Many international associations began as local
organisations which grew first to a national level and then, when their
activities and reputations flowed across their national borders, to their
legally constituted international identities. ASIFA, however was founded
without these developmental steps. It was born in France, but from the
very beginning, artists from east and west, from America, Europe and Asia
were involved in this first attempt to create a organisation dedicated
to the art of the animated film. It was not a kind of academic society
with high-brow members but rather a group of enthusiastic animation filmmakers
gathering together to create the possibilities for mutual understanding,
for sharing experiences and exchanging information, for possible collaboration
and for coming up with the formulae which could promote the art of animation
around the world.
Raoul Servais
Independence
- moral power, a
price to pay
Michel Ocelot
(ASIFA president, 1994-1999)
The fundamental internationalism of ASIFA
goes with a total independence. The association was formed by free individuals,
with no intervention by governments, super national bodies, commercial
enterprises. It remained this way and is free from any tie with politics
and commercialism. Its main income derive from the members' fees. Nobody
is payed within ASIFA. Its Board of Directors is elected through universal
suffrage by all members. This independence permits ASIFA to have access
to the most diverse countries, including the most antagonistic. Its moral
authority has opened many doors and eased many difficulties.
The price we pay for this independence
is fluctuating finances; One does not become an ASIFA member to make money,
but because one likes animation and people who make it, because one is
superior to frontiers and barbed wire, and ready to do one's part. This
organization is a unique ground, where people can meet and have things
happen. It is up to each one to have ideas and energy, to find some benefit
for oneself and for others, for the animation community, to fight when
necessary, to call forth what may be missing.
Many international associations began as local
organisations which grew first to a national level and then, when their
activities and reputations flowed across their national borders, to their
legally constituted international identities. ASIFA, however was founded
without these developmental steps. It was born in France, but from the
very beginning, artists from east and west, from America, Europe and Asia
were involved in this first attempt to create a organisation dedicated
to the art of the animated film. It was not a kind of academic society
with high-brow members but rather a group of enthusiastic animation filmmakers
gathering together to create the possibilities for mutual understanding,
for sharing experiences and exchanging information, for possible collaboration
and for coming up with the formulae which could promote the art of animation
around the world.
The fundamental internationalism of ASIFA
goes with a total independence. The association was formed by free individuals,
with no intervention by governments, super national bodies, commercial
enterprises. It remained this way and is free from any tie with politics
and commercialism. Its main income derive from the members' fees. Nobody
is payed within ASIFA. Its Board of Directors is elected through universal
suffrage by all members. This independence permits ASIFA to have access
to the most diverse countries, including the most antagonistic. Its moral
authority has opened many doors and eased many difficulties.