American: The Bill Hicks Story

“American: The Bill Hicks Story” is a documentary that explores the life of comedian Bill Hicks. Produced by Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas, the film incorporates archival footage and interviews with Hicks’ family and friends, such as Kevin Booth. The filmmakers employed a unique cut-and-paste animation style to bring movement to a vast array of still images depicting events from Hicks’ life. The documentary debuted in North America at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival. It received a nomination for the “Most Entertaining Documentary” at the 2010 Grierson British Documentary Awards and was also recognized in the Best Graphics and Animation category at the 2011 Cinema Eye Awards. The film won several accolades, including the Texas Filmmaker Award at the Dallas Film Festival, the Oxford American’s Best Southern Film Award in Little Rock, and Best Documentary at the Downtown LA Film Festival. On Rotten Tomatoes, 81% of the initial 47 reviews were positive.