The festival circuit has been mighty good to Classical Animation grad Choom Lam – as regular readers could probably tell from the number of times we’ve name-checked her films, In The Beginning and Bobble & Sqweek. The latest of those successes? Animation Block Party – the popular Brooklyn, NY, festival which recently saw In The Beginning take home Best Student Film honours.

And the prize – which includes a production grant – is incredibly cool. Choom explains:

Tell us about the ABP win… What’s the prize? I heard it’s more than just a keychain.

With this win, I would’ve been happy with just a keychain! Or a t-shirt. Those who know me well know I could always use new t-shirts.

But yeah, it was more than that. The prize was a bag of awesomeness! Namely: a copy of ToonBoom Studio, a subscription to Animation Magazine, their 20-year anniversary coffee table book, a cool messenger ABP bag from Crumpler, lots of DVDs, ABP t-shirts, a license for Boinx iStopMotion, Adobe After Effects, and the best one – a production grant to make a Public Service Announcement for next year’s ABP!

Whoa. So, is all this success – for both Bobble & Sqweek and In The Beginning – getting kind of humdrum for you yet?

Far from it! And I don’t see how it ever will. The ABP win had me bouncing off the walls for a week. When I saw the lineup for the festival, I was amazed that the bunnies were even selected to be a part of it so you can imagine how surprised I was to find out that they had won anything at all.

Apart from cool prizes, what’s the value in all this – the festival circuit, the awards in general – for you, as an animator?

While doing what I love for a living is its own reward, it’s also really great to be recognized for it and to know that my work has made a connection with the audience and touched them somehow. It makes me feel a little less crazy for giving up the chance to have a “real” job. Not that feeling crazy is bad… especially when I tell people I make cartoons for a living.

Thanks, Choom! Incidentally, both of her VFS films are in the latest issue of Stash, courtesy of her Channel Frederator Award wins earlier this year. Meanwhile, take a look at the Character Design section of our Classical Animation page here on vfs.com for some incredible concept work from In The Beginning.