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WEDNESDAY
The great thing about animation is that the possibilities are endless: How else could you persuade a bear to use Charmin after his daily constitutional or a man to don high-heeled boots and rendezvous (complete with flirtatious giggles and throaty “yeah”s) with a fish he baited with pizza and a hot dog? These are just some of the images you’ll see among the winners of the ASIFA East 2000 Animation Festival, screened tonight by ASIFA Washington, the international animation association’s local chapter. The festival’s victorious entrants range from students to Academy Award-nominated animators like John Dilworth, Bill Plympton, and Frank Mouris. And their subjects vary just as wildly: Among the films to be screened are commercials (the aforementioned Bear and the made-for-Sylvania Mothball), television take-offs (The Jeffersons’ Starship), mythological conjectures (Atlas Gets a Drink), and a couple of biographical sketches (Member of the Club and Frankly Caroline (pictured), a frankly self-indulgent piece of Woody Allen mimicry—although the accompanying kaleidoscopic images are excellent). The films are being honored for not only overall excellence in animation but also for such strengths as writing, experimental technique, and educational content. Marvel at the depths of these filmmakers’ imaginations—and mutter an occasional “I coulda done that”—at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 12, at the General Cinema at Mazza Gallerie, 5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW; if you want to make it personal, also be sure to attend the post-screening panel discussion with several Washington-area animators at 8:45 at Borders, 5333 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Both events are free. (301) 681-7122. (Tricia Olszewski)