UPDATING: COVID-19 Risk Shuts Down Global Festivals, Cons, Conferences

Latest updates: Comic-Con canceled, Cannes parallel sections canceled, Napa Valley Film Festival canceled, gamescom/devcom go fully digital, Digital Dragons indie game fest moved online

As cities, regions and entire countries enact emergency measures, international festivals and conferences have shut down or put off their upcoming editions due to the ongoing global spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Here is a brief rundown on animation, film, TV, gaming and fandom events affected, which Animag will be updating as announcements are made:

• Comic-Con Int’l (July 23-26; San Diego, CA) CANCELED. Virtual “Comic-Con@Home” initiatives, including panels, interviews and Online Exhibit Hall, in the works. www.comic-con.org
• Cannes Film Festival: Directors’ Fortnight, Critics’ Week and ACID (May 12-23; Cannes, France) CANCELED. Next editions: TBA. www.festival-cannes.com/en
• Napa Valley Film Festival (November; Napa Valley, CA) CANCELED. Next Edition: November 10-14, 2021. www.napavalleyfilmfest.org
• gamescom (August 25-29) and devcom (Aug. 22-24; Cologne, Germany) MOVED ONLINE. Established digital formats to be expanded and new ones added for both convention and developer’s conference. www.gamescom.global
• Digital Dragons Indie Celebration (May 13-15) MOVED ONLINE. Presented on Steam by Walkabout Games, Digital Dragons and Valve. Submissions open thru April 16. Next edition: Sept. 14-15 (Krakow, Poland). http://digitaldragons.pl/digital-dragons-indie-celebration
• Annecy Festival | MIFA (June 15-20; Annecy, France) CANCELED. Official selection to be announced April 15, will “disclose an offer that will be elaborate and up to the expectations of our festivalgoers and loyal Mifa professionals.” Next edition: June 14-19, 2021. www.annecy.org
• NATPE Budapest Int’l (June 30-July 3; Budapest, Hungary) POSTPONED. Next edition: August 25-27. www.natpe.com/budapest
• NATPE Streaming Plus (July 28; Los Angeles, CA) POSTPONED. Next edition: September 15. www.natpe.com/streamingplus
• Ibero-American Animation Quirino Awards (April 18; Tenerife, Spain) POSTPONED. Digital edition being planned for awards, co-pro and business forum — dates TBA. https://premiosquirino.org/en
• Stuttgart Int’l Festival of Animated Film (May 5-10; Stuttgart, Germany) MOVED ONLINE. Free streaming festival, plus paid On-Demand film access and industry-only content. http://itfs.de / http://onlinefestival.itfs.de
• The Children’s Media Conference (July 7-9; Sheffield, U.K.) is now The Children’s Media Community “Still Here Right Now”. Online programs will roll out leading up to a virtual conference, including a focus on the Chinese market (April 21) and virtual meetings with Chinese platforms & co-producers (April 22). www.thechildrensmediaconference.com
• Tribeca Film Festival (April 15-26; New York City, NY) MOVED ONLINE. Select virtual programming includes Tribeca Immersive Cinema 360 (on Oculus devices April 17); Jury & Art Awards; N.O.W. Creators Market (industry-only), Industry Extranet Resource Hub; Tribeca X Awards showcase (April 3). www.tribecafilm.com
• QuakeCon (August 6-9; Grapevine, TX) CANCELED. Next edition: Online event TBD. https://quakecon.bethesda.net
• Gala Quebec Cinema (June 7; Montreal, QC) CANCELED. Next edition: TBD. https://gala.quebeccinema.ca
• FFAA | Festival du film d’animation d’Abidjan (May 29-31; Abidjan, Ivory Coast) MOVED ONLINE. https://ffaafestival.com
• RTX (July 3-5; Austin, TX) POSTPONED. Next edition: September 5-7, 2020 (Labor Day Weekend). https://rtxevent.com
• Peabody Awards (June 18; Los Angeles, CA) POSTPONED. Next edition: TBA 2020. http://peabodyawards.com
• Mammoth Lakes Film Festival (May 20-24; Mammoth Lakes, CA) POSTPONED. Next edition: September 16-20, 2020. www.mammothlakesfilmfestival.com
• Anime Frontier Powered by Crunchyroll (May 20-22; Fort Worth, TX) CANCELED. Next edition: May 14-16, 2021. http://animefrontier.com
• Banff World Media Festival (June 14-17; Banff, AB) CANCELED. Next edition: 2021. https://banffmediafestival.playbackonline.ca
