ASIFA-Hollywood has set its new slate of officers for its executive board of directors. The new officers are: Board president, Sue Shakespeare; VP, Jerry Beck; 2nd VP, Brooke Keesling; 3rd VP, David Derks; chief financial officer, Jeff Wike; and secretary, Jeanette Bonds. All of the newly appointed officers are currently active in their positions with ASIFA-Hollywood. Executive board officers are selected for a term of three years, with the possibility of a second term if re-elected, for a total of six years.
Shakespeare has served on the ASIFA-Hollywood board for six years and is the president of the independent animation studio, Creative Capers Entertainment. “Having a female as well as independent studio presence as an executive board officer is extremely important,” said Shakespeare. “In this capacity, I’m excited to bring a point of view to the ASIFA-Hollywood board that directly aligns with its diverse membership.”
ASIFA-Hollywood is the world’s first and foremost professional organization dedicated to promoting the art of animation and celebrating the people who create it. The group’s Annie Awards have grown in scope and stature over the past four decades. The Annie Awards competition was crated in 1972 by veteran voice talent June Foray, in whose name the philanthropic June Foray Award was established. Today, ASIFA-Hollywood, the largest chapter of the international organization ASIFA, supports a range of animation activities and preservation efforts through its membership. Current initiatives include the Animation Archive, Animation Aid Foundation, Animation Educators Forum, animated film preservation, special events, scholarships and screenings
Local school staple “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” from 1939 hits the big screen nationwide
Most Maine schoolchildren know about the boy lost for more than a week in 1939 after climbing the state's tallest mountain. Now the rest of the U.S. is getting in on the story.
Opening in 650 movie theaters on Friday, "Lost on a Mountain in Maine" tells the harrowing tale of 12-year-old Donn Fendler, who spent nine days on Mount Katahdin and the surrounding wilderness before being rescued. The gripping story of survival commanded the nation's attention in the days before World War II and the boy's grit earned an award from the president.
For decades, Fendler and Joseph B. Egan's book, published the same year as the rescue, has been required reading in many Maine classrooms, like third-grade teacher Kimberly Nielsen's.
"I love that the overarching theme is that Donn never gave up. He just never quits. He goes and goes," said Nielsen, a teacher at Crooked River Elementary School in Casco, who also read the book multiple times with her own kids.
Separated from his hiking group in bad weather atop Mount Katahdin, Fendler used techniques learned as a Boy Scout to survive. He made his way through the woods to the east branch of the Penobscot River, where he was found more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) from where he started. Bruised and cut, starved and without pants or shoes, he survived nine days by eating berries and lost 15 pounds (7 kilograms).
The boy's peril sparked a massive search and was the focus of newspaper headlines and nightly radio broadcasts. Hundreds of volunteers streamed into the region to help.
The movie builds on the children's book, as told by Fendler to Egan, by drawing upon additional interviews and archival footage to reinforce the importance of family, faith and community during difficult times,... Read More