Monster Road

This feature-length documentary explores the dazzling and fantastic worlds of legendary underground clay animator Bruce Bickford. Entirely self-taught, the 57-year-old Bickford works alone in a basement studio in his house near Seattle. His films, especially the dark and magical clay animations he created for musician Frank Zappa in the 1970s, have achieved cult status worldwide. “Monster Road” journeys back to Bickford's childhood in a competitive household during the paranoia of the Cold War and examines his relationship with his father, George, a retired aerospace engineer who is facing the onset of Alzheimer's Disease. Combining vérité footage, interviews, home movies, childhood drawings, and never-before-seen animation, the film explores the remarkable combination of family and aesthetic influences that propel Bruce Bickford to work. Along with a glimpse into the world of a true visionary, “Monster Road” reveals a story that is at once scary and funny, sad and baffling.