Portland-born director highlights ‘Festival of Cinema’ at OMSI

INCLUDES ‘SIMPSONS’ VIDEO | Discover why this extended weekend film festival attracted movie lovers from all over the Pacific Northwest …

Many attendees see showings of more than 100 films, and attend lectures in the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry’s Empirical Theater during the Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation and Technology.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

For those interested in making movies, and others who love watching them, the 11th “Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation, and Technology” (PFCAT), from August 3rd through 6th at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, was the place to be.

This year, PFCAT activities included screenings of 119 films with 110 World or Regional Premieres drawn from 22 countries, as well as panel discussions, parties, and presentations.

In addition to live-action short films, the many animated shorts and movie features are a big part of the festival.

Over the course of the weekend, attendees were invited to participate in panel discussion such as “Creating animation on a truly independent budget” and “Copyright infringement”.

Ticket holders were also treated to gatherings of short films and animations in the categories: Animation Extravaganza; Comedies; Short films: Wild Revelation, Animation for Adults – and other short features.

Bill Plympton, the major attraction

Famous for his animated films, Bill Plympton tells of his life and his work to a rapt PFCAT audience.

One of the hottest tickets of the OMSI festival was a special guest screening, a talk, and a reception on August 4 involving animator Bill Plympton.

Portland-born Plympton told the audience that he was raised on a farm in Oregon City. From 1964 to 1968, he studied Graphic Design at Portland State University, where he was a member of the film society. In 1968, he transferred to the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he majored in cartooning; he graduated in 1969.

Between clips shown on OMSI’s giant screen that dwarfs him, Bill Plympton gives advice about independent filmmaking.

Between showing some of his best-known short animated films, and his various music videos, Plympton talked about how he first started as an illustrator, but yearned to get into animation.

“At that time, many people told me it’s not a good time to be an animation,” Plympton recalled.

He made the right decision, director Bill Plympton says, in turning down a million dollar contract with Walt Disney Studios.

Walks away from #1 million
Of all of his biographical stories, the one that resonated most with the audience gathered in OMSI’s Empirical Theater, was when a Walt Disney Studios lawyer came to his New York City studio to try to recruit him – for $1 million. But when he learned that Disney would “own his thoughts, dreams, jokes, and sketches”, he turned down the proposal, much to the surprise and chagrin of the attorney.

“Yes, sometimes I have looked back at that, wondering if it was the right thing to do, but I still think it was,” mused Plympton.

In 1988, Plympton’s animated short “Your Face” was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film – which he redrew as a “couch gag” shown at the opening of the Season 29 Episode 13 of The Simpsons.

This version of his Simpsons ‘couch gag’ was projected onto the giant screen of OMSI’s Empirical Theater as he spoke:

In 1988, Plympton’s animated short “Your Face” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film – which he re-drew as a “couch gag” shown at the opening of Season 29 Episode 13 of The Simpsons. That version was projected onto the giant screen of OMSI’s Empirical Theater as he spoke.

Bill Plympton draws caricatures of guests, giving them each unique a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork as a souvenir.

Amazingly, after his program, the animator then sat down at a table at the theater’s entrance, and sketched a simple-but-recognizably-Plympton-esque caricature of each and every guest, while he greeted all of the some-200 people who patiently waited in line.

Amazingly, after his program, the animator then sat down at a table at the theater’s entrance, and sketched a simple, but recognizably Plympton-esque, caricature of each and every guest, while he greeted all of the some-200 people who patiently waited in line.

A date hasn’t yet been set for the 2024 PFCAT; but you can find more information about the festival at their official website: CLICK HERE.

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