Aug 4, 2010

Anime Block Party 2010 winners

The seventh annual Animation Block Party wrapped up in Brooklyn last Sunday. The event's organizer, Casey Safron, has created a unique and worthwhile event. When I attended on opening night (my first time at Animation Block), there was an enthusiastic crowd of over one thousand people who had gathered on the lawn of the Automotive High School to watch animated shorts on two big screens.

I served as a member of the jury along with Rachel Simon of World Leaders Entertainment, Dave Schlafman of CloudKid, and Ramin Zahed of Animation Magazine. The judging procedure for Animation Block differed from other festivals I've judged in that the jury's picks were averaged instead of attempting to form a consensus amongst all the members. Below you'll find our choices, each of whom will receive various software packages and other prizes

Two of the winners–Barbara Benas's Always Only Ever and Kyu-bum Lee's Death Buy Lemonade–will also be appearing shortly on Cartoon Brew TV's Student Animation Festival. The Best in Show prizewinner, Old Fangs, is embedded above.

ANIMATION BLOCK 2010 WINNERS Best in Show: Old Fangs by Adrien Merigeau, Ireland Original Design: Paper Daydream by Jun Iwakawa, United Kingdom Computer Animation: Urs by Moritz Mayerhofer, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Germany Experimental Film: Pink Spray Paint by Carly White, ENSAD, France Music Video: Spacious Thoughts by Fluorescent Hill, Montreal, Canada Narrative Short: Bygone Behemoth by Harry Chaskin, USA Student Film: Always Only Ever by Barbara Benas, CCAD, USA Minute or Under: How to Lose Weight in 60 Seconds by Dave Carter, Australia Documentary: Perista by Kim Weiner, RISD, USA Audience Award: Death Buy Lemonade by Kyu-bum Lee, Sheridan College, Canada