Animation is a genre at the forefront of cinema entertaining the widest public. With kids in the seats comes parents in tow. We'd love to hear from you! Register to Animation Day in Cannes 

The tentacles of animation spread far and wide. Animation for the first epic Star Wars film gave birth to photoshop which has now become a verb as in "Has this been photoshopped?" If we include visual effects, green screen, classic and CGI, animation as a genre is way ahead in dollars spent and returns on investment. The graphic application began as a technology created during the  production of the original Star Wars film. The program credits dozens of names was originally the product bt two brothers Thomas and John Knoll both fascinated by technology and art. It was a trait they'd inherited from their father, a photographer with his own darkroom in the basement with early home computers.

Thomas experimented with photography learning about colour correction and contrast in the darkroom, and John explored his father’s Apple II computer. Their father bought one of the first Macs on the market in 1984, both were bowled over by its capabilities. Yet ironically it was its shortcomings that would lead to the multi-million dollar application present in every hard drive today.

In 1987 John Knoll was working at Industrial Light and Magic - Lucasfilm's nascent special effects division, founded for Star Wars - while Thomas was studying for his Ph.D. on image processing at the University of Michigan. Having just bought a brand-new Apple Mac Plus to help out with his thesis, he was dismayed to find it couldn't display greyscale images on the monochrome monitor. So, in true hacker style, he set about writing his own code to do the job.

Bruno Chatelin of filmfestivals.com sign original Nesta drawing created at Animation Day in Cannes during the Cannes FIlm Festival

Screening at Animation Day in Cannes Ryan Larkin's Spare Change produced by Musivision on screen 

When you walk around Cannes you will find giant display stand promoting Peanuts the Movie attracting the attention and putting a smile on the face of every passerby. Why? Because animation film talks to the fuzzy wuzzy inside of us. 

The panel with creators of Disney's Pixar Inside Out or a presentation by Tim Burton are always a surefire success.

Why not host your own panel or present your film or project.  Link below.

Italian TV playing report on the heart warming The Peanuts Movie promotional display

We started Animation Day in Cannes in 2015 because a gathering had to happen to encourage and acknowledge all the talent present.  A meetup! If you are attending Cannes with an animation film produced or in development a VR project or film director we encourage you to register with us and participate in our upcoming edition May 18, 2016. Join us and share your energy! Share the experience. Register here to participate in Animation Day in Cannes