Cotton Anniversary

It seems like only two years ago that we began the Skwigly Animation Podcast, mainly as it has. So my time perception is functioning highly, which is nice.

This month's entry also marks our twentieth episode and doesn't disappoint on the guest front, with Steve chatting to the spectacular The Eagleman Stag director Mikey Please on his new film Marilyn Myller while Laura-Beth brings us some insight from Ainslie Henderson on his crowdpleasing short I Am Tom Moody as well as his collaborative work with the equally-talented Will Anderson. Also featured are Vivien Halas, currently in charge of preserving the legacy of UK studio Halas and Batchelor, and BAA sting winner Jack David Evans.

Also marking the anniversary is a slightly-tweaked version of our Selections From the Skwigly Podcast compilation I originally put together for a promotional CD last year. Featured on it are some of our most noteworthy guests from the first year, including Peter Lord, Genndy Tartakovsky, John Kricfalusi, Bill Plympton, Billy West, Brian Cosgrove, Barry Purves, Robert Morgan and Signe Baumane among others. Since then we've been privileged enough to get such equally notable talents as Eric Goldberg, Adam Elliot, Joanna Quinn, Richard Williams, Chris Landreth, Daniel Sousa, Chris Shepherd, Jerry Beck, Michaela Pavlátová, Lauren MacMullen, John DiMaggio, Richard Starzak, Kirsten Lepore, Daniel Greaves and Marc James Roels, with many more lined up for the rest of this year. I'm pretty proud of what we've managed to achieve and that we've stuck with it rather than let it peter out, which has been the fate of a lot of similar endeavours out there.
All of this is irrelevant, however, as for the third time in five years everything in my life has to take a back seat to the news that, once again: FAITH NO MORE are back!

Granted, it's a support slot, but I'm not exactly going to sniff at getting to see Black Sabbath as well, am I? Or Lemmy, fer chrissakes?
Okay, I get it, I'm old. But in my defense, these bands were already old when I was a kid, so I'm not that old. Just an old soul. A merry old soul.

Cartoons Are Fun

Best souvenir ever...

My massive Encounters-athon has just come to a close and I'm shakily writing this in the interim between the final screening and a personal trainer session that's sure to finish me off. The festival's been great, if for no other reason that I drank until my eyes melted and got to meet some much-admired filmmaker types. Knock wood I didn't manage to completely alienate the greater percentage of them. "Ground Running"'s Saturday screening played to a slightly smaller crowd but the overall response to it seemed even better than on Thursday. Shame on all of you for laughing at that little naked baby's pain.
My own self-celebration aside, there were loads of amazing and inspiring shorts including some previous favourites "Damned", "The External World", "Bertie Crisp", "A Morning Stroll", "Greetings" and "The Eagleman Stag" along with a few seen for the first time:









All in all it was a great week and I'm especially grateful to Pete, Justine, Jo, Matt, Hans, Mel, Chris and Rachel for their support. Also I want to express my appreciation for the volunteers for all their help, including the frumpy one (who couldn't have been in a shittier mood if her knickers were lined with fibreglass) for not spitting directly in my face.
Well, it took three films and ninety festivals but I finally have this one crossed off the list. I finally feel at home in Bristol now.