SLIDE screenings - May & June

This spring I've continued to be a busy traveler - I feel a bit like a neophyte musician, traveling all over the world trying to make a few bucks, spread awareness of my work and try to make a few new fans. 

ANIMAYO FESTIVAL, CANARY ISLANDS, May 8-10

My first trip in May was actually to two festival events - the first was a stop in the Canary Islands, where my buddy Damian holds the wonderful Animayo Festival.  There were a lot of great guests, one of them was the famous John Musker of "Hercules" and "Aladdin" fame.  He had so many great stories about the Disney Studios - however, I forgot to ask him about my being invited to work on "Aladdin" as the animator for Genie character (a job which I turned down). 

MEKNES ANIMATION FESTIVAL, MOROCCO, May 10-15

From the Canary Islands I flew to attend FICAM, aka the Meknes Animation Festival.  Fortunately the two festivals worked together to get me from the Canary Islands to Morocco, so I didn't have to go back to New York and catch another flight - and the schedule was tight so I don't think I would have been able to do that.  When I think of Morocco I always think of deserts and camels, however all I saw were beautiful orchards and fields of colorful flowers.  It was a very important festival for me because I was being honored with a Lifetime Achievement prize, there was a huge photo of me hanging from the front of the cinema.  

As usual, I did a "Slide" screening and a Master Class - they were both held kind of late at night so the turnout was not immense.  The hotel where I stayed was quite magnificent but it was built in the 1930's and since then it's been going a bit downhill.  They had two wonderful pools, one of them was very large, and two tennis courts that were overgrown with ivy.  It would be a great place to shoot a surreal murder mystery film. 

FRAMED INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL, GRONINGEN, NETHERLANDS, May 23-26

Another trip I took in May was to a new festival, called Framed, which took place in Groningen in the Netherlands - they'd heard about "Slide" and contacted me to arrange a screening and also a Master Class. Groningen is a quaint city that of course is adacent to a canal, and they have a large Gothic cathedral and a clock tower that are a few centuries old.  But by contrast there's a very futuristic-looking museum that showcases contemporary art.  

I didn't have much luck selling my animation art there, after the screening, because most of the people who came to my class were students, and I guess they didn't have much money.  But there was one woman there who also saw me at Animayo, and she ended up e-mailing my office manager and she bought some of my art online, so it wasn't a total loss. 

ANIMAFEST ZAGREB, CROATIA, June 3-8

The historic Animafest in Zagreb is one of the oldest animation festivals in the world, and this was my next stop.  I'm good friends with the festival director, Daniel Suljic.  They programmed my classic short "Guard Dog" for a humor program and my new feature "Slide" for a program called "Masters of Animation", which was a nice tribute - and they also wanted me to do a Master Class.  It's a huge honor to have my films play there, plus doing a Master Class is always fun.  

There were a lot of animation greats there: Barry Purves, Phil Mulloy, George Schwizgebel and the great Michaël Dudok de Wit.  The high point was the annual Zagreb picnic - all 100 animators walk through downtown Zagreb to a lovely park where we had wine and a Croatian staple, beef goulash.  It was a perfect way to end the festival. 

WIESBADEN ANIMATION FESTIVAL, GERMANY June 27-30

Most recently, I traveled to Weisbaden for the Trickfilm Animation Festival, and I was placed in this cute little hotel situated right on the Rhine river, right next to the grand castle of Wiesbaden.  It was a wonderful evening at the historic Calagari Cinema, with lots of politicians and locals celebs who came to greet me and watch "Slide".  We got a wonderful reception and the line for autographs and sketches went on forever - it was fabulous!  

I have more festivals and events coming up, and I hope to bring these to your attention in the next few months - the big one for me is going to be the Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation and Technology, which is held in Portland Oregon, August 21-25 at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, 1945 SW Water Ave.  As I write this, they haven't posted their complete schedule yet, but perhaps by the time you read this the schedule and a ticket link will be posted here: 

https://pdxfestofcinema.com/films/schedule/

I believe they're going to screen "Slide" on August 22, and I'm planning to be there in person for the screening, because I have my high-school reunion in Portland the next day.  So I'm killing two birds with one stone, and I've cashed in some frequent flyer miles so I can be in PDX for both events.  The PCAT Festival is also going to be screening the documentary "Downwind", directed by Mark Shapiro and executive produced by Matthew Modine and Adam Rackoff, with some animation done by ME.  So check that one out, too, if you get a chance, it's an important film about the fallout from nuclear testing.

