The Animator’s Friend

The Animator's Friend's Friend Josh Pilch and I revisit 101 Dalmatians, which is screening on 35mm at Metrograph now!  We're talkin Ub, Xerox, and somehow, as usual with Josh, Anthony Kiedis.
Get your ticket for the final screening of 101 Dalmatians Sunday, July 26th at 11:10am
Enjoy Josh's work on City Island U.S.A. and Beach Buggy Adventures!
Links to points of discussion (will update soon!):
Josh Pilch's Instagram
The Animator's Animations
Josh's TAF episode
Josh's Dani California parody for TAF
Bouchra (also screening at Metrograph)
Metrograph's It Started with a Mouse: Hand-Drawn Classics on 35mm - NYC
The Animator's Playlist on Apple Music and Spotify
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an educator based in New York City. In this 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 personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation.
Credits:
Recorded, produced, and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Digital marketing assistance from Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks: Josh Pilch and Kaila Hier
All opinions belong to the guests and do not represent any other individual or entity

My many attempts to discuss the Real Housewives on this podcast finally pay off with fellow expert David De La Fuente!
David De La Fuente is an animation artist with interests in the moving image, semiotics, and graphic design. His work has explored themes of queerness, the aesthetic experience, and romanticism.  His films have shown in the Annecy International Animation Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Ottawa International Animation Festival and others. In 2019, he was the recipient of the GLAS Animation Grant. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design.  Currently, David is based in New York where he continues his process of experimental storytelling and image making.
Links to points of discussion (will update shortly!):
Metrograph's It Started with a Mouse: Hand-Drawn Classics on 35mm - NYC
Hudson Valley Film Fest - NY
Ottawa International Animation Festival - Canada
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
David's website
The Animator's Animations
GLAS Animation Festival - LA
The London Dungeon - UK
The Animator's Playlist on Apple Music and Spotify
Alyssa Edwards' website
Latrice Royale's website
The Morgan Library & Museum - NYC
The Animator's Favorites
New York Public Library
Amy Kravitz's website
Rockaway Film Festival - NYC
Nayon Cho's website
Jack Gray's website
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an educator based in New York City. In this 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 personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation.
Credits:
Recorded, produced, and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Digital marketing assistance from Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks to Motörhead the dog, Nayon Cho for suggesting/introducing me to David, my parents, and Josh Pilch
All opinions belong to the guests and do not represent any other individual or entity

While Bouchra's on its world tour, I got to meet creative producers John Michael Boling and Jason Coombs who enlightened me as to why Funko Pops are a scourge on our society.  See Bouchra at Metrograph through to July 2nd or catch it in a city near you soon!
 
Wrestling with writer’s block for her first film, Bouchra, a queer Moroccan jackal living in NYC, starts having difficult yet overdue phone calls with her mother in Casablanca that begin influencing the project. Balancing the precarity of working as an artist in the United States, the rift in her identity between her two homes and an array of friendships and romantic interests, Bouchra’s emotional reckoning with her mother and herself becomes her path to expression. 
 
Links to points of discussion (will update shortly!):
Bouchra screening at Metrograph - NYC
Bouchra's website
John Michael Boling's Instagram
Jason Coombs' Instagram
2 Lizards Instagram
The Animator's Animations
The Animator's Favorites
Telfar
Fondazione Prada - Italy
The Animator's Playlist on Apple Music and Spotify
Cynthia Chu on The Animator's Friend
Twin Peaks LogPosting on Facebook
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an educator based in New York City. In this 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 personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation.
Credits:
Recorded, produced, and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Digital marketing assistance from Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
All opinions belong to the guests and do not represent any other individual or entity

Pilar and I contemplate Minnie Mouse's wikiFeet rating.
 
Pilar Garcia-Fernandezsesma is a Spanish-American animator, filmmaker, and multidisciplinary artist from New York City. They received a BFA in Film/Animation/Video from the Rhode Island School of Design and are currently based in Brooklyn.
 
Her practice encompasses both digital and traditional techniques, typically using an interplay of the two to give a mixed-media feel to her work. Pilar's storytelling often draws inspiration from ecological systems and their symbolic qualities, and uses folk horror, magical realism, and nature to examine the emotional and psychological self through a poetic and metaphorical lens. 
 
