Base14

Big thanks goes out to everyone who voted for our TV show concept “Duck & Monster” in the Animation Magazine Pitch Party Contest last month. Because of your brilliant support, we won the 1st Place Staff Pick among all the other entries!

Now this isn’t the grand prize that includes us getting to pitch to a industry executive, but it was great to be the favorite pick of the magazine staff, and also exciting to be among the favorites of two judges: Ted Biaselli, Exec Director of Programming at The Hub, and Linda Simensky, VP of Children’s Programming at PBS. Judges, if you like what you see, feel free to drop me a line. I have plenty of material and ideas to back up the “Duck & Monster” idea. And don’t forget that we have essentially already made the pilot.

The New York City premiere of “The Girl and the Fox” has been confirmed to be the Animation Block Party in Brooklyn, NY! The Animation Block Party is the leading animation festival of the East Coast and this is the second time a Base14 film has been featured there.

We were lucky enough to have Duck Heart Teslacoil screen at the ABP in 2009 and it was a blast. DHT even went on to be featured in “The Best of the Animation Block Party 2009″ showcase that traveled around to other cities and now can be purchased at the ABP shop.

My experience visiting the Animation Block Party in 2009 was so enjoyable that it’s likely myself and Alysha will be joining our Producer Nick Allred at the screening later this month. “The Girl and the Fox” is slated for opening night of the ABP, with a rooftop reception at 8pm and films starting at 9pm. Should be a great show.

“The Girl and the Fox” Animation Block Party Screening
Friday, July 29 – 9:00 pm – BAMcinématek, Brooklyn, NY
(Part of the Opening Night Program)

   

More film festival update goodness! This week “The Girl and the Fox” was officially accepted to the Frozen Film Festival in San Francisco and the YoungCuts Film Festival in Montreal, Quebec.

YoungCuts has chosen TGTF as the first official film to be announced for their 2011 lineup, highlighting the selection with an in-depth blog post! It’s a very good read so check it out.

As for the The Frozen Film Festival, it’s coming up fast and already has us slotted in the Best Animated Shorts of 2011 Showcase, scheduled for Friday, July 8th at 10:30pm in the Roxie Theater in San Francisco. Both have been added to the Tour Page. Anyone in the greater San Francisco area should try and make it out for the SF show next month!

“The Girl and the Fox” San Francisco Frozen Film Festival Screening
Friday, July 8 – 10:30 pm – Roxie Theater, SF
(Part of the ‘Best Animated Shorts of 2011’ block)

The 2011 Indianapolis International Film Festival has announced a final programming schedule for July, which will include two separate screenings of “The Girl and the Fox.” It will be part of the “You’ve Got A Friend” short film block showing on July 16th and July 20th at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

This is extra special for Alysha and me, since we  were born and raised in Indiana, and it will always remain our true home. So having our film screen in the capitol gives our friends and family a chance to easily see the film and celebrate its success with us! If you are an Indiana native and want to see some great films next month, please come out to the IMA and support Base14!

“The Girl and the Fox” Indy Film Fest Screening
Saturday, July 16 – 2:45 pm – DeBoest Lecture Hall
Wednesday, July 20 – 7:45 pm – DeBoest Lecture Hall
(A part of the ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ shorts block)

“The Girl and the Fox” continues its film festival tour with its most prominent festival showing to date: The Palm Springs International Shortfest. This festival is renowned worldwide for the extraordinary community of filmmakers it attracts and for the quality and scope of its programming.

The 2011 ShortFest will present more than 300 short films from over 40 countries, with TGTF being one of them! The event also features the ShortFest Film Market, which will make available over 2,700 films to film buyers, industry representatives and the press. Here’s the specific showtime for those of you out in Southern California:

“The Girl and the Fox” Palm Springs Screening
Saturday, June 25 – 4:00 pm – Camelot Theatres
(A part of the ‘Animal Attraction’ program)

So maybe dreams do come true… if you’re willing to work hard enough to realize them. That’s what I learned this week after three and a half years of dedication to my personal dream and long-term goal: to become a semifinalist in the Student Academy Awards. And “The Girl and the Fox” just did it.

On Wednesday afternoon, I learned that our film has been chosen as a Region II semifinalist in this year’s Student Academy Awards. That means that “The Girl and the Fox,” along with eleven other Region II films, will be recognized this Thursday, April 28th, at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. This marks the first opportunity for me to see the final cut of the film up on the big screen, so naturally I’m jumping on a plane early Thursday morning and jetting up to the Heartland for the big event. If you’re going to be in the greater Chicago metropolitan area on Thursday night, consider coming on out for the show! It will be a fabulous collection of top-notch student work and best of all, it’s absolutely free!

Once the films have screened in Chicago, they will be shipped out west to The Academy for the final round of judging. We’ll find out if we made the finals in mid-May. Wish us luck!

This past weekend was AMAZING. As you all know, The Girl and The Fox had been nominated for a College Television Award in Animation and the big event was set for Saturday night in Hollywood. So I packed my bags and flew to Los Angeles, really having no idea what the day may have in store. I met up with TGTF producer Nicholas Allred and we strolled over to the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel where the award show was being held. To our surprise, not only did TGTF place second in Animation, but we also won the Geena Davis award for Diversity and Gender Equality in Children’s Media. Simply put, it means we were recognized for balancing our portrayal of male and female roles, and rejecting common gender stereotypes in storytelling.

The director of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media later asked me why I chose the characters and story that I did. These were my thoughts:

“I always have enjoyed exploring adult issues through the eyes of children. Our protagonist, Ilona, is a nine-year-old girl who lives with her parents and siblings in a cold, lush forested region. While she takes after her mother in appearance, Ilona also inherited her father’s fervor and tenacity. Having been brought up as the daughter of fur trappers, she is unafraid to face the dangers of the wilderness alone. Choosing a female as my protagonist allowed me to effectively show how children are influenced by the roles of their parents, and how as we grow, we learn to find balance between who our parents are and who we are as individuals. Ilona dresses like her father because she admires him and wants to hunt like him, but her journey causes her to realize she has a unique role in the world defined by her own insights and experiences.”

Considering the significance of both awards, this is certainly the biggest honor that a Base14 project has received to date! It’s really terrific to be given such recognition for as much hard work. Special thanks goes to the entire crew of “The Girl and the Fox” for really making all of this possible. We look forward to more festivals and contests yet to come!