Another project I did some animation for is the new video by Weird Al Yankovic, called "Polkamania".  By the time you read this, the video should have dropped on Friday, July 19.  There's about 10 seconds of animation by ME, and then the other animation came from a bunch of other animators that Al hired.  You can probably spot my style on the clip that goes with Ed Sheeran's song "The Shape of You".  

Check out Weird Al's new video "Polkamania" here: 

https://youtu.be/y0ZoX4dBvwk?si=_QNWv8b9TrKWuEmn

Also, we had a big art sale in my studio on a weekend in June - it went very well and we sold enough art to pay the studio rent and some other bills too.  But I want to remind everyone that while the live sale is over, we're still selling art from all of my films, that process is ongoing, because for some reason the landlord wants me to pay rent EVERY month.  You probably know the drill by now - if you want any signed animation art from any of my films, send us an e-mail to:  studio@plymptoons.com and my office manager will send you some scans so you can choose the art you want, and then you just send me the money via PayPal or Zelle or Venmo or Square and we mail it out to you!  What could be easier? 

Have a great summer!  Talk to you again really soon!

-Bill P.

Studio Art Sale, June 22-23

Hey, art fans!

My BIG in-person open-studio art sale is about to start, this coming weekend, June 22-23.  Please come by and purchase some original, signed animation art from one of my films!

I've got bins and bins of art for basically give-away prices, and I've got a few pieces from the "Simpsons" couch gags and the Oscar-nominated short "Your Face" left, and so much more!

And for everyone who comes, I've got a free gift and a personal sketch from yours truly! 

So on June 22 or 23, come to my Manhattan studio at 151 West 30th St. (between 6th/7th Ave). on the fourth floor from noon to 4 pm and get the art of a lifetime!

Also, following the sale, I'm holding a special in-person animation class and portfolio review, from 4 pm to 7 pm for just $100 per person. 

Hope to see you there!

--Bill P.

SLIDE screenings - March + April

I've been preoccupied these last few weeks, finishing the final DCP for "Slide" and that's the reason why I've been remiss in writing the latest chapters for Scribble Junkies. 

AMDOCS FESTIVAL, Palm Springs, CA - March 21-25

The next stop on my festival tour was Palm Springs, the AmDocs Festival. Teddy puts on a great show and really takes care of the animators. We had one great party at the Walt Disney Ranch.  That Disney guy was taking over the U.S. with all of his projects - who knew he had a ranch in Palm Springs? His main house had a lot of great photos from his early years in California, and Walt playing polo on his horse. 

Then, the next night the party was at a pot club. I admit I took a few drugs in my early college years and quite honestly, I believe it was very beneficial to my surrealist style of humor.  So the bartender suggested I try their marijuana beer.  It didn't taste like a real beer and it seemed like a very watered-down cerveza - but I joined a friendly co-ed pool match and about halfway through it hit!  I had to leave the pool game and just watch my bizarre surroundings and enjoy the crazy rock band that morphed into one of my weirder cartoons.

Also, while in Palm Springs I had dinner with a great bunch of folks, including Oscar-winner Joan Gratz, Rose Bond, Chel White, Melissa Marsland and Jim Blashfield.   This was kind of like a "Who's Who" of Portland based animation directors and producers!  It was so wonderful to hang out with this elite group!

HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - March 28-April 2

The next stop was Hong Kong - because of my films being pirated on the internet, and therefore quite popular in China, I was guaranteed a large audience, but they were mostly students so I didn't sell much merchandise.  

One of the other guest filmmakers was Martin McDonagh, the creative genius behind "In Bruges", "Seven Psychopaths", "The Banshees of Inisherin" and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri".  What a great talk! 

