News

Students from The Art Institute of Vancouver received top awards at the inaugral Canadian Awards for the Electronic and Animated Arts (CAEAA) on September 14 at the River Rock Casino and Resort. Hosted by none other than the legendary William Shatner, the awards honour outstanding achievements in talent development, animation, and video game development.

Three of 12 student categories were taken by Art Institute of Vancouver students, who were presented with an Elan for excellence in their work: Eugene Flormata received the Elan for “Best Writing for an Animated or New Media Production” for his animation short Zatomaru’s Boot; Injoon Hwang received the Elan for “Best Visual Effects in Animation or Video Game” for the phenomenal work on his demo reel; and Lani Lum-Watson took home the “Ready to Rocket” award. The “Ready to Rocket” award was a special presentation and it recognized Lani as the student who exhibits the most promise in Animation, Game Development and New Media.

William Shatner himself acknowledged The Art Institute of Vancouver in his opening remarks, and commented on the enormous Canadian talent pool and the contributions Canada makes to the global entertainment industry.

In addition to the student awards, a team of students from the school’s animation program created a short “sizzle” piece that helped open the show, which was attended by video game and animation luminaries. The dedicated crew spent countless hours and many sleepless nights putting together the piece, a slapstick look at the birth of animation. For a complete list of award winners, visit the official CAEAA website at www.caeaa.com.

The Art Institute of Vancouver is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), with 32 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.

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Contacts
Cliff Jones
Director of Public Relations
The Art Institute of Vancouver
3264 Beta Avenue, Burnaby, BC, V5G 4K4
Ph: 604.639.5117
Email: cjones@edmc.edu
www.aiv.aii.edu