Ralph Bakshi , director of animated and live-action films will receive the Outstanding Achievement in Animation Award at the Las Cruces International Film Festival (LCIFF) presented by NMSU and Visit Las Cruces, running March 7-11, 2018.
In the 1970s, Bakshi established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 2015, he directed ten theatrically released feature films, six of which he wrote. He has been involved in numerous television projects as director, writer, producer, and animator. Beginning his career at the Terrytoons television cartoon studio as a cel polisher, Bakshi was eventually promoted to animator, and then director. He moved to the animation division of Paramount Pictures in 1967 and started his own studio, Bakshi Productions, in 1968. His debut feature film, Fritz the Cat, released in 1972, was the first animated film to receive an X rating from the Motion Picture Association of America and is the most successful independent animated feature of all time. Over the next eleven years, Bakshi directed seven additional animated features. He is well known for such films as Wizards (1977), The Lord of the Rings (1978), American Pop (1981) and Fire and Ice (1983).
In 1987, Bakshi returned to television work, producing the series Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, which ran for two years; the live-action film Cool and the Crazy (1994); and the HBO anthology series Spicy City (1997).
During the 2000s, he focused largely on fine art and painting. Recently, Bakshi released a short animated film, Last Days of Coney Island (2015). The film was crowdfunded online and was produced by his son, Eddie Bakshi.
Bakshi’s awards include the 1980 Golden Gryphon for The Lord of the Rings at the Giffoni Film Festival, the 1988 Annie Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Art of Animation, the 2003 Maverick Tribute Award at the Cinequest Film Festival, as well as the Inkpot Award at Comic-Con International in 2008.
LCIFF will screen WIZARDS featuring Mark Hammill at 5:00 pm at the Allen Theatres Cineport 10 on March 9th and AMERICAN POP at 7:00 pm. followed by a Q&A with Mr. Bakshi He will be honored at a VIP Party that evening and will receive the Outstanding Achievement in Animation award.
