalled that she joined "a year or so" after the organization was chartered.

Today, its Board of Directors includes Frank Gladstone (Executive Director), Jerry Beck (President), David Derks (Vice-President), Jeff Wike (Treasurer), Bill Turner (Secretary), Paul Husband (General Counsel), Jamie Kezlarian Bolio, Brooke Keesling, Jennifer Klein, Dori Littell-Herrick, Aubry Mintz, Tom Sito, Charles Solomon, Mark Walton and Danny Young.

The Annie Awards

Main article: Annie Award

Since 1972, ASIFA-Hollywood has hosted an annual awards ceremony to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the art of animation. Originally designed to honor the lifetime achievements of veterans of the field, the Annie Awards now recognizes the year’s best animated productions and individual achievements in the field of animation. Qualified members participate in the nomination process and final voting.

Film preservation

Prior to 1950, motion pictures were printed on unstable, flammable nitrate film stock that decomposed over time, placing many early animated films in danger of being lost forever. Through the Animation Preservation Project, ASIFA-Hollywood seeks out to save endangered cartoons, and raises funds to preserve them on safety film stock and digital film.