Get your hands on a Camp Snap Camera for $5 off by using my link! https://www.campsnapphoto.com/INDIALOMBARDIBELLO
Links to points of discussion (will update shortly!):
Pilar's website
Pilar's Instagram
Rhode Island School of Design - RI
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
Frog Farm - NYC
Bouchra screening - NYC
Adolescence of Utena screening - NYC
The Animator's Animations
The Animator's Playlist on Apple Music and Spotify
The Animator's Favorites
Amy Kravitz's website
LaGuardia Arts - NYC
Peter Millard's website
Donald Daffy by Peter Millard
School of Visual Arts (SVA) MFA Visual Narrative - low residency NYC
Chris Sullivan on Instagram
Consuming Spirits by Chris Sullivan
Paper Trail by Don Hertzfeldt
Steven Subotnick's website
Pilar on NewGrounds
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an educator based in New York City. In this 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 personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation.
Credits:
Recorded, produced, and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Digital marketing assistance from Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks to Lisa LaBracio, Jose Vargas, Angelica Vergel, Pilar and John Moraskie
All opinions belong to the guests and do not represent any other individual or entity

In true TAF fashion, me and Marcelese Cooper talk about bugs.
 
Marcelese Cooper is an artist and educator originally from Santa Clarita, California, and has practiced throughout the Midwest and the South for nearly a decade. Influenced by their experiences as a young, black, queer individual, Cooper explores themes of identity, community, and the black/brown narrative through mediums like animation, performance art, and experimental video. They blend the DNA of dreams, science-fiction, and surreal art-house cinema in their work.
Currently a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Film and Media Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh, Cooper merges storytelling with time-based media to nurture the next generation of storytellers. Their recent artistic endeavors extend into 2D animation, video art, and sound experimentation, with a focus on community-centered projects that emphasize group storytelling and self-mythos.
Learn more and contribute to Story Drive here - an ongoing video series focused on community storytelling. We interpret anonymous voicemails — dreams, memories, secrets, and more — into video art. Whether you're sharing a laugh, a personal truth, or a somber moment, your story will be heard. Donate to Marcelese's upcoming project On Good Days here - On Good Days is a short experimental documentary about what it means to live with chronic and autoimmune conditions on a daily basis. These conditions are often shown only during emergencies or flare ups, but most of life happens between those moments or potentially in spite of them. It happens in the pacing of energy, in care routines, in the small decisions that shape a day, and in the adaptations that allow people to keep moving through the world on their own terms. This film is focused on that living part, which is often the part that is least understood.
 
 
Get your hands on a Camp Snap Camera for $5 off by using my link! https://www.campsnapphoto.com/INDIALOMBARDIBELLO
Get 10% off your submission to the Hudson Valley Film Festival with TAFnHVFFrCOOL
 
Links to points of discussion:
Marcelese Cooper's website
Marcelese's Instagram
Story Drive's website
No More Than Anyone Else
Film Diary NYC
On Good Days on GoFundMe
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
Hellavision on June 2nd - Troy NY
No Fun - Troy NY
Ground Zero Basement - Troy NY
The Animator's Playlist on Apple Music and Spotify
Smith's Hot Dogs
Nathan's Hot Dogs
American Museum of Natural History - NYC
The Animator's Favorites
The Animator's Animations
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an educator based in New York City. In this 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 personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation.
Credits:
Recorded, produced, and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Digital marketing assistance from Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks to Benton Bainbridge for connecting me to Marcelese!
All opinions belong to the guests and do not represent any other individual or entity

From oatmeal to the occult, the London's give equal attention to their pastimes.  They even begrudgingly give equal attention to their dislikes as well which include Long Island and the discomfort of growing up.  These are featured predominently in their most recent film 1981, where the mullets are long, the metal is heavy, and 14-year-old Douglas gets a birthday surprise that will change his life forever.
 
Andy and Carolyn are writers, directors, animators and co-founders of London Squared Productions. Since 1999, they’ve been creating films, music videos and animated content. 
 
