SYNOPSIS

Angel is a selfish, abusive, morally bankrupt man who hangs out as his local bar, berating the other patrons. One day, Angel mysteriously wakes up with a pair of wings on his back. The wings make him do good deeds, contrary to his nature. He desperately tries to rid himself of the good wings, but eventually finds himself fighting those who view the wings as their ticket to fame and fortune.

SELECT FESTIVALS AND AWARDS

• Winner, 2008 Cinanima - International Animated Film Festival
• World Premiere, 2008 Tribeca Film Festival
• Official Selection, 2008 Annecy International Animated Film Festival
• Official Selection, 2008 Seattle International Film Festival
• Official Selection, 2008 San Francisco International Animation Festival

DIRECTOR'S BIOGRAPHY
BILL PLYMPTON WILL RECEIVE THE 2009 EL DORADO AWARD FROM SJIFF

Regarded as the Indie Animation King, Bill Plympton was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He moved to New York City, upon graduation from Portland State University in Graphic Design. He 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 short "Your Face". After producing many shorts which appeared on MTV and Spike and Mike's, he turned his talent to features. Since 1991 he's made 9 feature films, 6 of them, "The Tune", "Mondo Plympton", "I Married A Strange Person", "Mutant Aliens", "Hair High" and "Idiots and Angels" animated features. In 2005, Bill's received another Oscar® nomination, this time for a short film "Guard Dog".

Director's Statement: The first recollection I have of the concept was an event in 2005, when I was walking with a student at the Lille Short Film Festival in France, and he asked me what my next feature would be about. I declared, off-handedly, that it would be about an angel who didn’t want his wings, and as we discussed the idea, I really got to like the concept. That night, in my hotel room, I started to explore the dramatic possibilities of a reluctant angel. At that point, I had just finished production on “Hair High”, and although I thought it was a great film and would make me rich, it was a very difficult production - so, I decided that “Idiots and Angels” would be the exact opposite of “Hair High”. While “Hair High” was bright and colorful and fully animated, “Idiots” would be monochromatic and more limited in its animation. While “Hair High” had big-name actors providing voices, “Idiots” would only have music and sound effects, no dialogue at all. Because of that, I wanted music to play throughout - almost like a long opera - or an extended string of music videos. My recent short film “Shuteye Hotel” was a short rehearsal, an experiment done in the new style of “Idiots and Angels”, a dark and surreal Eastern European look.

Filmography: Idiots and Angels (2008), Hot Dog (2008), Guide Dog (2006), Hair High (2004), Guard Dog (2004), Mutant Aliens (2001), I Married a Strange Person (1998), Mondo Plympton (1997), Guns on the Clackamas (1995), J. Lyle (1994), The Tune (1992)

STILL IMAGES
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SHOWTIMES

EL DORADO AWARD TRIBUTE
SAT. 5/16 at 6:30PM
Stockton Empire Theatre

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WED. 5/20 at 5:30PM
Matinée Movie Lounge

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CAST AND CREW

Production: Bill Plympton Studios
Story: Bill Plympton
Animator: Bill Plympton
Producer: Biljana Labovic
Editor: Kevin Palmer
Art Directors: Bill Plympton, Biljana Labovic
Sound Design: Greg Sextro
Artists: Kerri Allegretta, Lisa LaBracio
Music: Hank Bones, Nicole Renaud, Corey Jackson, Rachelle Garniez, Didier Carmier, 3 Leg Torso, Tom Waits, Pink Martini

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SOURCES

Print Source: Plymptoons
153 West 27th St. #1005
New York, NY 10001
Tel: (212) 741-0322
Fax: (212) 741-5522
www.plymptoons.com