A lavish chiaroscuro montage of 2D and 3D animation, still photography and hand drawn images, 'The Fine Art Of Poisoning' seduces the viewer into an elegant netherworld of deceit, plotting, and secretly-served revenge. . When creator Bill Domonkos first heard musician Jill Tracy’s song (of the same name), he was compelled to bring her tale to life, a glamorous, yet grim depiction of 'slow poisoning,' a well-known practice throughout the ages of administering poisons so slowly that the victim seems, to ordinary observers, to die from natural causes. The vast popularity of 'slow poisoning' was largely among women who wished to dispose of unpleasant husbands and even children. With its fatal masquerades, parlour gatherings, and eerie hallucinations, 'The Fine Art of Poisoning,' will advise one to keep a particularly careful eye on their next cup of bergamot tea, or perhaps, taint the pork loin for their own devices.

Best Animated Short - Dahlonega Int'l Film Festival Winner Best Experimental Film - New Orleans Film Festival OZ Award – Best Music Video - Cinema – Chicago International Film Festival Fusion – Audience Choice Award 1st Runner Up – Dances with Films Best Musical Form Award – Da Vinci Film & Video Festival

Filmmaker Bill Domonkos studied painting and video art at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Afterwards, he continued painting for his own enjoyment while pursuing a career in video production and animation. He has produced corporate and commercial videos as well as his own experimental, performance video, and documentary pieces. His love of painting and the moving image led him to pursue a career in computer design and animation.

After moving to San Francisco in 1995 he began working in the computer game industry as an animator/designer working on titles like "Haunted Miniature Golf," The Residents' "Bad Day on the Midway" and "Austin Powers: Operation Trivia". He has also designed websites for The Library of Congress, Levi's, Robert Mondavi, Sony, The San Francisco Ballet, and "Sweeney Todd" for PBS, among others. In addition to design work, he has directed and animated music videos such as "Kick a Picnic" for The Residents' DVD, "Icky Flix," and a new short film, "The Fine Art of Poisoning," in collaboration with musical artist, Jill Tracy.

Artist Statement My visual inspiration comes from a wide range of sources, including my all-time favorite film, "Beauty and the Beast" by Jean Cocteau, the work of The Brothers Quay, Edward Gorey, and Ed Kienholtz, among others. I also love Renaissance painting and portraiture as well as folk art and outsider art. I am particularly fond of collecting old photographs and portraits I find at flea markets and thrift shops. These forgotten objects from the past become characters in my films as well as a source of inspiration for my painting. It's sad to think that your photos may end up in a thrift shop someday. I love the idea of giving these forgotten faces a new life in my work.

If you would like more information, a resume or more work samples please email me at bill@bdom.com.

"The Fine Art of Poisoning is uncanny; with the simplest of means, Bill Domonkos and Jill Tracy guide us into a haunted netherworld which is both seductive and terrifying." CLIVE BARKER

"Domonkos' amazing work marks a marriage between silent era special effects master George Melies and the digital age. Set to the haunting song by Jill Tracy, it elegantly illustrates the complexities of, say, using a belladonna over strychnine to dispatch your enemies. The complex chiaroscuro style here is a sight to behold." - 2003 Dahlonega Int'l Film Festival (Best Animated Short, 2003)

"The animation is first rate... This is a mood piece through and through, a collage of poisonings and mansions and silhouettes and thunder and lightning. It invokes feelings of discomfort, worry and dread well." 4 1/2 Star Rating - Film Threat

"Bill Domonkos's eerie, Poe-inspired The Fine Art of Poisoning is tinged with undercurrents of dread and malice and solidified by the striking work of composer Jill Tracy." - Chicago Reader

"A really lovely nickelodeon-style multi-media presentation set to the haunting titular tune performed by Jill Tracy in voice and on "grand piano," The Fine Art of Poisoning" recalls Guy Maddin's amazing "Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary" in not only presentation but audacity. A breathtaking and transporting piece." 4 stars. - Film Freak Central