George R.R. Martin Set to Receive Infinity Festival Lifetime Honour
George R.R. Martin has been chosen to receive the Monolith Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Infinity Festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He is the author of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, which inspired HBO's Game of Thrones. Brad Bird, the filmmaker behind The Iron Giant and The Incredibles, is also receiving the award this year.
The festival runs from Nov. 12 to 15 at the Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Los Angeles. It is the ninth edition of the event, which focuses on animation and science fiction.
Martin is also producing a short film that will be shown at the festival. Heirs of the Perisphere is a science-fiction short based on a story by author Howard Waldrop. Chris Eyre directed it, and Caroline Spector wrote the screenplay. It had its premiere at the Santa Fe International Film Festival before its special screening in Los Angeles.
The festival also hosts the ASIFA Animation Showcase on Nov. 14 and 15, run in partnership with ASIFA-Hollywood, the Los Angeles branch of the international animation association. Pola Maneli, who directed the animated short Apart, has joined the showcase lineup. Apart was co-written by Spike Lee and premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Festival. It follows the friendship of two boys in apartheid-era South Africa.
The showcase is part of ASIFA-Hollywood's yearly "For Your Consideration" event. Studios and filmmakers use these screenings to put their work in front of awards voters, so the showcase is often seen as the start of animation's awards season.
The opening keynote falls on Nov. 13. LAIKA president and CEO Travis Knight will speak in conversation with Aubry Mintz, executive director of ASIFA-Hollywood.
For anyone planning to attend, the festival offers a mix of honours, premieres and conversations across three days. The lineup brings together fantasy writing, television, and animation in one place, with the lifetime awards giving the weekend its headline names.
