I went to a wonderful festival, FICAM, in Meknes, Morocco that was run by Mohamed Beyoud. It all takes place in the Institute Francais estate (Morocco used to be a French territory) and screening hall. It's located in a very fertile forest, with Arabic tents located everywhere, with a wonderful large central tent where we ate all of our meals. The audiences were terrific, lots of fans with a great appreciation for and knowledge of animation.
Plus, there was a preponderance of great animators there - Michael Dudok De Wit ("The Red Turtle"), Michel Ocelot ("Kirikou"), Ann Marie Fleming ("Window Horses", "La vie en Rosie"), Claude Barras ("My Life as a Zucchini"), Jean-Francois Laguionie ("Louise in Winter") and the great David Silverman, who was a complete rock star there because he directed "The Simpsons Movie".
We were never able to just sit and talk without a line forming to get sketches of Bart or Homer - yes, "The Simpsons" is an international phenomenon. So if you have a new film next year, definitely enter it into FICAM, and try to go - it's a lovely festival and they have the most succulent oranges I've ever eaten.
Next item, I've just finished my newest "Dog" film, called "Cop Dog", and I believe it's my best one. Fans have been bugging me for years for another sequel to "Guard Dog" and "Guide Dog", so I came up with what I think is a very funny story. It's going to premiere at the Florida Film Festival in April, and you should be seeing it soon at other film festivals. Watch for it, you'll love it!
Also, I've decided to start a Patreon account, so my fans can follow up on the studio's new projects. We'll be deciding on the rewards soon - that's always a critical decision because if it's something to mail, it's a big chore and if it's something people can download that's so much easier, but maybe not as valued. So I have to figure out something that's cool but also easy to send.
And finally, I don't know if you saw it, but my most recent "Couch Gag" for "The Simpsons" premiered a couple of weeks ago, to universal applause and acclaim, and if you missed it, you can see it on Twitter here:
https://twitter.com/TheSimpsons/status/839934521751425025
I love working for "The Simpsons" - they're all great guys and the shows are seen all over the world! Weird...
So those are my excuses for the delay in my Scribble Junkies posts. I promise to be a good boy and post a weekly or bi-weekly report. Thanks for your attention.
--Bill Plympton
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