 
Get 10% off your submission to the Hudson Valley Film Festival with TAFnHVFFrCOOL
 
Get your hands on a Camp Snap Camera for $5 off by using my link! https://www.campsnapphoto.com/INDIALOMBARDIBELLO
Host your podcast on Podbean, one month free trial! https://www.podbean.com/theanimatorsfriend
Do businessy things on Podbean, one month free trial! https://www.podbean.com/pro/theanimatorsfriend
Advertise on Podbean! https://sponsorship.podbean.com/theanimatorsfriend
 
Links to points of discussion:
Sundance Film Festival
NBC Page Program
Animation Speak/Easy - NYC
Lisa LaBracio's website
Anna Samo Bergmann's website
 
The Animator's Playlist on Apple Music and Spotify
Library180 - NYC
East Village Shoe Repair - BK
Cinanima - Portugal
The Animator's Animations
The Animator's Favorites
The Metropolitan Museum of Art - NYC
Fantagraphics
Woodstock Film Festival - NYS
Sonoma International Film Festival - CA
Stuttgart International Festival of Animation Film - Germany
Joy + Noelle's website
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an educator based in New York City. In this 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 personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation.
Credits:
Recorded, produced, and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Digital marketing assistance from Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks: my mom and dad
All opinions belong to the guests and do not represent any other individual or entity
We are not doctors or mental health professionals, so consult a doctor before enacting on any of our opinions

Last night, I transcended my human form and turned into a rd carpet correspondent for the Museum of Moving Image's Marvels of Media Festival! We spoke with festival participants and organizers Dani Bowman, Jackson Tucker-Meyer, Josh Sapan, Susanna Hunt, Steven Fraser, Steph Prizhitomsky, Bob Clark, Miranda Lee, and Maxwell Scheller. The festival runs all weekend long, see details here: https://movingimage.org/series/marvels-of-media-festival-2026/
Get your hands on a Camp Snap Camera for $5 off by using my link! https://www.campsnapphoto.com/INDIALOMBARDIBELLO
Host your podcast on Podbean, one month free trial! https://www.podbean.com/theanimatorsfriend
Do businessy things on Podbean, one month free trial! https://www.podbean.com/pro/theanimatorsfriend
Advertise on Podbean! https://sponsorship.podbean.com/theanimatorsfriend
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an educator based in New York City. In this 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 personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation. https://linktr.ee/theanimatorsfriend
Credits:
Recorded and produced by India Lombardi-Bello & Arnesh KunduEdited by India Lombardi-BelloDigital marketing assistance from Arnesh KunduMusic by CloutmeyerDesign by Sawyer RipponSpecial thanks: Renata Luczak, Justin Solar, and ArneshAll opinions belong to the guests and do not represent any other individual or entity

I know I said we were on a break, but I just couldn't wait to share this bonus episode on Festival Strategy! Festival programmer Warren Etheredge shares how to get the most out of your film's festival run including insights into timeline, assessment, contact, assets, and budget. This episode will be here for you whenever you have a film ready to take out on the road! Listen, take notes, and get 75% off your submission to the Walla Walla Movie Crush this year with the code indiaisawesome! Submission deadline through to May 15th.
As for your regularly scheduled TAF programming, expect to hear from me by mid-April B)
Get your hands on a Camp Snap Camera for $5 off by using my link! https://www.campsnapphoto.com/INDIALOMBARDIBELLO
Host your podcast on Podbean, one month free trial! https://www.podbean.com/theanimatorsfriend
Do businessy things on Podbean, one month free trial! https://www.podbean.com/pro/theanimatorsfriend
Advertise on Podbean! https://sponsorship.podbean.com/theanimatorsfriend
 
Links to points of discussion:
Warren Etheredge's website
The University of Washington - WA
Cornish College of the Arts - WA
The Red Badge Project
Walla Walla Movie Crush - WA
Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) - WA
Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival - WA
The 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World, MovieMaker Magazine
Sundance Film Festival - UT
SXSW - TX
Indy Shorts Film Festival - IN
Summer Shorts Film Fest - NY
Le Court International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand - France
Annecy Festival - France
Ottawa International Animation Festival - Canada
Animafest Zagreb - Croatia
Kristie Kish's website
Michael Dondero's website
"How to Network without Networking" by Warren Etheredge
Tennis, Oranges trailer
Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) - CA
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
 
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an educator based in New York City. In this 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 personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation.
Credits:
Recorded, produced, and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Digital marketing assistance from Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks: Warren Etheredge and my mom and dad
All opinions belong to the guests and do not represent any other individual or entity

