Rainmaker Entertainment's Animated Short Film - Luna - Selected to Screen at Siggraph Computer Animation Festival

Online, June 28, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Multifaceted animation studio Rainmaker Entertainment (TSX:RNK) has completed production on its animation short LUNA, and the film has been selected to screen at the iconic Electronic Theater at the upcoming SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival.

The SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater stands alone in curating and showcasing the very best of computer animation. Every year, highly respected jurors choose from among hundreds of submissions to select the year's best computer animations, to be shown at the SIGGRAPH annual conference. A total of 77 films will be shown during the festival. There were 891 submissions, representing 44 countries. LUNA will screen on August 8-10th from 6 to 8 p.m. and on August 11th from 10 a.m. to noon. The SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater will be located in the West Building, Exhibit Hall A at the Vancouver Convention Center.

LUNA is a creative labor of love for Catherine Winder, President and Executive Producer at Rainmaker Entertainment, and her talented artists and production team. It was the first project she green-lit when joining the company two years ago, seeing it as an opportunity to showcase the innovative and artistic talents of the Rainmaker Entertainment team, which also conceived the storyline.

LUNA depicts the flirtatious dance between a charming and debonair caterpillar (Silky) and a beautiful and graceful month (Luna). But Luna is perplexed. Is their story one of unrequited love at first sight or will true feelings be revealed in a glaring flood of light?

"Like all of our original in-house projects, LUNA was carefully handcrafted to realize a unique aesthetic style that best suited our story and characters," said Winder. " We decided to tell Luna's story using a film noir black and white style, with touches of a yellow glow at key story points to symbolize love, attraction and passion. This special effect and technique added depth to the characters and enriched the storyline."

She continued, "Being outside the traditional Hollywood studio environment, I encourage our Rainmaker team to take creative risks and be innovative in their approach to visual storytelling. I think that is what sets us apart from other animation studios and also what attracts filmmakers to us. We are experienced at helping filmmakers realize their creative vision and I think LUNA is a perfect example of our abilities and talents."

LUNA, which has enjoyed a limited screening engagement at the AMC Century City 15 in Los Angeles, California was originally produced in 2D and will be screened in that format at the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater. Rainmaker is putting the finishing touches on a 3D stereo version of LUNA and will host a special screening at its headquarters in Vancouver on the evening of August 10th.

Inspired by an original concept by in-house producer, Luke Carroll, LUNA was produced and written by Catherine Winder and directed by Donna Brockopp. Kimberly Dennison was the Supervising Producer with Kylie Ellis acting as Line Producer. Francesca Natale was the Production Designer and the music was composed by John McCarthy. Sound Design and Re-recording Mixing by Craig Berkey.

"I am pleased to be part of the LUNA production team and was proud to work with the Rainmaker artists to bring to life this enchanting tale in such an unique and visually impressive way by utilizing the latest in CGI technology," said the director Brockopp, whose animation credits include Disney's The Jungle Book 2 and Peter Pan's The Return to Never Land. "Luna and Silky will delight, charm and mesmerize audiences in this endearing story."

Rainmaker Entertainment Inc., a multifaceted animation studio, is one of Canada's largest producers of CG animation. With an innovative history that spans over 15 years, Rainmaker today continues to tell engaging stories and create compelling characters for all media. The studio's 300+ creatively-inspired artists and storytellers are currently producing the feature film Escape from Planet Earth for The Weinstein Company and are in development on the company's slate of proprietary films. Originally established as Mainframe Entertainment, the company broke ground by producing the first ever CGI animation series ReBoot. In addition to developing its own properties, Rainmaker also produces feature length DVD's for many top international brands including Barbie, Max Steel, Tony Hawk, and more. Rainmaker's clients include Mattel, The Weinstein Company, Lionsgate, Sony, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts and MTV. For more information, go to www.rainmaker.com.