I've narrowed my list of available NYC indie cinemas to 2: IFC Center and Cinema Village. Both are quite good and have a history of showing animated films.
I've done a number of events at the IFC Center; they showed a bunch of my shorts before features. Also, I did a very successful Don Hertzfeldt and Bill Plympton show there as well as a special “Night with Bill Plympton” where I screened Hair High and bunch of my shorts. Just two months ago, Signe Baumann and I did an extremely successful “Animated Battle of the Sexes” show/competition there, too, so I have good memories of the theater.
Cinema Village has also been a big supporter of my films. My Sci-Fi film Mutant Aliens premiered there to a good crowd, and they've also screened a lot of my shorts with compilations such as “Tournes of Animation” and “The Animation Show” by Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt.
Both theaters seemed interested in Idiots & Angels, so I sent each booker a screener of the film plus the great reviews it got from Variety and The Village Voice. My plan, and I do have a plan, everybody should have a plan, is this: It plays to good reviews and crowds in NYC, then it opens in LA to ESPECIALLY good response. I will open the film with my brand new short The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be so blown away by my extreme talent and the wonderful box office that the film is reaping that they'll be forced to nominate both films for Oscars. Now how cool is that? I don't think it's ever been done in the history of the Academy, that the same person gets nominated for directing both a short and a feature film in the same year. If you know of anyone who has please let me know – I'd love to find out.
In my next installment, you will find out the cinema in NYC that is going to premier “Idiots & Angels” this fall.