Advertise on podcast: Animation For Adults: The AFA Podcast

Well, hello there and welcome back to The AFA Podcast, the official podcast of animationforadults.com. This is another interview special, this time with Shea Wageman, the CEO of Icon Creative Studios, Canada's largest independent animation studio, and the director of the upcoming film Dragoons, the trailer for which is set to be unveiled at this year's Annecy Festival.

Bore Da and welcome back to the AFA Podcast, the official podcast of animationforadults.com. This is a very special episode where we celebrate the Cardiff Animation Festival, which takes place April 23-26 in Cardiff, Wales. To mark the occasion we hopped on Zoom and sat down (virtually) with five of the most talented animators in the UK, all of whom have a film in this year's festival! We spoke with Nathan Addai, director of Mental RootsMaryam Mohajer, director of And Granny Would DanceEleri Edwards, director of CrybabySteff Lee, director of Of All The ThingsLaura Jayne Hodkin, director of Wuthering Hearts.

Well, hello there, and welcome back to The AFA Podcast interview series. This time around we spoke with Sevan Najarian, animator, director, editor and effects whizz who directed The Whitest Kids U Know's Mars, the first (and last) animated feature written by and starring the cult comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U Know. We spoke about his origins at Channel 101, the making of the movie and the challenges he faced and more. Whether you're a big fan of The Whitest Kids from back in the day or you are a newcomer, you should enjoy this chat!

Welcome back to the AFA Podcast, and another edition of our interview specials. This time we got to speak with Ricard Cusso and Elise Allen, the director and writer respectively of The Pout Pout Fish, the new animated feature released in North America on March 20. Presented and produced by Chris Perkins.

Well, hello there, and welcome once again to The AFA Podcast and another interview special! This time we got to speak with David Feiss, animation legend and creator of the classic Cartoon Network series Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel. David's new series Armorsaurs is now streaming on Disney Plus and sees his foray into live-action/animation hybrid directing. We spoke about his entire career, from his early years at Hanna-Barbera, via Ren and Stimpy to Cow and Chicken and beyond. We hope you enjoy listening!

Well, hello there... and welcome back to The AFA Podcast, and another interview special. This time around we spoke to Ugo Bienvenu, French animator, illustrator and director. Ugo is the director of the new sci-fi feature Arco, which has been doing really well on the awards circuit, being nominated for a Golden Globe and an impressive five Annie Award nominations. The film will be released in the United States in February and in the United Kingdom in March.

Well, hello there and welcome once again to the AFA Podcast. We're back with another interview episode! This time we got the chance to speak with Oscar-nominated filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (Madame Tutli-Putli), directors of the wonderful stop-motion short The Girl Who Cried Pearls. As well as the new film, we discussed their career paths, their unconventional production method and "whatever you do, don't teach them anything!" Thanks to Nadine from The National Film Board of Canada for her help setting this interview up. Presented and produced by Chris Perkins. Show notes In Montreal, at the dawn of the 20th century, a poor boy falls in love with a girl whose sorrow turns into pearls. He sells them to a ruthless pawnbroker, who hungers for more. Tempted by greed, the boy must choose between love and fortune. The choice could damn his soul. From the Oscar-nominated team of Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (Madame Tutli-Putli), this meticulously crafted film is a testament to the magic of stop-motion animation. With handmade puppets, mesmerizing narration by Colm Feore and a haunting score by Patrick Watson, The Girl Who Cried Pearls is a timeless parable of desire, deception and the price of innocence.

Well, hello there, strangers, yes indeed The AFA Podcast is back. And do we have a show for you, because not only does this episode mark the first episode we've put out since this podcast turned 10 years old (believe it or not) but we're also celebrating Manchester Animation Festival, the biggest animation festival in the UK. We spoke with some of the filmmakers behind some of this year's crop of animated short films, that will be in competition for the top prize at this year's MAF. They're all from the UK, all super-talented and don't be surprised to see any of their names crop up come Oscar and BAFTA time. We spoke with Laura Tofraides director of Brain SpaceGreg McLeod director of Last LinesBaz Sells director of Two Black Boys In ParadiseYasmine Djedje-Fisher-Azoume director of DedeJ.P Vine director of CardboardDuncan Rudd director of The Ballad Of Pale Blue Dot

Welcome back to The AFA Podcast: Interview Series. This time we got to speak with Trey Toy, who is the co-composer on the recently released Castlevania: Nocturne, now streaming on Netflix. We discussed what makes Nocturne unique, his inspiration and his career so far. It was a pretty wide-ranging, very interesting chat! Have a listen, although beware if you haven't seen Castlevania Nocturne: season 2 yet, there are some spoilers!

Welcome back to The AFA Podcast, and another interview special. This time we spoke with Mike McMahan the creator/show-runner of Star Trek: Lower Decks. The Star Trek animated comedy recently wrapped its fifth and final season, with the finale episode airing on Paramount Plus from December 19. We didn't get a lot of time with Mike but there's some good stuff there: we talk about his career, how Lower Decks came to be and the possible future of the Lower Decks crew.

Well hello there, and welcome to The AFA Podcast: The Official Podcast of animationforadults.com- Interview Edition. This time (thanks to the magic of Zoom) I was able to speak to Torill Kove. Torill is a Norwegian-born, Oscar-winning animator now based in Montreal, Canada. We discussed her new film Maybe Elephants, which has qualified to be nominated at the 2025 Academy Awards, and also discussed her past films and illustrious career. It's a wide ranging and fascinating conversation, well worth half an hour of your time. Don't miss it!

Welcome one and all back to The AFA Podcast: Interview Series. This time we got chance to sit down (virtually) with Elizabeth Cox, the founder and CEO of Should We Studio, a studio with an emphasis on tech-ethics and emerging technologies. The studio will release their first production Ada, which will explore these themes, this autumn. Listen to the interview to hear all about Ada, as well as Elizabeth's interesting path to animation, studying it alongside science, as well as her thoughts about the animation industry. We think you'll find it a fun listen! SHOW NOTES Should We Studio Trailer Exclusive: Ada Ada Trailer

Welcome back to The AFA Podcast interview series. This time we boldly go and spoke to Barry J Kelly, an episode director on the adult animation sci-fi comedy Star Trek Lower Decks. He talks about his career so far, his history with Star Trek and what makes Lower Decks so "Star Trekky". Just as a heads up, we had a slight issue with the sound because for some reason it recorded with my internal mic. So mu audio is a little on the quiet side but hopefully it won't distract from your enjoyment too much!

Welcome back to The AFA Podcast. It's another interview special- this time featuring Bryan Lee O'Malley. Bryan is a Canadian cartoonist who created the original Scott Pilgrim Vs The World graphic novel and more recently acted as executive producer and c0-showrunner on the Netflix animated series Scott Pilgrim. It's short and sweet but you'll learn some interesting things about the making of the series!

Welcome back to The AFA Podcast and another special interview edition. This time we spoke with Pablo Berger, the director of the Oscar-nominated, Annie, Cesar and European Film Award-winning animated feature Robot Dreams. Pablo comes from a live-action background and with Robot Dreams worked in animation for the first time. We talked about how that came about and how he's become a total convert to the medium of animation. We hope you'll find it a fascinating conversation! Robot Dreams is released in US cinemas via Neon on May 31, and in select cinemas in the UK from Curzon from March 22.