One of the great things about these faraway festivals is that the airlines don't want you to get bored so they cram way too many films on the screen.  So most of the films in their library are ones I've never heard of.  One title was very intriguing, so I had to give it a shot - and if it was a dud, it would be easy to select an alternate film. So I decided to give it 5 minutes, it was called "Apocalypse Clown" - it's an Irish film, however 30 seconds into the film I was laughing my ass off.  The premise, as if it needed one, is that the clowns have become very tribal - you've got the circus clowns vs. statue clowns vs. mime clowns, and because they've been involved in turf wars, they've all been thrown into prison, along with one woman, a non-clown reporter, who was shunned by her friends because she had sex with a clown.  And during their imprisonment, the apocalypse has wiped out most of mankind, so the clowns take over civilization.  But can they keep it, without killing each other?  It's sort of in the genre of "Sharknado or "Cocaine Bear" or "Surf Nazis Must Die".  But it's ten times funnier than those films.  This has to be the funniest film by far in the last decade, it rivals my favorite comedy, "The Producers" - so go and see it NOW!

FLORIDA FILM FESTIVAL, Maitland, Florida - April 14-16

I then returned to one of my favorite festivals, the Florida Film Festival.  It's great because the center of the festival takes place at the Enzian Theater, which is nestled under these huge Spanish moss trees, to keep the outdoor restaurant cool and shady.  So everyone is in party mode all day long.  I had bumped into Matt Curtis, the festival's director, back in January at the Sundance Festival, so my film "Slide" had been on his radar since then, that's how this crazy festival thing works sometimes. 

John Cleese made an appearance after the screening of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail' and after that very funny film, John talked for an hour about how to make something funny - I was in heaven. 

ANIMOCJE FESTIVAL, Bydgoszcz, Poland - April 14-20

More recently I returned from a film festival in Poland called "Animocje".  I gave my master class on animation and screened some of my short films, plus the trailer for "Slide".  Everybody seemed to enjoy my class and I posed for a few photos after. Then the next day I appeared at the screening of the full movie of "Slide". 

I was joined by two very talented musicians, Gosia and Aga, who have an album out now called "Fairies Garden".  Their music is wonderful - check it out, you'll love it.  They took me on a fascinating tour of Warsaw - most of it has been rebuilt to match the pre-World War II look of that city, with emphasis on the Warsaw Ghetto.

Visit their web-site at: www.fairies.pl

SANTA FE FILM FESTIVAL, New Mexico - April 25-28

And now I'm writing from the airport in Santa Fe, New Mexico - where they have remodeled the buildings to look like the old pueblo communities.  I love it, but I feel a little like I'm living in a giant sand castle village. 

Not only did "Slide" play here in Santa Fe but also an important film that I did animation for, called "Downwind".  It's a documentary about the radiation from nuclear testing, and I was able to join the director, Mark Shapiro and producer Matthew Modine for the Q&A after the film.  It's a topic very important to New Mexico because that state received a huge percentage of the radiation and zero government money for all the damage it did to the population. 

My film "Slide" showed in the Jean Cocteau Cinema, which was a bit weird because only 2 days earlier I watched the classic Cocteau film "Beauty and the Beast" from around 1946, what a masterpiece. I saw that film when I was in college, and it inspired me to make animated feature films.  I had a good crowd, lots of laughs and I did my "sign and sell" after.

I was ready to go home and I took a taxi to the airport, but I discovered I had somehow missed my flight by a day - forunately the ticket office was able to book me on a red-eye flight later that night.  But the day wasn't a loss, because as I was waiting in the tiny lounge I was able to complete a number of storyboards and some concept art - so what a productive day that turned out to be!

Now on to upcoming events:

BIG APPLE FILM FESTIVAL

We just got word about our NYC festival premiere of "Slide", it will be at the Big Apple Film Festival on Monday, May 20 at 3:30 pm, the location is the Look Dine-In Cinemas on 657 West 57th St. in Manhattan.  This is very exciting, for me to see the film play in my own city!  I will do my best to be there and introduce the film, or speak after, or whatever they'll let me do!

