Babelgum Screens Animatron Online and Mobile Animation Film Festival Finalists

Today Babelgum announced that all finalists for its inaugural Animatron Online and Mobile Animation Film Festival will be available for public viewing on its cross-platform web and mobile distribution channels. The festival includes nearly two hundred finalists whose professionally produced animated shorts will be screened and voted on by a newly formed international jury that includes animators and industry specialists including Jeff Scher, Peter Bishop, Charlotte Bavasso, Isaac Littlejohn Eddy and Tommy Pallotta.

Babelgum is partnering with the Hamptons International Film Festival to co-present select winners from the Animatron Festival at the Hamptons Animation Showcase. “We have a special emphasis on the art of animation this year,” said Holly Herrick, Programmer and Special Projects Producer at the Hamptons Festival. Festival programmers hope the partnership with Babelgum will prove to be a great boon for independent animators looking to find a broader audience for their short films.

Karol Martesko-Fenster, SVP and General Manager of the Babelgum Film & Animation Division, said, “We’re pleased to be highlighting the work of independent animators while focusing on the craft of this important filmmaking form at the Hamptons International Film Festival along with some of the top innovators in the industry. Animation is one of our key focuses at Babelgum, and the Animatron Festival demonstrates our ongoing commitment to honoring the work of talented filmmakers and providing innovative new ways to distribute their work.”

Finalists from the Animation Festival have the potential to win cash prizes totaling $20,000, with awards given to first place and runner-up contestants in each of the four categories, as well as a Grand Jury Prize Winner. Public voting for the Audience Awards begins today and continues through October 10, 2010.

The Animatron Online and Mobile Animation Film Festival Jury:

• Saraswathi Balgam, Founding Director of Rhythm & Hues India, President of ASIFA India
• Charlotte Bavasso, Founding Partner and 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)