Candy Kugel is an icon of the New York animation scene whose body of work over the last forty years includes everything from classic Sesame Street segments like It’s Hip to Be a Square…
…to memorable spots that established the visual identity of MTV in its earliest days:
In this new episode of Frenzer Foreman Animation Forum, Candy Kugel talks about what it was like to work as a woman animator in New York’s commercial animation scene in the 1970s, at a time when women animators in commercial studios were few and far between. She also brings us up to date on her latest projects, including the TED-Ed short Sex Determination: More Complicated Than You Thought, which is one of the most viewed TED-Ed shorts to date.
LINKS RELATED TO THIS EPISODE
Buzzco Associates, Inc.
Teen Wolf opening titles
Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City
Last night in New York City, the ASIFA-East Animation Festival Awards were presented for the forty-fourth year in a row. The Best in Show prize was awarded to the NYU student short Based on a True Story directed by Jacob Kafka. In the Independent Film category, first place went to Celia Bullwinkel’s Sidewalk. Other prizes in the indie category were handed out to films by Mark Kausler, Arthur Metcalf, Bill Plympton, Richard O’Connor and David Chai.
New York veteran Candy Kugel took home first place in Commissioned Films for her TEDEd short Sex Determination, while first place in Student Films went to Michelle Ikemoto’s Tule Lake, produced at San Jose State University.
The complete list of winners is below:
BEST IN SHOW
Based on a True Story
Directed by Jacob Kafka
INDEPENDENT FILMS: FIRST PLACE
Sidewalk
Directed by Celia Bullwinkel
INDEPENDENT FILMS: SECOND PLACE
There Must Be Some Other Cat
Directed by Mark Kausler
INDEPENDENT FILMS: THIRD PLACE (TIED)
It Took A While To Figure Shit Out
Directed by Arthur Metcalf
INDEPENDENT FILMS: THIRD PLACE (TIED)
Drunker Than A Skunk
Directed by Bill Plympton
EXCELLENCE IN ANIMATION
It Took A While To Figure Shit Out
Directed by Arthur Metcalf
EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN
Christmas Day
Directed by Richard O’Connor, designed by Kelsey Stark
EXCELLENCE IN WRITING
A Knock On My Door
Directed by David Chai
EXPERIMENTAL FILMS
The Productive AniJam
Produced by Katie Cropper & Cynthea Diaz
COMMISSIONED FILMS: FIRST PLACE
TEDed: Sex Determination
Directed by Candy Kugel
COMMISSIONED FILMS: SECOND PLACE
Quiet Loud (Sesame Street)
Directed by Bob Boyle
COMMISSIONED FILMS: THIRD PLACE
Sniffles
Directed by David Cowles & Jeremy Galante
STUDENT FILMS: FIRST PLACE
Tule Lake
Directed by Michelle Ikemoto
STUDENT FILMS: SECOND PLACE
Chasing Unicorns
Directed by Deena Beck
STUDENT FILMS: THIRD PLACE (TIED)
The Crawler
Directed by Seth Brady
STUDENT FILMS: THIRD PLACE (TIED)
Good Night Guard
Directed by Janice S. Rim
STUDENT FILMS: HONORABLE MENTION (TIED)
Mirror
Directed by Q-Hyun Kim
STUDENT FILMS: HONORABLE MENTION (TIED)
Register Rap!
Directed by Josh Weisbrod
There are not too many must-attend animation events for animation history buffs in New York, but tonight promises to be one of them. ASIFA-East and the School of Visual Arts will present a retrospective celebration of Perpetual Motion Pictures, one of the major NY commercial animation studios of the 1970s. The event is bittersweet because both of the studio’s founders—Buzz Potamkin and Hal Silvermintz—passed away in the past year.
The event begins at 7PM at the SVA theater (333 West 23rd Street, between 8th and 9th Ave in Manhattan). Admission is FREE!
Tom Warburton (creator, Kids Next Door) will moderate the panel of Perpetual Motion veterans, including Mordi Gerstein (who also worked at UPA-LA), and four other artists who got their starts at Perpetual: Russell Calabrese, Candy Kugel, JJ Sedelmaier and Thomas Schlamme (exec producer, The West Wing, Studio 60). Photos of many of the artists can be viewed on the ASIFA-East website. Other Perpetual veterans, including NY legends like Vinnie Bell, Rose Eng and Doug Crane are also scheduled to be in attendance. In other words, DON’T MISS THIS!
