This year’s LAAF honoree is artist, animator, director and Titmouse president and founder, Chris Prynoski. Titmouse – the independent, full-service, Emmy-award winning animation studio – was co-founded by Chris Prynoski and Shannon Prynoski. The studio produces original and licensed content including TV series, commercials, VR experiences, digital content, music videos and feature projects.
“We selected Chris P. as this year’s honoree for his talent and work across the company’s three studios, based in Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver. Titmouse’s operations have helped keep the spirit of independent animation both alive and growing,” said John Andrews, LAAF co-founder. Added co-founder Miles Flanagan “Having Chris P as LAAF’s first honoree in our new venue, The Mayflower Club in North Hollywood, is just exactly the right fit for the time and place.” In a written statement Prynoski said “It’s an honor to be recognized for being a leader in independent animation! Usually I’m recognized for wearing a dumb bucket hat. The LAAF festival is always great and full of amazing films and incredible talent. I guess I didn’t have to say “festival” at the end of LAAF because that’s what the “F” stands for. I can’t wait to be a part of it!”
Prynoski, began his animation career in New York in the 1990’s with his work for MTV on Beavis and Butt-Head, Daria and his Emmy nominated creation MTV’s Downtown. Titmouse co-founders Chris and Shannon Prynoski launched Titmouse in Los Angeles. Prynoski brought to life a string of hits including, most recently, the feature film Nerdland and the series Metalocalypse, China IL, Black Dynamite, Superjail!, The Venture Bros., Turbo FAST, Megas XLR, Big Mouth, Niko and the Sword of Light, andhis original creation Motorcity for Disney XD. A special festival program will review career highlights and showcase future plans.
LAAF debuted in 2007, renting out the Silent Movie Theater and featuring guests Teddy Newton and Sean Lennon. In 2010 it honored Will Vinton, unspooled an array of international features and presented the debut live performance-to-picture of Alan Goraguer’s Fantastic Planet score by the band Jesus Makes the Shotgun Sound. In 2012, the festival moved to the much larger Regent Showcase Theater in Hollywood with guests including Aeon Flux creator Peter Chung, director Brad Bird – part of the Iron Giant cast & crew reunion, honoree Bill Plympton and show host Tom Kenny as well as a retrospective of MTV’s Liquid Television and a Japanese animation showcase curated by Sean Lennon.
Animators are encouraged to submit competition entries via FilmFreeway – https://filmfreeway.com/LAAF
The Los Angeles Animation Festival was created by it co-directors, filmmaker Miles Flanagan and animation producer John Andrews. Flanagan came to Los Angeles from the UK as a winner of a World Animation Celebration competition. He has enjoyed a long career here, working for a variety of commercial and theatrical clients through his company Parallax Studioworks. Andrews moved to Los Angeles and joined Klasky Csupo after several years running MTV Animation in New York where he produced Beavis and Butt-Head and oversaw development of shows such as Daria, Aeon Flux, MTV’s Oddities and Carto
The Mayflower, a private social club, was founded in 1965 for British ex-pats and is known for such events as the iconic “Way Out West” Tent (screening the films of Laurel and Hardy), an annual British “Panto” and numerous other social events open to the general public. “Our new venue and home, by it’s very design, allows for greater networking and socializing than in the past,” said Andrews. “We want LAAF to be one of the must-attend events for animators to meet up at each year in a casual, no-pressure atmosphere.”