Animation Block Party Set to Roll

Tuesday, July 08, 2008
By: Ryan Ball

The Fifth Annual Animation Block Party (ABP) is taking place July 25-27 in Brooklyn, New York. Festival favorites Hot Dog from Bill Plympton, Lapsus from Juan Pablo Zaramella and The Pearce Sisters from Luis Cook will be among the more than 100 short films scheduled to screen during the three-day summer festival. A complete list of films can be found at www.animationblock.com/summerfest08.

ABP opens on Friday, July 25 at Rooftop Films, featuring live music from Plushgun, followed by a screening of the festival's most fun and fan-friendly cartoons. A party at Bar Matchless will follow with free beer from Radeberger. The fun will continue on Saturday, July 26th at Bam Cinematek, with experimental works and music videos in Program One, and a storytelling focus in Program Two. Screenings will be followed by an after-party at Cherry Tree with free Newcastle courtesy of America's favorite fake news source, The Onion Inc. The fest will conclude on Sunday at Bam Cinematek with top professional-independent works in Program Three and narrative local and international shorts in Program Four. The after-party will be held at Habana Outpost, featuring streaming cartoons, food specials and free beer courtesy of Autodesk.

Winners in ten award categories, ranging from Best in Show to Original Design. will receive juried prizes. Software sponsors include Adobe, Toon Boom, Boinx and Autodesk. Crumpler Bags and Animation Magazine will also offer prizes for filmmakers. The winner of the student film competition will receive a production grant to create a PSA for the 2009 Animation Block Party. Other fest sponsors include L-Magazine, Without A Box, AWN and Pair.

Reader Comments

• Gary Jesch : Digital Puppeteer : CHOPS & Assoc. Live Animation

  Tuesday, July 08, 2008

  You know what this year\'s block party needs? A live animated character as the host and/or MC. To really show people what real-time animation can do. It\'s been around for 15 years, you know. And how about showing it on a fog screen, or something really cool? Like a moving head projector - that would be sick!

• sabramation : compositor : n/a

  Thursday, July 10, 2008

  i am very excited for this festival. read about it last summer, but was not able to go and this summer i will be in boston and will definitely drive to new york. i agree with the previous comment and think a real-time animation emcee would be wonderful, but cannot image it is possible. look at the oscars with animated characters, it is always pre-recorded.

• Kristof : Pro-Tools Record : KT Sessions

  Sunday, July 20, 2008

  This festival sounds like a lot of fun. I have seen Pearce Sisters, but not the new film from Bill Plympton.

• Rob : musician :

  Monday, July 28, 2008

  Great program - Bill Plympton\'s HOT DOG was hilarious, PEARCE SISTERS wonderfully dark and grim, some others I really liked - OUTSIDE AGITATOR by Morgan Miller, a great visual commentary on our times, ORDERLY CONFUSION by Robert Bohn, has some amazing sequences, and THE THINGS SHE WOULD TELL ME by Miryam Welbourne is one of the most powerful shorts I\'ve ever seen - disturbing, haunting and so matter-of-fact. great roto technique.

• Eric : Graphic Design :

  Friday, August 01, 2008

  they do a great job curating different styles and themes at APB. I must say I enjoyed the socially concious nature of the show I went to. Sometimes animation fests can get really juevenile, but this really was an adult program. Unfortately, I didnt get to see Outside Agitator or the Plympton one. For the Love of God from the UK deserves all the acclaim it can get. it\\\'s so refreshing to see homosexuality addressed so seriously and provactively in an animation piece. And The Things She Would Tell Me is a really unique one. Is Welbourne also a comic book artist ? I feel like I might have seen her stuff in an SPX anthology, but I could be wrong. very thought provoking.