We are live-to-tape at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Festival! Take a pew with me and my friend Barnaby Catterall (who I met at Annecy 8 years ago!) as we chat with Animation Talent Picnic attendees about how well they tan, what animal would play them in a Better Man type biopic of their life, and what they have or have not yet seen at the festival this year.

Links to points of discussion:

• Barnaby's website
• Barnaby's Instagram
• Annecy International Animation Festival
• Arco
• Layer Explorer podcast on Youtube
• The Animator's Animations
• Alberto Allegri Rodriguez's website
• Alberto Allegri Rogdriguez's Instagram
• Potlems on Short of the Week
• Mikkel Mainz on Instagram
• Skjaldborn Studios
• Tales of Alethrion on Youtube
• Dragon Striker
• Kfir Ben-Dov's website
• Mononoke The Movie
• The Animation Workshop
• Pedro Martins Twitch
• Hlin on Instagram
• Melissa Raymond Lund's website
• Royal College of Art
• The Animator's Friend on Instagram

The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for lighthearted and unexpected conversation.

Credits:

• Recorded and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
• Co-host Barnaby Catterall
• Produced in part with facilities provided by SVA MFA Computer Arts
• Travel support provided by Annecy International Animation Festival and SVA MFA Computer Arts
• Music by Cloutmeyer
• Design by Sawyer Rippon
• Special thanks to Cynthia Chu; Brent Sievers; Ash Suh; Tracy Liu; my mom and dad Lisa Lombardi-Bello and Mick Bello; Barnaby's mom and dad; Darren Santa Maria.

In the interest of making new friends while attending Animafest Zagreb this year, I hung out at the festival picnic to record some impromptu conversations. This feels especially meaningful since Animafest is where I got the idea for the podcast this time last year! I was graciously joined by Sawyer Rippon, designer of the TAF logo, to chat with some new buds about Animafest's programming, frogs, and the beauty of the animation community with guests.

Links to points of discussion:

• Sawyer's website
• Sawyer's Instagram
• Animafest Zagreb
• Bratislava Academy of Performing Arts
• Estonian Academy of Arts
• Yiyang Sun's website
• Yiyang Sun's Instagram
• @rs92221 on Instagram
• A Night at the Rest Area by Saki Muramoto trailer
• Ode to Perfume by Maxim Litvinov trailer
• Rise & Shine
• Animateka International Animation Festival
• Kaboom Animation Festival
• The Animator's Animations
• The Animator's Friend on Instagram

The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for lighthearted and unexpected conversation.

Credits:

• Recorded and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
• Co-host Sawyer Rippon
• Produced in part with facilities provided by SVA MFA Computer Arts
• Travel support provided by Animafest Zagreb and SVA MFA Computer Arts
• Music by Cloutmeyer
• Design by Sawyer Rippon
• Special thanks to Ash Suh for talking about recording at animation festivals with me; either Britt Raes or Tracy Liu for talking about recording specifically at the festival picnics with me; my mom and dad Lisa Lombardi-Bello and Mick Bello; Darren Santa Maria.

Listen to my chat with my two favorite Annecy Achievers Michael Dondero and Shengnan Dong, whose film Nostril has been programming into Annecy International Animation Festivals 2025's WTF Block! If you are going to Annecy, book your ticket for one of the WTF blocks ASAP or rush day of!

Links to points of discussion:

• Nostril's website
• Michael Dondero's website
• Michael Dondero's Instagram
• Shengnan Dong's website
• Shengnan Dong's Instagram
• Annecy International Animation Festival
• The Animator's Animations
• The Animator's Playlist
• Walla Walla Movie Crush
• Lost Signal Society (Michael's podcast)
• Woodstock Film Festival
• Blender
• The Animator's Friend on Instagram

The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for lighthearted and unexpected conversation.

Credits:

• Recorded and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
• Produced in part with facilities provided by SVA MFA Computer Arts
• Music by Cloutmeyer
• Design by Sawyer Rippon
• Special thanks to my mom and dad Lisa Lombardi-Bello and Mick Bello; Malt Adult and Sarah Schmidt; Darren Santa Maria