Leading independent animation figure and two-time Oscar nominee Bill Plympton will be the featured special guest for this year’s Director Spotlight at the 17th annual Aspen Shortsfest. He will conduct an animation master class demonstrating his creative process and premiere a brand new short titled Hot Dog at the event, which takes place April 2-6 in Apsen, Colorado.
Plympton has directed more than 30 films, including such memorable shorts as How to Kiss, 25 Ways to Quit Smoking and recent Oscar nominee Guide Dog, as well as the features I Married a Strange Person, Mutant Aliens and Hair High. Marked by a signature hand-drawn style and a twisted sense of humor, his cartoons have won top accolades at festivals around the world, including Cannes, Sundance and Annecy.
Before becoming the face of independent animation, Plympton was an illustrator and cartoonist, contributing to such publications as The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and The Village Voice. He segued into filmmaking in 1983 when he was asked to animate a short film based on Jules Feiffer’s song ‘Boomtown.’ Four years later, his short Your Face was nominated for an Academy Award. For his first full-length feature, 1992’s The Tune, Plympton drew and colored all 30,000 cels himself. He has also directed commercials and music videos, and his shorts frequently appeared on MTV. His latest anmated feature film, Idiots and Angels, is nearing completion.
The Aspen Shortsfest’s Director Spotlight recognizes influential filmmakers who began their careers by making shorts. Past honorees have included Jason Reitman (Juno), Todd Field (Little Children) and Oscar-winning Australian animator Adam Elliot (Harvie Krumpet). The complete Shortsfest program, including this year’s Oscar-qualifying international competition line-up, will be available online March 15th at www.aspenfilm.org.
