SLIFF 2011 Documentaries

“Adventures in Plymptoons!” visits the funny, frantic world of independent animator and illustrator Bill Plympton, offering plentiful samples of his many films and featuring alternately insightful and amusing interviews with Plympton and his family, friends, colleagues, and critics. An influential icon in the world of animation and film – known for both his twisted humor and astonishing productivity – Plympton has been creating his unique work for more than 25 years. One of SLIFF’s Lifetime Achievement Award honorees, the director is also featured in a program on Nov. 11, “An Evening With Bill Plympton” (see Shorts),  which includes both brand-new and classic works, and he offers a master class on Nov. 12 (see Special Events).

Filmed during the culminating months of acclaimed singer/songwriter Andrew Bird’s most rigorous year of touring, this fascinating concert documentary follows Bird as he crosses the December finish line in his hometown of Chicago – sweating and shivering from a chronic fever and limping on crutches from an onstage injury. Is he suffering hazards from chasing the ghost of inspiration? Or merely transforming into a different kind of animal “perfectly adapted to the music hall”? The film explores Bird’s astonishing multi-instrumental looping technique and features compelling live performances – shot by “Hoop Dreams” cinematographer/producer Peter Gilbert – at Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater with collaborators Martin Dosh, Jeremy Ylvisaker, Michael Lewis, and Annie Clark of St. Vincent. The feature debut of director Xan Aranda, “Andrew Bird” was one of a select dozen documentaries featured in the New York Film Festival.

Six years in the making, “Bob and the Monster” follows outspoken indie-rock hero Bob Forrest, lead singer of the much-admired Thelonious Monster, through his life-threatening struggle with addiction to his transformation into one of the most influential and controversial drug counselors in the U.S. The film melds contemporary footage, animation, and compelling interviews with archival performances and personal videos from Forrest’s past to reveal the complex layers of this troubled but hopeful soul. Testimony from his peers – including Courtney Love; Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis, Flea, and John Frusciante; and members of Jane’s Addiction, Fishbone, and Guns n’ Roses – adds further texture. The Hollywood Reporter writes: “Taking the ‘Behind the Music’ rise/fall/comeback format to deeper, more soulful places, Keirda Bahruth’s ‘Bob and the Monster’ …uses drug addiction not as human-freakshow fodder but as the starting point for a provocative argument about treatment strategies.”

“Bringing King to China” is award-winning journalist Kevin McKiernan’s “love letter” to his adult daughter, Caitrin, a young American woman teaching in China. Frustrated by the ineffectuality of her protests against the Iraq War, McKiernan decides to take a different form of action by producing a play about King (Clayborne Carson’s “Passages of Martin Luther King”) and presenting it to Chinese audiences. Documenting a cross-cultural dialogue about the current relevance of King’s philosophy of peace and nonviolence – to both China and the U.S. – “Bringing King to China” chronicles McKiernan’s 12-month struggle to adapt King’s message for Chinese society. Powerful and intimate, the film takes American viewers backstage at the National Theatre of China, as Chinese actors rehearse with African-American gospel singers and McKiernan’s collaborators spar over artistic decisions and historical interpretations. Oscar® winner Haskell Wexler was among the film’s cinematographers.