After last Sunday’s Winners episode of The Nicktoons Film Festival, we thought it would be a good idea to check in with the top filmmakers and see how things are going. Mark Simon and Travis Blaise, winners of the $10,000 Grand Prize, for Timmy’s Lessons in Nature, say they’ve been getting lots of congratulations and inquiries from old friends and potential buyers. "This is the most press we’ve ever had," says Simon. "We’ve been getting e-mails and phone calls from people we don’t know. Right before NATPE, it’s perfect timing." Simon will be attending the television market in Las Vegas next week, pitching The Troup, a series based on Timmy’s Lessons in Nature, and is particularly happy about the doors that the Festival has helped open for his property.
Elizabeth Ito, winner of the Producers’ Choice Award says that this week she "felt famous." Ito, who will receive a copy of Mirage, the 2D animation and effects package from Bauhaus Software, just finished a stint of creative design work at DreamWorks and is beginning to focus on her second, as yet unnamed, short film.
Simon also point out that he and Blaise were really proud to be in such good company with the other judges’ favorites announced during the Winners episode. "The whole festival had so many great pieces. Seeing terrific films like Charlie and Chunk [by Eric Fogel], which is one of my favorites, I didn’t think we stood a chance."
In addition to the prize winners, the other Top-Ten Fest picks were:
- Charlie and Chunk by Eric Fogel, Rockville Centre, NY
- April by Jiwook Kim, Valencia, Calif.
- Bert by Moonsung Lee, White Plains, NY
- Skippy by Amanda Spalinski, Valencia, Calif.
- Robot Family: The Slick Salesman by Chris Harding, Prairie Village, Kan.
- Medusa: The First Date by Pierce Davison, Leederville, Australia
- Kenya by Jonti Picking, London, England
- Polygon Family 2 by Hiroshi Chida, Tokyo, Japan
All of the more than 80 films selected for air on The Nicktoons Film Festival have also earned their creators a copy of the book Inspired 3D Short Film Production courtesy of Creative Technology PTR.
The Nicktoons Film Festival showcased the diversity of independent cartoon filmmaking by animators from around the globe. Filmmakers were asked to submit animated shorts no longer than seven minutes that combined a unique look, great character designs and a funny plot. The Festival was a co-production between Frederator Studios and Animation Magazine.
On behalf of Nicktoons, Frederator Studios and our publication staff, a big congratulations to all the showcased filmmakers. Your work was inspiring, funny and really fun to watch!
