Trip to Brazil and Upcoming NYC Screening

I've been to Brazil many times over the years, to festivals in Rio, Sao Paulo and most recently, Porto Allegre.  I just love it in Brazil - the climate, the architecture, the vegetation and especially the young animation fans. 

                                       In front of some of that great Brazilian architecture!

Last week I visited Sao Paulo to be part of a Centennial Celebration of Brazilian Animation at the Itau Cultural Center, sponsored by the Itau Bank.  I showed "Revengeance" and "Cop Dog" to a great response, and I also did a Master Class that was packed with young, eager animators.

Animation seems to be exploding in Brazil, as it is in many parts of the world.  Part of the popularity of animation there is because of a wonderful annual film festival there called Anima Mundi, which has been a wonderful success since the 1990's, and has screened many of my films.

Now, a lot of the animation industry is working on independent feature films, and one of the most successful of these indie animators is Ale Abreu, the writer and director of the very successful 2015 feature "Boy and the World", which was nominated for an Oscar in 2016.  Ale and I had met before, at the Annecy Animation Festival (where "Boy and the World" won TWO awards) but this time we got to hang out and have extended conversations about the Oscars, financing and creative aspects of animation also. 

                                                             With Ale Abreu in Brazil

He also gave me a tour of his studio/home and I must say, I've never seen a cleaner artist's studio.  If  you were to visit my studio in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, you'd see the opposite - boxes everywhere, stacks of paper, folders, art materials, etc.  I often lose important papers in the miasma of artwork that is my studio, which is bad.  However, everything I need is also at my arms' reach, theoretically.

So, if you have an animated film, be sure to enter Anima Mundi - and if you are accepted, be sure to attend, you'll love it.  Brazil is such a paradise....

I also want to remind everyone about our upcoming NYC premiere of "Revengeance", on Wednesday, September 13 at 7:00 pm at the SVA Cinema, 333 West 23rd St.  This will be a rare chance to see this wacky feature, created by Jim Lujan and me, for FREE admission.  It's part of SVA's "After School Special" program, and it's strictly first-come, first-served. 

We like to say, if Tarantino had ever made an animated film, it might look like this...

I'll be there in person, to give everyone who attends a free Bill Plympton sketch!  Also, as an added bonus, co-director Jim Lujan, who lives in L.A., will be Skyped in to join us in the post-screening conversation, and we'll talk about the origins of the film and what it was like working together to make it happen - it will be a most entertaining and illuminating evening. 

Please come, bring your friends and help us spread the word - and it's FREE!  See you there!

--Bill P.