This Weekend In NYC: 3rd Annual ANNY Animation Festival And Conference

Not enough independent animation at New York Comic Con? There’s a great bit of counter-programming in Manhattan this weekend: the 3rd annual ANNY Best of Fest, taking place on Saturday and Sunday, October 6 and 7.

The growing festival and conference is an offshoot of the monthly screening series Animation Nights New York, and will feature animation screenings, art exhibits, an xr showcase, vr workshop presentations, panels, and other industry-related events.

A main highlight of the event is its incredible array of industry-focused panels and lectures, with topics rarely covered at other animation festivals, such as Animation & Documentary; Paving the Way for Animation in VR; Distributing Animation in the Digital Age; Puppetry & Animation in Traditional and Emerging Platforms; Animation Pipeline for Film, Games, & VR; Tomorrow’s Marketing for XR; The Importance of Story; Blockchain, Asset Management, & Virtual Worlds; Contracts for Artists; and Budgeting, Pitching & Negotiating with Clients.

Other highlights of this year’s program:

• A special screening of Goose in High Heels, the new film by Courage the Cowardly Dog creator John Dilworth.
• The Animation showcase, a showcase of this year’s Oscar-contending animated shorts curated by Benoit Berthe Siward.
• VR Workshop Presentations by Micah Milner, Michael Markman, Gordey Chernyy, Maria Mishurenko, Jeremy Casper, Harold Dumur, Thomas Cheng, and Christopher Valore.
• The 2018 ANNY Best of Fest Showcase featuring ANNY Best of Fest Winners selected from the Animation Nights New York’s curated monthly screenings of in-competition films.
• A presentation by Bill Plympton about his new Trump Bites animated editorial series.
• A presentation on the Titmouse series Ballmastrz: 9009.

Here’s a video recap of last’s event:

The 2018 ANNY Best of Fest is free to the public; however, industry badges are available to purchase for $30 and allow exclusive access to all of ANNY’s Best of Fest events, including pre-registration for the Emerging Technology Animation Showcase and VR Workshop Presentations.

ANNY Best of Fest takes place at 180 Maiden Lane in the Seaport District of lower Manhattan. Both types of badges (the free Enthusiast Package, and the $30 Industry Package) can be ordered at the festival website.