Conversations with filmmakers selected to the festival.
Bill Plympton is the King of Indie Animation and is the first person to hand draw an entire animated feature film. After a career in editorial cartooning, Plympton produced his first personal film, for which he was nominated for an Oscar® for his animated short Your Face. After producing many shorts that appeared on MTV and Spike & Mike’s Animation Festival, he turned his talent to feature films. Since 1991, Plympton has made nine feature films, all hand-drawn.
In 2005, Bill received another Oscar® nomination, this time for his short Guard Dog. His film, Push Comes to Shove won the prestigious Cannes 1991 Palme d'Or; and in 2001, another short film, Eat, won the Grand Prize for Short Films in Cannes Critics' Week. In 2006, Bill received the Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award from The Annie Awards. He also animated 7 opening "couch gags" for FOX-TV's The Simpsons including the monumental one for the 700th episode.
In this session, Plympton discusses his squiggly style, those ones that inspire him and his latest film, Demi’s Panic.
SPEAKER
Bill Plympton
Director, Animator // Independent
(Cheatin', Idiots and Angels, Guard Dog, Your Face)
Bill Plympton is considered the King of Indie Animation and is the first person to hand draw an entire animated feature film. Bill moved to New York City from Portland, Oregon in 1968 and began his career creating cartoons for publications such as New York Times, National Lampoon, Playboy, and Screw.
In 1987, he was nominated for an Oscar® for his animated short Your Face. In 2005, Bill received another Oscar® nomination, this time for his short Guard Dog. Push Comes to Shove won the prestigious Cannes 1991 Palme d'Or; and in 2001, another short film, Eat, won the Grand Prize for Short Films in Cannes Critics' Week.
After producing many shorts that appeared on MTV and Spike and Mike's, he turned his talent to feature films. Since 1991, he's made eleven feature films. Eight of them, The Tune, Mondo Plympton, I Married A Strange Person, Mutant Aliens, Hair High, Idiots and Angels, Cheatin', and Revengeance are all animated features.
Bill Plympton has also collaborated with Madonna, Kanye West and Weird Al Yankovic in a number of music videos and book projects. In 2006, he received the Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award from The Annie Awards. He also animated 7 opening "couch gags" for FOX-TV's The Simpsons and 6 Trump Bites shorts using real audio from Donald Trump, which won a 2019 Webby Award.
Website // IMDb // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter
MODERATOR
Keith Blackmore
Sr. Lecturer // Vancouver Film School
As an animation historian, Keith Blackmore has been a passionate cheerleader and a voice for all-things animated in the Vancouver area for almost 30 years. As one of the producers of the SPARK ANIMATION Festival and an active member of the local SIGGRAPH chapter, Keith has presented, interviewed and moderated at many festivals, local and national.
Since 1995, Blackmore has educated, entertained and inspired students in the history of animation and media studies at the Vancouver Film School. When he’s not reading, teaching or talking about animation, he’s watching it.
Conversations with filmmakers selected to the festival.
Bill Plympton is the King of Indie Animation and is the first person to hand draw an entire animated feature film. After a career in editorial cartooning, Plympton produced his first personal film, for which he was nominated for an Oscar® for his animated short Your Face. After producing many shorts that appeared on MTV and Spike & Mike’s Animation Festival, he turned his talent to feature films. Since 1991, Plympton has made nine feature films, all hand-drawn.
In 2005, Bill received another Oscar® nomination, this time for his short Guard Dog. His film, Push Comes to Shove won the prestigious Cannes 1991 Palme d'Or; and in 2001, another short film, Eat, won the Grand Prize for Short Films in Cannes Critics' Week. In 2006, Bill received the Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award from The Annie Awards. He also animated 7 opening "couch gags" for FOX-TV's The Simpsons including the monumental one for the 700th episode.
In this session, Plympton discusses his squiggly style, those ones that inspire him and his latest film, Demi’s Panic.
SPEAKER
Bill Plympton
Director, Animator // Independent
(Cheatin', Idiots and Angels, Guard Dog, Your Face)
Bill Plympton is considered the King of Indie Animation and is the first person to hand draw an entire animated feature film. Bill moved to New York City from Portland, Oregon in 1968 and began his career creating cartoons for publications such as New York Times, National Lampoon, Playboy, and Screw.
In 1987, he was nominated for an Oscar® for his animated short Your Face. In 2005, Bill received another Oscar® nomination, this time for his short Guard Dog. Push Comes to Shove won the prestigious Cannes 1991 Palme d'Or; and in 2001, another short film, Eat, won the Grand Prize for Short Films in Cannes Critics' Week.
After producing many shorts that appeared on MTV and Spike and Mike's, he turned his talent to feature films. Since 1991, he's made eleven feature films. Eight of them, The Tune, Mondo Plympton, I Married A Strange Person, Mutant Aliens, Hair High, Idiots and Angels, Cheatin', and Revengeance are all animated features.
Bill Plympton has also collaborated with Madonna, Kanye West and Weird Al Yankovic in a number of music videos and book projects. In 2006, he received the Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award from The Annie Awards. He also animated 7 opening "couch gags" for FOX-TV's The Simpsons and 6 Trump Bites shorts using real audio from Donald Trump, which won a 2019 Webby Award.
Website // IMDb // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter
MODERATOR
Keith Blackmore
Sr. Lecturer // Vancouver Film School
As an animation historian, Keith Blackmore has been a passionate cheerleader and a voice for all-things animated in the Vancouver area for almost 30 years. As one of the producers of the SPARK ANIMATION Festival and an active member of the local SIGGRAPH chapter, Keith has presented, interviewed and moderated at many festivals, local and national.
Since 1995, Blackmore has educated, entertained and inspired students in the history of animation and media studies at the Vancouver Film School. When he’s not reading, teaching or talking about animation, he’s watching it.
