Historian, teacher and award-winning animator John Canemaker will be the keynote speaker at VisionFest, a student animation festival to be hosted by the IU School of Informatics June 2–5 in Indianapolis.

Canemaker is professor and director of the Department of Animation at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. A noted historian of the animation industry, he has written numerous books, including Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation. He also has directed the documentaries Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat and Remembering Winsor McCay. His most recent film, The Moon and the Son, premiered at the Museum of Modern Art on Jan. 5.

“We are thrilled to have such a renowned figure in the animation world join us for our first event,” said Mark McCreary, assistant dean of the School of Informatics at IUPUI. “Students and attendees will no doubt be inspired by his breadth of knowledge and experiences in the industry.”

Invited speakers and jurors for VisionFest include Zareh Gorjian, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Kerry Shea, production manager, Madagascar, Pacific Data Images; Scott and Georgia Ball, the Animation Closet; Bob Schreck, Batman Group Editor, D.C. Comics; Dan Casey, Vinton Studios; Rich McKain, Oddworld; Jay Francis and Eric Radomski, Phuuz; artist Matt Wagner; and Ila Abramson, I Spy Recruiting.

Students are encouraged to submit work to the competition. Deadline for submission is March 18.

http://www.visionfest.org