You can get tickets now at this link:

https://baff2024springedition.eventive.org/films/6630fd2ad47bf300393fde13

BENEFIT AT BEDFORD PLAYHOUSE

Then, just two days later, I'll be hosting a benefit up in Bedford, NY, on May 22, 7 pm at the famous Bedford Playhouse, which is at 633 Old Post Road.  We're going to celebrate the new film and have a panel about creativity, art and animation with some very special guests, and it will be moderated by Vanessa Smith.

We'll also sell artwork from the new feature, also art from my "Simpsons" couch gags and the Oscar-nominated short "Your Face".  There will also be a performance of music from "Slide" by composer and Spirit Award nominee Maureen McElheron.  Refreshments by Nitty's Cider and everyone who comes gets a free Bill Plympton sketch!  

For tickets, go to: 

https://bedfordplayhouse.org/special_events/why-do-animation-and-creativity-matter/

I hope to see you there!  I'll continue on with my film festival travels and keep you up to date on "Slide" news.  Thanks for your interest and attention.

--Bill Plympton

SLIDE Screenings - April & May, plus SPRING ART SALE

Hi fans, 

In my last blog post I told you about the screenings of my new feature animated film, "SLIDE" that took place in January and February.  Well, I'm trying to catch up and even get ahead of the game, for one reason, so you will know when and where the screenings are BEFORE they happen!  I figure that this way, if there's one near you, or even far away, you can make plans to go see the film!  If I just let you know after, what good is that, the film already happened!  So now you can expect to see the film at these festivals and you can make some plans - please visit the web-sites for each festival if you want to see their exact programming schedule and find out how to get tickets.  You can just Google it, right? 

Kaboom Animation Festival, Netherlands, April 5-14, 2024

Florida Film Festival, Maitland FL, April 12-21, 2024

ANIMOCJE, Bydgoszcz, Poland, April 14-20, 2024

USA Film Festival, Dallas TX, April 17-21, 2024

International Trickfilm Festival, Stuttgart, Germany, April 23-28, 2024 (outdoor screening)

Worldfest Houston, Houston TX, April 24-28, 2024

Santa Fe Film Festival, Santa Fe NM, April 25-28, 2024

Melbourne International Animation Festival, Melbourne, Australia, May 5-12, 2024

Anifilm, Czech Republic, May 7-12, 2024

AniMayo Festival, Canary Islands, Spain, May 8-11, 2024

Meknes Animation Festival (FICAM), Morocco, May 10-15, 2024

I'm going to be appearing LIVE in person at the Florida Film Festival, the ANIMOCJE Festival in Poland, the Santa Fe Film Festival, the AniMayo Festival and the Meknes Animation Festival.  Well, I can't be everywhere, but I'm sure going to try!  It can get very tricky, like I said "YES" to too many festivals and accidentally scheduled myself to be in two places at once, which I still can't find a way to do!  My trusted office manager had to step in and get the festival's travel coordinators talking to each other, so we could find a way for me to be at both festivals!

Please come see me at one of those events and buy some merch, I'll do a signed sketch for you!  

In other news, we are going to have another BIG Spring Art sale!  And for the FIRST TIME ever, we'll be selling artwork from "SLIDE"!  I've been working on the film for about 7 years and it's truly been a labor of love.  Now I've finished it, and it looks GORGEOUS!

If you've seen any of my beautiful, early illustrations, you'll see that I've now created an entire feature film in a similar ball-point pen style, then using Prismacolor pencils to make a magnificent, never-before-seen style.  Nobody else would be stupid or crazy enough to make a whole feature film with these tools!  

So I'm offering these primo pieces from "Slide", an animated comedy musical Western, for the first time.  The film has already won four festival awards, and we're looking to release the film theatrically by winter-time.  It's about a slide guitar playing cowboy who cleans up a corrupt and deadly lumber camp town.  You can see the trailer here: 

https://youtu.be/HYOpnjhQlJg

In addition, we'll be selling the art from my previous films during this sale, at the same price structure as before: 

Art from "Your Face" and "The Simpsons" couch gags, $300 per piece plus postage

Art from "25 Ways to Quit Smoking" and "How to Kiss", $200 per piece plus postage

Art from my other older features, shorts and music videos for $100 per piece, plus postage.

