GREAT WOMEN ANIMATORS

Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis met at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver where they studied film, video and animation.

They each went on to create their own works with the National Film Board of Canada (Strings and The Reluctant Deckhand) before co-directing When the Day Breaks which received over 30 international awards including the Palme D’Or at Cannes, a Genie Award, an Oscar® nomination and the Grand Prix at Annecy, Zagreb and Hiroshima International Animation Festivals.

Wild Life, their latest short with the NFB has won several prizes and in 2012 was nominated for an Academy Award.

Tilby and Forbis have also collaborated on assorted commissioned projects and directed numerous TV commercials. Interview, their acclaimed spot for United Airlines, was nominated for an Emmy® in 2004.

Olga Khodataeva, 1894 - 1968, Russian studio animator, director and producer. Primarily known for her work with the Soiuztmultfilm studio in the Soviet Era.

Karen Aqua, "created animated films exploring the themes of ritual, journeys, transformation, and the human spirit. Much of her work reflects an interest in symbols, mythology, and prehistoric and tribal cultures, and includes elements of rhythm, dance, and music."

Aqua made films from 1976 up until her passing in 2011. Her films could be regularly seen on Sesame Street. 

Germaine Dulac, early French filmmaker. She was the first woman director in the motion-picture industry and is one of the first directors of fiction films. Known for her surrealist stop-motion and processing techniques.

Kirsten Lepore is a director and animator based in LA, with an MFA from CalArts. Her films have taken top prizes at SXSW, Slamdance, the Stuttgart Animation festival, Florida Film Fest, Arizona Film Fest, the Vimeo Awards, the Annie Awards and many others. She’s given presentations everywhere from Pixar to Portugal and has also been featured in Juxtapoz, Shots Magazine, Animation Magazine, Focus Features, and named one of the 50 most creative people by Creativity Magazine.

Lesley’s website: http://www.totallyimmersed.com/

Jen Stark, contemporary stop-motion paper animator and psychedelic sculptor.

Watch Believer.

Joyce Borenstein has a B.A. from McGill University, majoring in piano performance. Influenced by the films of Norman McLaren and Ryan Larkin, she obtained her M.F.A. in film animation from the California Institute of the Arts, studying under Jules Engel and Pat O’Neill. Her student film REVISITED won several important prizes and helped to open the doors of the National Film Board of Canada.

THE COLOURS OF MY FATHER (NFB and Imageries Inc.) directed, written and animated by Joyce, is a moving portrait of the Canadian painter Sam Borenstein. At the time of its release, it was celebrated as an original approach to the documentary genre in that it is animated. Animation is used to document memories and feelings. The film has garnered nine international awards including a Genie Award, and an Academy Award Nomination.

Great Women Animators, Volume 2: The Studio Animator in Context zine. A collection of articles, essays, biographies and photos of the female animators of the 1930's-50's. Animators included: LaVerne Harding, Mary Blair, Tissa David and many more.  5.5 x 8.5". Screen-printed orange cardstock cover with yellow 40lb paper inside. 20 pages. Volume 2 of 5. Machine-stitched binding. Limited edition of 40!

Great Women Animators: Volume 1: Pioneers of Early Animation Zine

A collection of articles, essays, biographies and photos of the female animators of the 1910's-30's. Animators included: Claire Parker, Hermina Tyrlova, Mary Ellen Bute, and many more. 5.5 x 8.5". Screen-printed red cardstock cover with pink 40lb paper inside. 17 pages. Volume 1 of 5. Machine-stitched binding. Limited edition of 40!

Florence Miailhe, b. 1956,  French film director. In 1980, she graduated from the National School of Decorative Arts , specializing in printmaking.

Millie (Mildred) Goldsholl - (1920-2012) was the head of the Film Department at Goldsholl Design and Film Associates (another notable female, Susan Keig, headed the Design Department), one of Chicago’s leading graphic design studios in the 1950s. The studio became recognized for their animations, progressive hiring practices and developing corporate branding packages for various companies. Our Mort & Millie Goldsholl collection contains commercials and industrial films that Goldsholl Design and Film Associates made for their clients, experimental films and animations made by both Morton and Millie, unedited travel films shot by Morton and Millie and films (primarily animated) that the two collected over the years. Millie’s films are among our favorites here at CFA. An early student of the Chicago School of Design (now IIT), Millie created films that are expressions of Maholy Nagy’s vision of industry, art and design. They are playful, human and profound all at once. The same thing, of course, can be said of Millie.

More info on the Chicago Film Archives