events

OSCAR NOMINEE BILL PLYMPTON
‘SPECIAL GUEST ANIMATOR’
AT DUBLIN ANIMATION FILM FESTIVAL 2014

Legendary Animator Bill Plympton will be the “Special Guest Animator” at Dublin Animation Film Festival which takes place on the 17 and 18 October 2014 at both the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) and the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire.
 
Mr Plympton will deliver a masterclass in The National Film School (NFS) on IADT’s campus on the 17 October as part of The National Film School Lecture series. The Irish premiere of his feature film “Cheatin’” will be screened at the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire on the 18 October as part of the festival and will be followed by a Q & A session with Mr Plympton.
 
Speaking about Mr Plympton’s masterclass at the National Film School (NFS), Donald Taylor Black, Head of Department of Film and Media at IADT and Creative Director of the NFS had this to say: “We’re absolutely delighted that Bill Plympton is joining the distinguished list of world-class animators that have featured in the NFS Lecture series over the last decade. Students, graduates, staff and our friends from industry benefit hugely from such privileged access”.
 
Speaking about the Dublin Animation Film Festival, Mr Plympton had this to say, "This will be my first trip to Ireland and I am delighted that “Cheatin'”, which has been a labour of love for myself and the team at Plymptoons, will have its Irish premiere at the Dublin Animation Film Festival.”
 
He added: “I have met a number of talented Irish animators, including Tomm Moore from Cartoon Saloon, at Annecy and other international festivals. I am looking forward to meeting the students at IADT and the animators at the screening of 'Cheatin'. I will be particularly interested to see the selection of films that have been shortlisted for the awards.”
 
The Dublin Animation Film Festival programme of events at IADT also features talks and demonstrations from Sandrine Flament (illustrator and animator at Plymptoons Studios) Will Becher (Aardman Studios), Aaron Wood (Slurpy Studios) and Student Academy Award winner, Kristina Yee.
 
The screening of ‘Cheatin’ (Club Classification) followed by a Q & A with Mr Plympton takes place on Saturday 18th October 2014. Tickets are on sale at the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire and are priced at €6.50 each. Everyone attending the screening will receive a complimentary sketch from Bill Plympton. There is no ticket charge for the screening of the shortlisted films or the awards ceremony on 18th October, but pre-booking at the Pavilion Box Office is essential.
 
Dublin Animation Film Festival is sponsored by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, The National Film School, IADT, Diep at Home, RTÉ Supporting the Arts, and Blackrock Cellar.
Festival updates will be available on www.dublinanimationfilmfestival.com and on Twitter @dublinanimation.
-ENDS-
 
For additional information please contact: Fionnghuala Ní Néill at +353 1 239 4750 or Rachel Farrell on +353 86 045 2802.
 
EDITOR’S NOTES
 
BILL PLYMPTON BIOGRAPHY
Bill Plympton is considered the King of Indie Animation, and is the first person to hand draw an entire animated feature film. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he graduated from Portland State University in Graphic Design. Bill moved to New York City in 1968 and began his career creating cartoons for publications such as the 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 10 feature films. 7 of them,  ‘The Tune’, ‘Mondo Plympton’, ‘I Married A Strange Person’, ‘Mutant Aliens’, ‘Hair High’, ‘Idiots and Angels’, and ‘Cheatin', are all animated features.
 
Bill Plympton has also collaborated with Kanye West, Madonna, 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.
 
Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology (IADT)
Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology (IADT) is a vibrant Institute of Technology that thrives on new ideas and creativity. IADT is the only Institute of Technology with a specific mission to drive and inform the creative, media and cultural industries through teaching research and innovation. IADT specialises in creativity and innovation as expressed in the arts, technology and entrepreneurship.
 
National Film School (NFS)
The National Film School (NFS) at IADT was launched in November 2003. It is a professional centre of excellence that both reflects and influences practice in the film, animation, broadcasting and digital media industries by providing creative, technical and academic education of an international standard. It has the widest portfolio of overlapping, inter-connected practical full-time courses on the island of Ireland.  The official launch of a purpose-built facility, The National Film School building, at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) campus on November 26th 2013 has added to the industry standard facilities provided to students preparing for a career in the film industry.