Animatron winners announced

Professional jury members Saraswathi Balgam, Charlotte Bavasso, Pete Bishop, Isaac Littlejohn Eddy, Tommy Pallotta, Bill Plympton, Frank Rivera and Jeff Scher picked the $17,000 cash-prize winners of the first Babelgum “Animatron” Animation Film Festival, who were announced Sunday at the Hamptons International Film Festival Awards Ceremony.

The Winning Films (viewable at www.babelgum.com/animatron) Are:

FANTASY CATEGORY
Jury Award Winner $2,500
“This Is J03,” Once Were Farmers (U.K.)
Runner-up $500
“Noesis,” Sophie Klevenow (Germany/U.K.)
Audience Award
“Wherever You Go, There You Are,” Sara Barbas (Portugal/U.K.)

HUMOR CATEGORY
Jury Award Winner $2,500
“Pigeon Impossible,” Lucas Martell (U.S.)
Runner-Up $500
“Ant & Len,” Jon Marsh & Duncan Raitt (U.K.)
Audience Award
“Luke: The History of Denim,” Drew Roper (U.K.)

MINIS CATEGORY
Jury Award Winner $2,500
“Dog Judo: Meat Sprinkles,” Dave Anderson (U.K.)
Runner-up $500
“Knit’N’Purl,” Rhiannon Evans (U.K.)
Audience Award
“Only in Dreams,” Adam Badlotto (U.S.)

REAL LIFE CATEGORY
Jury Award Winner $2,500
“Prayers for Peace,” Dustin Grella (U.S.)
Runner-up $500
“How to Animate,” Jordan Wood (U.K.)
Audience Award
“How to Animate,” Jordan Wood (U.K.)

GRAND JURY AWARD WINNER $5,000
“Coalition of the Willing,” Knife Party (U.K.)

“We’re proud to showcase and support the work of so many talented independent animators,” said Karol Martesko-Fenster, SVP and General Manager of Babelgum’s Film and Animation Division, “In the coming months, we’ll be focusing more intensely on the art of animation for online and mobile audiences, and the Animatron competition was a great way to get the ball rolling. Our hope is to make it one of the preeminent annual events for short-form filmmakers looking for new ways to distribute their best-quality work.”

“We were delighted to partner with Babelgum on their inaugural animation festival,” said Karen Arikian, Executive Director of the Hamptons International Film Festival. “It was a great success all around, from the screening and panel discussion to the on-site audience voting, and fit perfectly with our own animation events and programming this year. We look forward to working together on a future edition.”

More than 25,000 people viewed over 200 films from more than two dozen countries, including Albania, Taiwan, Greece, India, Spain, Russia, Romania, Poland, Japan, Germany, Canada, Italy, Brazil, the U.S., and the U.K. Approximately ten films in each of the four categories – Fantasy, Humor, Minis, and Real Life – were shortlisted, with the final decisions being made by the professional jurors. Over 3,500 votes in three weeks were cast via the Babelgum web and mobile platforms plus the Hamptons Festival on-site audience to determine the Audience Award winners. The winning films can be viewed at www.babelgum.com/animatron and on the Babelgum mobile platform (www.babelgum.com/mobile), along with all the films entered in the competition.

The Babelgum Animatron Animation Film Festival celebrates the very best in international independent animated short filmmaking, providing international exposure as well as lucrative opportunities for emerging talent. The five winners take home cash prizes totalling $17,000, with awards given to 1st place and runner-up contestants in each of the four categories, as well as a Grand Jury Prize winner. Babelgum co-presented the Hamptons Animation Showcase, an eclectic animated shorts program at the 2010 Hamptons International Film Festival, with additional support on marketing and media visibility from Shooting People, the social network for independent filmmakers, and RingTales, a company that specializes in animating syndicated comic strips (Dilbert, The New Yorker).

FESTIVAL JURY
Saraswathi Balgam, founding director of Rhythm & Hues India, president of ASIFA India
Charlotte Bavasso, founding partner/managing director of Nexus Productions (Lemony Snicket)
Peter Bishop, animator (Captain Star, Bromwell High)
Isaac Littlejohn Eddy, animator (Cat, Dog, Stoop) and cartoonist (The New Yorker, Time)
Tommy Pallotta, producer (A Scanner Darkly, Waking Life) and director (American Prince)
Bill Plympton, director and animator (Idiots and Angels, Hair High, Guard Dog)
Frank Rivera, animator (Nickelodeon, PBS) and founder of Animation Mafia studio
Jeff Scher, painter and filmmaker (A Year in the Animated Life, HBO, PBS)

CATEGORIES
HUMOR: Cartoons/animation that look at life slightly askew
FANTASY: Sci-fi, horror, adventure, outer space, imaginary worlds, genre-based
REAL LIFE: Animated documentary, RotoScope, interview-based films
MINIS: Under 60 seconds

AWARDS
• The Audience Awards were given to an outstanding film in each category receiving the highest number of votes determined solely by the voting totals from the global online and mobile Babelgum and
Hamptons International Film Festival audiences.

• The Jury Awards were given to an outstanding film in each of the four categories, determined
by members of the Jury.

• The Grand Jury Award was given to an outstanding film in any category, chosen by members of the Jury.