Vote for your favourite animation in the British Animation Awards 2010 and raise funds for The Poly

If you love Creature Comforts, are astounded by Avatar, and wonder at the wonderful world of animation, then make your way to The Poly in Falmouth on 9, 11 and 23 February, where you are invited to watch a mix of brand new animations and vote for your favourites as part of the British Animation Awards (BAA) 2010.

The Public Choice section of this industry awards scheme showcases the best of recent British animation from some of the nation's most talented animators and enables audiences throughout the UK to vote for winners in three categories: animated commercials, music video and film.

Hosted by University College Falmouth's (UCF) Digital Animation degree course, more than 35 films will be screened at The Poly, as well as at 26 other venues across the country.  Sponsors and contributors include Aardman Animation, the famed creators of Wallace and Gromit, as well as CBBC, C4 Digital Shorts and the UK Film Council.

Each programme contains a different mix of short films, animated commercials and music videos, including several international festival award winners.  Programme 1 will screen on Tuesday 9 February from 8.00pm; Programme 2 will screen on Thursday 11 February from 8.00pm; and Programme 3 will screen on Tuesday 23 February from 6.00pm.

The BAA's themselves are unique artworks created especially for the occasion by a range of leading international and UK animation artists including Derek Hayes, the BAFTA award-winning animator and lecturer on the University College's BA(Hons) Digital Animation course.  As BAA is the noise sheep make, all the awards are on a sheep related theme and this will be the fifth year that Derek has made one of the awards.  This year he has created a sheep's skull encrusted with jewels in the shape of the union jack, as a pastiche of the work of Damien Hirst.

"To many people, animation brings to mind Pixar or Disney, but there are many more animators producing pioneering work that we rarely have a chance to view on a big screen," said Andy Wyatt, Course Leader on BA(Hons) Digital Animation and Animation Supervisor for Ooglies, the CBBC series that brings everyday objects to life. "In a very short space of time, Falmouth has quickly built a reputation as an international centre of excellence for animation and we continue to provide students with inside knowledge of the animation industry and opportunities for invaluable work experience through our strong industry links and professional practice."

Keith Hambly-Staite, Chairman of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society added: "I was particularly delighted that the University College has been able to support The Poly in such a positive and helpful way.  Film lovers can both enjoy themselves and help The Poly at the same time.  I believe that this important collaboration demonstrates that The Poly is still perceived as being at the heart of the creative community in Falmouth."

The three-year BA(Hons) Digital Animation course at Falmouth combines cutting-edge animation practice with the study of animation theory, film language, drawing and traditional animation processes.  The University College's Digital Animation Studio is equipped with the latest software, specialist desks and lighting for animation drawing - and even a skeleton to enable students to capture movement in their characterisations.

Held every two years, the BAAs are the most prestigious awards in animation that celebrate and recognise British animation talent across all mediums, with past winners including Nick Park, Tim Burton and David Shrigley.

This is a rare opportunity to see pioneering work in the centre of Falmouth.  Tickets for the screenings on 9, 11 and 23 February are priced at £6 per screening, with £5 concessions and £4 for students.  All of the money raised from ticket sales will be donated to The Poly to help the Society to sustain a programme of innovative cultural events during 2010.  To purchase tickets, please contact 01326 313388 or visit the gift shop at National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth's Events Square.

If you require any special assistance to help you attend any of our events or have questions about event accessibility, please get in touch by emailing events@falmouth.ac.uk or telephoning 01326 213756.

For further information about BA(Hons) Digital Animation at University College Falmouth, visit www.falmouth.ac.uk/digitalanimation, email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 213851.

University College Falmouth is the only independent Higher Education institution in Cornwall with the powers to award degrees in its own name.  It has two campuses in Cornwall - at Woodlane in Falmouth and Tremough in Penryn (which it owns, and jointly manages with the University of Exeter) - and a third campus at Totnes in Devon, following its merger with Dartington College of Arts in 2008.

his merger created a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Choreography, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing.  The Devon-based courses will relocate to a new, high-specification Performance Centre at Tremough in 2010, paving the way for a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall by 2012/2013 that will be unique to the South West. 

The College is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One and Convergence), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall Council.

Ends

For further information about University College Falmouth, please contact Jilly Easterby MCIPR, Head of Public Affairs, Telephone: 01326 213792, or email:  jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk

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