• Cannes Lions Int’l Festival of Creativity (June 22-26; Cannes, France) POSTPONED. Next edition: October 26-30, 2020. www.canneslions.com
• VidCon (June 17-20; Anaheim, CA) CANCELED. VidCon Mexico postponed to September, VidCon Abu Dhabi postponed to December. www.vidcon.com
• LA Screenings (May 12-14; Los Angeles, CA): MOVED ONLINE. Next edition: Virtual Screenings 2020, same dates.
• BAFTA events (U.K.): CANCELED. All live film/TV/games gatherings, lectures and seminars through April.
• Quickdraw Animation Society (Calgary, AB) CLOSED. Workspace, classes and screenings shutdown until further notice.
• NAB Show (April 18-22; Las Vegas, NV): MOVED ONLINE. Next edition: NAB Show Express digital edition April 2020; expanded NAB Show New York Oct. 21-22.
• Daytime Emmy Awards & Creative Arts ceremonies (June 12-14; Pasadena, CA) CANCELED. Next edition: TBA. www.emmys.com
• Fathom Events screenings (U.S.A.) including, CANCELED: Steven Universe: The Movie Sing-A-Long Event (March 23); POSTPONED: Children of the Sea (April 20 & 22), Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna (March 25), Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] I. presage flower & II. lost butterfly Double Feature (April 23), Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] III. spring song (May 7), PROMARE (Complete) (April 7 & 8). www.fathomevents.com
• Cannes Film Festival & Marché du Film (May 12-23; Cannes, France) POSTPONED. Next edition: Festival, Summer 2020 TBA; Market, virtual version in works. www.festival-cannes.com/en.
• Int’l Emmy Kids Awards (March 31; Cannes, France) MOVED ONLINE. The annual ceremony at MIPTV will be replaced by social media announcements (FB/TW/IG: @iemmys) beginning at 8 a.m. EST. http://www.iemmys.tv/international-emmy-awards/kids-awards
• Cape Town Int’l Animation Festival (May 1-3; Cape Town, South Africa) POSTPONED. Next edition: April 24-27, 2021. A special CTIAF curated shorts program will screen at Annecy 2020. http://www.ctiaf.com
• NY Licensing Leadership Summit (March 16-17; New York City, NY) POSTPONED. Next edition: November 5-6, 2020. www.licensingleadershipsummit.com
• Free Comic Book Day (May 2, U.S.A.) POSTPONED. Next edition: Summer 2020 TBA. https://freecomicbookday.com
• DreamHack Dallas (May 22-24; Dallas, TX) POSTPONED. Next edition: August 14-16, 2020. https://dreamhack.com/dallas
• DreamHack Summer (June 12-14; Jönköping, Sweden) POSTPONED. Next edition: August 6-9, 2020. DreamHack Masters TBA. https://dreamhack.com/summer
• Funko stores (Everett, WA / Hollywood, CA) CLOSED until further notice. www.funko.com
• Anime Boston (April 10-12; Boston, MA): CANCELED. Next edition: April 2-4, 2021. www.animeboston.com
• British Academy Television Craft Awards (April 26; London, U.K.): POSTPONED. Next edition: TBA 2020. www.bafta.org
• Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards (May 17; London, U.K.): POSTPONED. Next edition: TBA 2020. www.bafta.org
• Series Mania (canceled) is now Series Mania Digital Forum, available online March 25-April 7. Includes pitching sessions, “Coming Next From” and curated Buyers Showcase. https://seriesmaniadigital.com/
• Royal Television Society Programme Awards (March 17; London, U.K.) MOVED ONLINE. https://rts.org.uk/article/rts-programme-awards-2020-live-stream-partnership-audio-network/
• AMC movie theaters (U.S.A.) ALL LOCATIONS CLOSED. 630 cinemas closed for 6-12 weeks, effective March 17. https://www.amctheatres.com/
• Ann Arbor Film Festival (March 24-29; Ann Arbor, MI): CANCELED. Next edition: TBA. http://aafilmfest.org
• San Francisco Int’l Film Festival (April 8-21; San Francisco, CA): CANCELED. Next edition: 2021; SFFILM 2020 events TBA. http://sffilm.org/
• gamesweekberlin (April 17-19; Berlin, Germany): POSTPONED. Next editions: July 22-25 (A MAZE./Berlin Festival of ART X), Oct. 28 (Digital Games Culture Foundation Conference), Oct. 29-30 (QUO VADIS conference, Womenize! recruitment platform, German eSports Summit; in cooperation with EGX Berlin Oct. 30-Nov. 1). www.gamesweekberlin.com
