New York City is a place of constant change, invention and chaos.Avoid Eye Contact sums up these urban qualities in animated terms. Avoid Eye Contact Volume 2 continues to explore the thriving contemporary independent scene going on in New York City.

Starting in the 1960s, a close-knit community has formed, fueled by small screenings, studio visits,
local festivals, social events, and monthly events presented by Asifa-East; an intimate exchange of ideas, techniques and stories has developed.
 
These artists don't seem to follow any trends and, although savvy, are not beholden to any technology. They live hand-to-mouth in one of the most expensive cities in the world, finding ways to produce their films within those restrictions, and that fact underlies every New York film you see. The New York independent animators, as represented on Avoid Eye Contact, are far from outsider artists. They balance time to work on commercial jobs with the time needed to complete their independent endeavors. It is often the case that the two feed each other, supplying a testing ground for techniques, styles, and storytelling devices. Funds gathered from paying jobs are poured into personal projects.
 
In New York, the commercial and the independent converge in a way rarely seen anywhere else in the world. All of the artists collected on the two volumes of Avoid Eye Contact have commercial pedigrees to rival any of the accolades received from their independent work. The commercial success only makes the luster of these independent films grow brighter.
 
The self-distributed DVD Avoid Eye Contact Volume 1 has sold an impressive 2000 copies worldwide. Avoid Eye Contact Volume 2 continues the tradition, offering a new program of films and animators spanning the last five years. Young animators join seasoned masters in a show that is surely to become another important part of the animation enthusiast's library.
 
All films are international award-winners, each with a distinct look, united only by genre and the gritty soul of New York City.

Programme:
Thursday, September 22, 11:00 pm (Arts Court - Club SAW) 
Friday, September 23, 11:00 pm (Arts Court - Club SAW) 

The Mousachist [2001] John Dilworth
Coffee [2003] Rohitash Rao
Handshake [2004] Patrick Smith
Fetch [2001] Nina Paley
Moonraker [2004] Fran Krause
The Man Who Yelled [1990] Mo Willems
Dentist [2005] Signe Baumane
Pee-Nut [2004] PES
Space War [1997] Christy Karacas
The Stork [2001] Nina Paley
CNN vs. MTV [ ] Rohitash Rao
Push Comes to Shove [1991] Bill Plympton
Frog [2004] Chris Conforti
Atlas Gets a Drink [1999] Michael Overbeck
Life [1999] Mo Willems
Eat [2001] Bill Plympton 
Bar Fight [2001] Christy Karacas 

Handshake

Dentist

Bar Fight

Moonraker