Toons Take Bite Out of Big Apple

A report on Brooklyn's recent Animation Block Party

by Jake Friedman.

*Originally published in the November, 2007 issue of Animation Magazine

This past summer, New York City was abuzz with animation. The biggest animation festival of the big apple, Animation Block Party, entertained, enlightened and enthralled from July 27th through July 30th. The Brooklyn-based festival showcased short films from around the world, though naturally included plenty from its home town.

For a fairly young festival, it’s almost surprising that it was able to rake in a total of 2,200 patrons. “It’s become huge,” gushes curator and founder Casey Safron. “We have over sixty filmmakers flying in from all over the world, from the U.K., from Canada, from France. This is the premiere animation festival of New York, and it’s what everybody’s been looking forward to for a long time.”

Animation Block Party stands out from other film or animation festivals in its empathy for the little guy. More films by independents and students are screened here than at your average festival. “The main thing about us is that we focus on showing all genres of film, and each night of the festival has its own feeling,” says Safron. “We’ve really emphasized the underground, the punk rock, the grass roots side of things and the fest has just taken off, it’s taken a life of its own. And on top of that, we really like to work with student animators.”

Safron is careful to make the fest student-friendly, requiring a low student submission fee and an open mind for fresh, experimental ideas. “The biggest thing is finding new, original voices,” admits Safron. “An accepted film has something that hits me, a look I had not seen before. Sometimes it’s something that is so simple that it just strikes you. Sometimes, for a more experimental film, the experience watching the visuals grab me in such a way that a narrative short might not.”

Some choice animated pieces included “Shut Eye Hotel” by Bill Plympton and “Everything Will Be OK” by Don Hertzvelt, as well as up-and-comers like “Doxology” by Michael Langan, “The Wisdom Tooth” by Phillippa Rice, the perfectly-titled “Untitled” by Anthony Mair, and “Stoned Wheat” by a young upstart.

Safron says that his brainchild started out as a small intimate social event. “I knew all these people in the animation community in New York, and a few outside new York. I started showing their films at clubs in Soho and the lower east side back in 2003 and 2004. Then, at one screening, out of nowhere, the New York Times showed up. The said it was amazing and they kept asking when we were going to do this again. One of my friends knew of a venue that had a rooftop screening, so he said, ‘why don’t you do a screening there and we can have a party at my place?’ So we did, and we ended up assembling thirty-five shorts.”

That has brought us to today, where eighty-eight short films played for four days, sometimes with a local rock band opening for the screening, and always followed by refreshments at a local bar. This year met with special awards for “Hedgehug” by U-Arts student Dan Pinto, the eclectic “When I Grow Up” by Michelle Meeker, “Zoologic” by Calarts student Nicole Mitchell, the catchy music video “Me-I” by Mixtape Club and Daniel Garcia, “A Faery’s Tale” by CG animator and SVA student Sylvia Apostol, the short-and-sweet “Legend of Cranky Verne” by Laika, the narrative “How She Slept at Night” by Lilli Carre, the experimental “Phantom Canyon” by Stacey Steers and the audience favorite, “Snake,” by Becky James. The coveted Best in Show prize was awarded to Vladimir Lesciov for the enchanting “Lost in Snow.” The jurors consisted of local animation professionals.

Who better to garner such publicity on Safron’s behalf than the new folks breaking into the biz? “We’re about finding the new talent, the next people, he people who have something new and fresh to say. And obviously we’re mixing that in with the old-school masters that have been doing this for years.” Adds Safron, “as people have latched on to the festival, it’s grown in different ways. We put all our energy into this one great event and really making it as great as it could be.”

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