• TAAFI Animation/VFX Job Fair (April 25; Toronto, ON): POSTPONED. Next edition: TBA 2020. https://taafi.com/#/jobfair
• Animation Production Days (May 6-9; Stuttgart, Germany): CANCELED. Next edition: 2021. www.animationproductiondays.de/en
• NATPE LA Screenings Independents (May 12-14; Los Angeles, CA): CANCELED. Next edition: 2021. http://lascreenings.org/LASI2019.html
• Licensing Expo (May 19-21; Las Vegas, NV): POSTPONED. Next edition: August 11-13. http://licensingexpo.com
• Quickdraw Animation Society – classes & screenings (Calgary, AB) CANCELED. Workspace remains open. Next editions: Classes resume March 23, Saturday MASS (Persepolis) April 4, Spring Break Camp going ahead March 23. https://quickdrawanimation.ca
• Egyptian & Aero Theatres (Hollywood/Santa Monica, CA) CLOSED effective March 13. https://americancinematheque.com
• Society of Illustrators Museum (New York City, NY) CLOSED effective March 14. www.societyillustrators.org
• Universal Studios Hollywood (Los Angeles, CA) CLOSED through March 28. Universal CityWalk will remain open.
• Disneyland Park & Disney California Adventure (Anaheim, CA) CLOSED effective March 14
• Hong Kong Disneyland (China) CLOSED
• Tokyo Disneyland (Japan) CLOSED
• Broadway Theaters (New York City, NY) CANCELED all performances through April 12
• New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival Final Weekend (March 14-15): CANCELED. Next edition: 2021. https://nyicff.org
• GLAS Animation Festival (March 19-22; Berkeley, CA) CANCELED. Next edition: 2021. glasanimation.com
• Canadian Screen Week & Awards Gala (March 23-29; Toronto, ON; Montreal, QC; Vancouver, BC, Canada) CANCELED. Next edition: 2021. 2020 Awards TBA. academy.ca/category/canadian-screen-week
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (March 28-29; Charlotte, NC) POSTPONED. Next edition: TBA. yugioh-card.com/en/events/index.html
• WonderCon (April 10-12; Anaheim, CA): POSTPONED. Next edition: TBA 2020. comic-con.org/wca
• NBCUNiversal 2020-2021 Upfront Presentation (May 11; New York City, NY) MOVED ONLINE
• Mobile World Congress (Feb. 24-27; Barcelona, Spain): CANCELED Next edition: March 1-4, 2021. www.mwcbarcelona.com
• Emerald City Comic Con (March 12-15; Seattle, WA): POSTPONED. Next edition: Summer 2020. emeraldcitycomiccon.com
• SXSW Conference & Festivals (March 13-22; Austin, TX): CANCELED. Next edition: TBD. sxsw.com
• Game Developers Conference (March 16-20; San Francisco, CA): MOVED ONLINE. Next edition: Sessions streaming on Twitch 3/16-3/20. https://gdconf.com | twitch.tv/gdc
• Independent Games Festival & Game Developers Choice Awards (March 18): MOVED ONLINE. Streams start at 5 p.m. PT.
• GDC Day of the Devs (March 18): MOVED ONLINE. Stream starts at 4 p.m. PT.
• Hong Kong Filmart (March 25-28, Hong Kong): POSTPONED Next edition: August 27-29, 2020. https://event.hktdc.com/fair/hkfilmart-en/
• Nvidia GPU Technology Conference: MOVED ONLINE. Next edition: GTC Digital March 25. nvidia.com/en-us/gtc/?ncid=em-targ-77456
• MIPTV (March 30-April 2; Cannes, France): CANCELED. Next edition: April 12-15, 2021. miptv.com
• Cartoons on the Bay (April 2-5; Pescara, Italy): POSTPONED. Next edition: TBA 2020. cartoonsbay.rai.it/en
• MoCCA Arts Festival (April 4-5; New York City, NY): POSTPONED Next edition: TBA 2020. www.societyillustrators.org/mocca-arts-festival
• FMX Conference (May 5-8; Stuttgart, Germany): CANCELED. Next edition: May 4-7, 2021. http://fmx.de
• Creative Week 2020 (The One Show, 99th ADC Awards) (May 11-15; New York City, New York): CANCELED. Next edition: One Show, ADC Awards and Young Ones Awards to be held online. creativeweek.org
• E3 (June 9-11; Los Angeles, CA): CANCELED. Next edition: 2021. e3expo.com

The World Health Organization released an informational video about what COVID-19 is, how it spreads, and how individuals can protect themselves and others from the risk of infection.

If you have information on other animation, VFX and related events that have canceled or postponed their 2020 editions, drop us a line at edit@www.animationmagazine.net