BendFilm kicked off last night and I was at the Tower Theatre, festival pass around my neck and eyes anxiously awaiting entertainment on the screen.
I wasn't disappointed by the first two films, and the other 350-plus people in attendance seemed to agree. The highlight of the night was the feature presentation, a screening of A Beginner's Guide to Endings, which wasn't just the most hilarious thing I've ever seen at BendFilm, but also one of the most clever comedies I've taken in all year.
It will likely be tough for you to see this film anytime soon, given it's still on the festival circuit, but when the black comedy about an awful father (Harvey Keitel) who dooms three of his adult sons to death by way of a pharmaceutical experiment is released theatrically, you better be there. Writer/director Jonathan Sobol is clearly a talent. (See the trailer at the bottom of this page).
After the screening, Bill Plympton, the director of Guard Dog Global Jam, took the stage and talked about how he managed to coordinate several scores of animators to recreate his classic short film.
Here's Plympton speaking about the film last night:
And here's the full short film he's talking about:
A preview of A Beginner's Guide to Endings.
