New month…new edition of FLIP, animator Steve Moore’s excellent online magazine for animators.

In this edition Steve celebrates independent animation with a round robin interview with fifteen top independent filmmakers including Patrick Smith, Mark Kausler, Nina Paley, Signe Baumane, Xeth Feinberg, John Schnall, and Chansoo Kim. Click for FLIP.

I’ll share my thoughts on the Platform festival in a bit, but first, a few snaps from this past week. As you can probably tell from these few photos, it was quite the star-studded deal. If you want to check out even more photos, FPS magazine has two great sets posted onto Flickr: one by Jason Vanderhill and another by Tamu Townsend. The official Platform photographers also have hundreds of photos posted onto Picasa. Also if you have other photos that really need to be posted up here, you can send them to me.

Indie animation is alive and well in the States thanks to guys like Don Hertzfeldt (l.) and PES.

Holland Animation Film Festival director Gerben Schermer (l.) and legendary indie animator George Griffin

JJ Sedelmaier is startled to see me in person as he reads Cartoon Brew on his laptop.

Jerry Beck moderates a fine panel about Basil Wolverton. Panelists from left to right are Monte Wolverton, Kenny Scharf and Marv Newland.

Innovators like Guilherme Marcondes and Miwa Matreyek help make the LA animation scene exciting nowadays.

The amazing directing duo Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes with PES’s producer Sarah Phelps.

Finnish animation artist Eliza Jäppinen was a troublemaker at my Tom Oreb lecture but we made up after she gave me one of her insanely cool business cards.

I have no idea what Bill Plympton (l.), ASIFA-East prez Dave Levy and commercial producer John Andrews are discussing but judging from Plympton’s hand gesture, it’s pretty important.

Laika hand-drawn animation director Ward Jenkins tries to convince stop motion animators Jerold Howard and Musa Brooker that they’re still relevant in today’s CG world.

Stop-mo powerhouses Seamus Walsh and Mark Caballero of Screen Novelties fame are captured in the middle of a delicate business negotiation.

It was invigorating to see painter Kenny Scharf and other artists from non-animation disciplines participating in the festival.

Plympton collaborator Lisa LaBracio gets her twisted kicks by stealing the hats of important animation historians.

Installations and performance art were big items at this year’s Platform as evidenced by this balloon installation created in Biljana Labovic’s hair. Jessica Plummer (c.) and Pat Smith don’t know quite what to think.

Gunnar Strom (l.) tells Steve Segal about all of the wondrous sights to see in Norway…all three of them.

Danny Antonucci (right) and A.K.A. co-workers Hyuck (c.) and Dan Sioui admire vintage motorcycles hanging in the air at this fine Portland bar.

Jennifer Shiman, creator of the popular Flash series 30 Second Bunnies Theatre and her fiance.

Animators Paul Harrod, Joanna Priestley and Brooke Keesling could have just eaten the most amazing pizza ever but opted to order other items on the menu.

CN exec (and former MTV exec) Peter Dougherty, filmmaker and Royal College of Art instructor Ruth Lingford, and Projector Festival director Susie Wilson. Photo by Biljana Labovic.

UPDATES:
*Frederator exec Eric Homan points out that there’s a Flickr set from Frederator’s Drinking & Drawing event. And remember, at the end of the day, we’re all one big happy family in the animation world.

* Filmmaker and historian John Canemaker has sent in a couple pics from his presentation with Marge Champion, the dancer and choreographer who provided the live-action reference for Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

In this second pic, Canemaker writes that, “The child in the shot is Ava Jenkins, Ward Jenkins’s little girl. Marge is telling her that she once worked with a girl at MGM named Ava: Ava Gardner!”

* And here’s a tip: if you’re not feeling well and have a long lecture coming up about Tom Oreb, you probably shouldn’t be doing this right before your presentation. The photo is by Matt Tamaru who’s posting some nice shots on his Flickr, including pics of Joel Trussell, Bill Plympton and Will Vinton.

* Brooke Keesling has sent in a couple terrific photos. This first one has from left to right: Brooke, Jerry Beck, Nick exec Eric Coleman and PBS exec Linda Simensky.

And this one is Brooke, myself, John Canemaker and Ward Jenkins.

* Ward Jenkins has posted his festival photoset onto Flickr.

* A nice Platform photo set by Eric Urban

This is my last report from the Platform Fest in Portland, the last time you’ll see my mug here for a long while. That’s me on the left and award winner Lee Rubenstein (Best Film for the Internet, Secret Life of Robots) holding the coolest animation trophy ever created, The God Of Animation (designed by James Jarvis).

Winners of the festival competition included Aardman’s The Pearce Sisters (Grand Priz award, shared with installation project, No Never Alone), Pen Ward’s Adventure Time (Best Film For Children), and Don Hertzfedlt’s Everything Will Be Okay (Best Film Under $5000). Click here for complete list.

The Awards ceremony and after party, tonight, were a blast. Bill Plympton was the host and guest presenters included Marv Newland, Danny Antonucci, Gary Rydstrom and Will Vinton. I’m a bit too tired at the moment to write a full report, but the entire week was an incredible success. But let it be known: a new major animation festival has been born.