Continue your friend-of-the-pod/avatar/oink-oink drinking game with the final portion of my chat with filmmakers Santi MacLean and Joe Zuppulla!  Don't sleep on Doomscrolling and the whole Fun pet namez series!
A young man talks himself through a panic attack. In Doomscrolling, Santi MacLean layers multimedia documents and data moshes on top of a vulnerable outcry. With bulging eyes and spaghetti-like green hair, the young man speaks in the form of a 3D-animated figure. In a high pitch voice, the character extrapolates on recent feelings of self-hatred and general aimlessness, due to financial pressures and up-keeping physical and intellectual standards while encountering romantic hook-ups. Micro-aggressions stretch the narrator’s mental bandwidth into oblivion and his cryptic self-recorded videos, along with other digital images, disintegrate into the next. While the outside world and its tactile elements offer moments of calmness, only so much can heal until the state of reality hits yet again. MacLean’s film moves quickly but packs a final punch, capturing the overwhelming influx of textures and feelings siphoned into a young person’s feed, and mind, today.
Get your hands on a Camp Snap Camera for $5 off by using my link! https://www.campsnapphoto.com/INDIALOMBARDIBELLO
Host your podcast on Podbean, one month free trial! https://www.podbean.com/theanimatorsfriend
Do businessy things on Podbean, one month free trial! https://www.podbean.com/pro/theanimatorsfriend
Advertise on Podbean! https://sponsorship.podbean.com/theanimatorsfriend
 
Links to points of discussion:
The Animator's Animations
Santi MacLean's website
Santi's Instagram
Joe Zappulla's Instagram
Fun pet namez on Instagram
NoBudge
Purhcase College - NY
SUNY Oneonta - NY
The Animator's Playlist on Apple Music and Spotify
The Rizzler on Instagram
The Animator's Favorites
Brooklyn Public Library
The Sweatbox
Louvre Museum - France
Julian Glander on TAF
Art Sqool by Julian Glander
Silvia's Kitchen on Instagram
L&B Spumoni Gardens - NYC
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
 
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an educator based in New York City. In this 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 personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation.
Credits:
Recorded, produced, and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Digital marketing assistance from Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks: Talia Frank-Stemple, Ash Suh, and my mom and dad
All opinions belong to the guests and do not represent any other individual or entity

We may be in Month 2 of 2026, but Santi MacLean, Joe Zappulla, and I are still feeling the new year's energy in TAF's first ever two-part episode!  Relive the feelings of optimism that January 2nd gifted as your resolutions start to lose meaning, like the thumbs-up react on that text message you sent.
A young man talks himself through a panic attack. In Doomscrolling, Santi MacLean layers multimedia documents and data moshes on top of a vulnerable outcry. With bulging eyes and spaghetti-like green hair, the young man speaks in the form of a 3D-animated figure. In a high pitch voice, the character extrapolates on recent feelings of self-hatred and general aimlessness, due to financial pressures and up-keeping physical and intellectual standards while encountering romantic hook-ups. Micro-aggressions stretch the narrator’s mental bandwidth into oblivion and his cryptic self-recorded videos, along with other digital images, disintegrate into the next. While the outside world and its tactile elements offer moments of calmness, only so much can heal until the state of reality hits yet again. MacLean’s film moves quickly but packs a final punch, capturing the overwhelming influx of textures and feelings siphoned into a young person’s feed, and mind, today.
Get your hands on a Camp Snap Camera for $5 off by using my link! https://www.campsnapphoto.com/INDIALOMBARDIBELLO
Host your podcast on Podbean, one month free trial! https://www.podbean.com/theanimatorsfriend
Do businessy things on Podbean, one month free trial! https://www.podbean.com/pro/theanimatorsfriend
Advertise on Podbean! https://sponsorship.podbean.com/theanimatorsfriend
 
Links to points of discussion:
The Animator's Animations
Santi MacLean's website
Santi's Instagram
Joe Zappulla's Instagram
Fun pet namez on Instagram
 NoBudge
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
Julian Glander on TAF
The Animator's Playlist
Bakeri - BK
The Animator's Favorites
Brooklyn Public Library
 
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an educator based in New York City. In this 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 personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation.
Credits:
Recorded, produced, and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Digital marketing assistance from Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks: Talia Frank-Stemple, Michael Dondero, Kristie Kish, Malt Adult, my mom and dad.
All opinions belong to the guests and do not represent any other individual or entity.