The way it all works is, you just e-mail us at studio@plymptoons.com and let us know what Bill Plympton film or films you want to buy art from.  If you have a specific image in mind, my staff will track it down IF we still have it.  Or we can send you scans of 5 or 10 drawings from a film and you can choose the one you like.  Postage is then usually $10 if you live in the U.S. or $30 if you live in a different country - BUT if you want to buy several drawings or cels, we can ship them together and you only have to pay the postage once!  

We're really close to running of art from some of my older films, so if you want to buy signed original art from "Your Face" or "How to Kiss" you need to e-mail us very soon!  Don't delay! 

I still have bills from the post-production on "Slide" so I'm willing to open up the archives and dust off the old bins of art from "The Tune" and "I Married a Strange Person" and "Mutant Aliens", just let us know which films you're most interested in and we'll get your animation art collection going!

You can see some of the available art from "Slide" posted below - but there's a lot more!  Just give us an e-mail and let us know what art you're interested in!

Thanks, 

Bill Plympton

studio@plymptoons.com

SLIDE screenings - January + February

SLAMDANCE FESTIVAL - January 19-25

I used to go to the Sundance Festival every couple of years - but it's become much tougher to get any film into that festival, plus they only accept Premieres, and we'd already screened "Slide" at a few festivals as a work-in-progress.  So we entered the film into Slamdance, which usually only accepts feature films from first-time filmmakers, except they have a "Breakouts" section for non-first timers, and I happen to be an alumni of Slamdance, having screened my feature "Hair High" there in 2004, and other films over the years. So when I heard it got in I just HAD to go to Park City, and my super-producer Daniel Neiden joined me there. 

Big problem, all of the local hotels were overbooked, even though they were charging overpriced rates - so Daniel wisely got a room in Salt Lake City (about an hour away) and I decided to sleep at the airport in order to catch an early flight home.

But first Daniel and I hit the festival running - we had all the needed publicity items: postcards, posters and even clever guitar picks with a QR code on the back, because it's a musical western, get it?  We were fortunate to run into many old friends, like two of the original organizers of Slamdance, Dan Mirvish and Paul Rachman, and they helped us get organized and figure out how to find everything we needed in the large Yarrow hotel.  

At Slamdance with Paul Rachman, Karin Hayes & Daniel Neiden

At Slamdance with Richard Lorber

I was dressed up as a cowboy to get people into a Western state of mind.  I sat through the screening, which was an almost-capacity crowd, and of course I loved hearing the laughs of the crowd, and hated that there were a couple non-laughs.  After we did a Q&A session and I signed cards for fans and sold artwork.  One lady came up to me and told me how her husband used to watch my cartoon on MTV and study my work - it turns out she was married to Mike Judge!  

But the best part was there were a number of distributors in the audience, and we actually had buyers lined up to inquire about rights to the film - and that's never happened with my feature films before!  Plus we won a big award at Slamdance, Honorable Mention in the Breakouts section, and that's with a version of "Slide" that was only about 90% done!  

INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM - January 25-February 4

Over the years I've heard a lot about the Rotterdam festival, that it was basically like the Berlin Festival, but in Holland - that it was a great place to meet dealers and make sales.  So Daniel and I decided to attend the screening of "Slide" there too.  Also, my terrific French distributors, E.D. Distribution, wanted to meet us there.  The festival put me up in a wonderful Marriott hotel just around the corner, and my screenings were hugely successful, lots of applause and laughter.  The people at the festival were so helpful and friendly so I could have a successful signing afterwards and sell some artwork.  A lot of people wanted to take photos with me. 

For some reason, my films are more popular in Europe than in the USA.  So the high point of the trip for me was visiting a local Rotterdam animation studio.  Aneta from the Kaboom Animation Festival was kind enough to guide me to the party, where I ran into the greatest animator in Holland, Hisko Hulsing (please check out his work, he's fantastic!)

At the IFF Rotterdam with Hisko Hulsing!

Early the next morning, I discovered that my image of Rotterdam being a market festival proved to be somewhat false, as we were unable to meet with any prospective buyers.  It's too bad, because our screenings were packed to the gills, and the film received loud applause and laughter. 

