For Immediate Release:

ANIMATION BLOCK PARTY

RETURNS BIGGER AND BETTER

Extended Four-Day Festival Adds New Categories
and Special Screenings For Summer Line Up

2007 Festival Kicks Off Friday, July 27th
at Rooftop Films

New York City (June 21, 2007) – Four years ago there was minimal exposure for young unknown animators to exhibit and promote their artistry.  That was, until the very first animation festival debuted in New York capturing immediate worldwide attention.  Created by acclaimed animator, Casey Saffron, the groundbreaking festival skyrocketed into a bigger than life event with an overwhelming response which manifested a new outlet for hundreds of underlying artists. Since its launch, the festival has attracted thousands of attendees and several hundred entries by artists all across the nation and throughout world.  Now entering its fourth year, the pioneering festival that paved the way for others alike returns, bigger and better with new features, additions and surprises for its 2007 event.

For the first time, Animation Block Party (ABP) has extended its usual schedule with an additional day of screening festivities.  With a record of over 600 entries competing in Ten Award categories ranging from ‘Best in Show’ to ‘Best Minute Movie’ ABP will screen 60 films at this year’s new four-day summer festival.  Another first for ABP will be an exclusive offer for the First Prize winner, including a production grant to produce their animated stories for broadcast. This year’s ABP will also feature a special spotlight on global warming issue with a number of animators commissioned to create eco-Public Service Announcements films.

There are ten award categories for animation shorts screening at this summer’s Animation Block Party including: student film, computer animation, narrative short, experimental film, music video, original design and more.  The ABP Summerfest is giving away almost $30,000 worth of prizes including software by Adobe, Boinx, Toon Boom Studio, Autodesk and designer bags from Crumpler, magazine subscriptions and DVD’s.

This year’s festival begins Friday July 27th and ends on Monday July 30th with a jam-packed schedule of events.  The official film lineups for each of the four evenings will be announced on July 1st on the Animation Block Party website at www.animationblock.com.

Day 1 - Kicking off the first night on Friday, July 27th will be a special event at Rooftop Films in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with live music by Demander and a screening of best independent and student work.  The party continues with an exclusive after party sponsored by (Dewar’s Scotch Whiskey).

Day 2 (Jul.28) - will take place at the Pioneer Theater in NYC, with three screenings focusing on narrative shorts and cult films.  Additionally, there will be a few exciting surprises to be revealed and conclude with an outrageous after-party sponsored by The Onion.

Day 3 (Jul.29) - will feature special ‘Global Warming Presentations’ from the Lower East Side Ecology Center at the renowned Galapagos Art Space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  The screening will showcase distinctive “green” public service announcement films from Animation Block Party and the Sundance Channel, followed by screenings of best music videos and experimental works.  The evening will wrap up with New York’s Official Hip-Hop Karaoke, sponsored by Autodesk.

Day 4 (Jul.30) - ABP will close the festival at BAM Cinematek in Downtown, Brooklyn with screenings of the best professional shorts followed by a short introductory discussion with participating filmmakers and of course, by its final after party.

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About Animation Block Party
NYC based Animation Block is dedicated to exhibiting the world’s best independent, professional and student animation.  The company produces its annual multi-day festival, Animation Block Party, in Brooklyn every July. ABP summer festivals are full of indoor/outdoor events, juried prizes, cool sponsored stuff, good music, cold drinks and the world’s best animated shorts on-screen.

Additionally, Animation Block offers other sources of exhibition to promotes animation makers and their films including the web selects section available online and distribution of shorts through our Animation Block Party Mix-Tapes, and DVD releases which showcase some of the festival’s best shorts.

In past three years, more than 2500 fans and filmmakers have attended Animation Block Party festivals.  The company has received over 1200 animation submissions worldwide, since the premiere of the first official Animation Block Party film festival on September 9th 2004.  International entries include animators from Greece, France, The Netherlands, Israel, Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United Kingdom among many others.  Additional information can be found online at www.animationblock.com.