Big Toons in the Big Apple

Safron adds, “Bob Fox in 2005 showed a short with us called Breakfast, so we teamed up with Bob and pitched his film,which was picked up by the Sundance channel. So we just completed another Animation Block Production.”

With all its success, Safron plans to keep it an artist-driven event. “I don’t ever see Animation Block Party becoming a giant commercial entity with huge corporate sponsors,” he says, referring to other film festivals in the country. “I want to keep it on a grassroots and indie level. If corporate sponsorship would help make it a better festival and get us more funding to bring the filmmakers more opportunities, then that would certainly be considered. But it’s grassroots, it’s true to Brooklyn, and true to that first voice we had five years ago.”

At the end of the day Safron has big plans for the future. “I’d like it to be on an Annecy, Ottowa level. But right now this is the biggest animation festival on the east coast of the USA, and I think that’s pretty cool.”

Further information, including a complete film list and DVD’s, can be found on www.animationblock.com