CINEMA ARTS CENTRE, HUNTINGTON, LONG ISLAND - February 18

Deep into the North Shore of Long Island, there's this "Brigadoon"-like cinema, it seems like a magical place where they show a lot of gems that aren't just big Hollywood pictures.  And they're all total film nuts there.  It feels like I end up there every three or four years, and then it's like I never really left. 

So again, I found myself at the legendary Cinema Arts Centre to show my newest feature "Slide".  Again, I wore my cowboy regalia and I brought Daniel, my magical producer and Sasha Odesa, one of the great actresses who did voices for "Slide".  Plus, of course, the woman who wrote and sang the wonderful cowboy music for "Slide", the genius Maureen McElheron, and she kicked off the show by singing a song from the film. 

The full crowd went crazy with love for her!  Then came the film, and the crowd laughed their asses off.  We had sustained applause at the end (which I've never encountered before) and I had to tell them, "Stop! Enough!"  And then we held the usual "meet and greet" (or "sign and sell") with a line that lasted an hour!  I was in heaven, so many photos and autographs - and after they took me out for a beautiful seafood dinner.  What a day!  

Let's hope I can return to this "Brigadoon" of movies soon!  

Maureen McElheron warming up

At the Cinema Arts Centre with Bunny Hoest

ALAMEDA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, ALAMEDA, CA - February 22-25

Just so you know - when I complete a feature film, one of the great joys is the opportunity to travel the world, showing the new film in many far-flung places.  I remember Quentin Tarantino telling me how he traveled around the world for a year, presenting "Reservoir Dogs" and never spent a dime of his own money.  

So here I am with a new film, and my daily calendar is filling up with festivals - about three times a month somebody wants me to present my new cowboy musical.  And my office manager is working hard, looking for new festivals to enter, trying to pick the best ones that "Slide" is qualified for, and trying to find ones that don't conflict with each other, it isn't easy!  

We had a screening of "Slide" at the San Francisco Independent Film Festival, which was held at the Roxie Theater, February 8-18 (we kind of missed their deadline, but they e-mailed me and said it wouldn't be a festival without a new Bill Plympton film) and unfortunately they didn't have a travel budget for me to attend.  

But instead, just a week later,  I was able to attend another festival in beautiful Alameda, on the San Francisco Bay, next to Oakland.  It's a prosperous little community with one of the most gorgeous, 1930's-style ornate cinemas.  The festival had a lot of great programming and super volunteers and was organized very well.  All of my shows were sold out (happily) and my Master Class was packed!

I was also able to take part in a few social events there - the best was a function at the local tycoon's cool Victorian home.  Alameda is apparently chock full of beautifully restored Victorian buildings.  Another wonderful side trip was organized by an old friend of mine who moved to San Francisco.  She took my on a drive up the side of a local mountain called "El Diablo" - she's a great driver but I must say that the very narrow road was unencumbered by fencing, which would have protected the vehicle from falling off a very steep cliff.  But there was a beautiful view of the bay and the nearby neighborhoods.  

By the way, "Slide" ended up winning the Grand Jury Prize at the Alameda Film Festival!

holding the Grand Jury award for "Slide"

At the Alameda Film Festival with Webster Colcord and Steve Segal

JOANNA QUINN EVENT

Back in New York now, and Joanna Quinn is visiting.  She's one of the all-time greatest animators alive today, and I see her very rarely because she doesn't travel that much.  But she's here this week to be feted by the city of Philadelphia for her great work and she decided to make a side-trip to NYC.

Candy Kugel put together a wonderful evening for ASIFA-East to introduce Joanna to her many animation friends in NYC, and also meet some new ones.  It was a great crowd - all the animation "hoi polloi" were there, like George Griffin, Signe Baumane, Sturgis Warner, Debbie Solomon, Biljana Labovic, Lisa Labracio and Frank Morris.  What fun!  I believe that with COVID finally fading away, we'll be able to have more social events like this one!

With Joanna Quinn and Les

with Sandrine, Lucas and Biljana Labovic

We'll post a schedule shortly with more festivals coming up that are planning to screen "SLIDE", so please check back soon and then come out and join me at a festival!

-Bill P.