Wojtek was a Syrian brown bear adopted by soldiers of the 2nd Polish Corps during World War II. As a young cub, his mother was shot by hunters, and he was found in the mountains of Iran by a young boy. The boy then sold him to a group of Polish soldiers who were in the country after being evacuated from the Soviet Union. To provide for his rations and transportation, he was eventually enlisted officially as a soldier with the rank of private, and was subsequently promoted to corporal.
The Illuminated Film Company is a British animation company founded in 1993 by Iain Harvey. It has produced the series Little Princess (2006-2022) and the ITV children's surreal comedy series The Rubbish World of Dave Spud (2019–present) and other 2D-animated productions such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Stories, A Bear Named Wojtek, War Game and On Angel Wings.
Triggerfish is a computer animation film studio based in Cape Town, South Africa and Galway, Ireland. The studio is best known for its animated feature films Adventures in Zambezia (2012), Khumba (2013), and Seal Team (2021), as well as the work they have done on television specials created for UK producers Magic Light Pictures. In 2016, Stick Man was awarded the Cristal for best TV production at the Annecy International Animation Festival. In 2017, Revolting Rhymes again won the Cristal for best TV production at the Annecy Festival, and was nominated for the Best Short Film (Animated) Oscar at the 2018 Academy Awards. In 2019, Netflix announced that Triggerfish would produce its first African animated TV series. In 2020, Zog won the International Emmy for Best Kids Animation. In 2021, The Snail and The Whale won Best Special Production at The Annie Awards, while Triggerfish received the Mifa Animation Industry Award at Annecy for "the pioneering role that the company has played in animation in South Africa, and Africa most widely.” In 2022, their third film, Seal Team, made the Netflix Top 10 Films global list for its launch week.
Michaela Pavlátová is a Czech animator, film director and teacher. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Words, Words, Words (1991) and won the Short Film Golden Bear for Repete (1995). As a feminist experimental animator Michaela's work explores themes of sex, gender, philosophy and relationality. Beyond her independent work she worked as the art director for Wildbrain Inc. She currently teaches animation at the Academy of Performing Arts, film and TV School in Prague. Michaela has also taught at the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague, the Academy of Art College, Computer Arts Institute in San Francisco and at Harvard University in Prague.
Me and My Moulton is a 2014 Canadian-Norwegian animated short film written and directed by Torill Kove. It premiered at the 2014 Annecy International Animated Film Festival on 10 June 2014. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 87th Academy Awards. Me and My Moulton won the Golden Sheaf Award for Best Animation at the 2015 Yorkton Film Festival.
The Last Fiction is an animated film adaptation of the story of "Zahhak", a page from the historical identity of Iranians and one of the central tales of Shahnameh by Ferdowsi. Ashkan Rahgozar is the director of The Last Fiction. The main idea of the recounting of this tale is to lend a different perspective to the legends and heroes of ancient Iranians. Production started in 2010, and since then over 100 animators have worked on the film.
Ashkan Rahgozar is an Iranian author, director and filmmaker specialising in animated movies. He is the founder and chief executive of Hoorakhsh Studios.
North of Blue is a 2018 American animated feature film directed, produced and animated by Joanna Priestley with a score by Jamie Haggerty. It is an abstract, experimental film that was inspired by the winter landscapes of the far north.
Alberto Vázquez Rico is a Spanish (Galician) comic book artist and filmmaker. He has received three Goya Awards for his animated films. His most famous works are Birdboy: The Forgotten Children, a feature-length adult animated movie based on his own graphic novel, and Unicorn Wars, an original feature-length adult animated film. He is also a drummer in the Mano de obra band.
Kapaemahu is a 2020 animated short film produced and directed by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson with director of the animation Daniel Sousa. It is based on the long-hidden history of four healing stones on Waikiki Beach placed there as a tribute to four legendary mahu who first brought the healing arts to Hawaii. The film is narrated in Olelo Niihau, the only unbroken form of the Hawaiian language. Kapaemahu premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, was screened in over 160 film festivals and 200 theaters worldwide, won multiple Oscar-qualifying jury awards, and was shortlisted for Best Animated Short Film at the 93rd Academy Awards®.
The Snail and the Whale is a 2019 British-South African short computer-animated TV film, directed by Max Lang and Daniel Snaddon, and produced by Michael Rose and Martin Pope of Magic Light Pictures, in association with Triggerfish Animation Studios where the film was animated.
Black Slide is a 2021 Israeli/British animated short film directed by Uri Lotan. The 11-minute short has been presented in a number of film festivals, including the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and the Indy Shorts Film Festival. Black Slide also won the Audience award for Best Short Film at the 2022 British Animation Awards and is now qualified for the 95th Academy Awards in the eligible films under the category Best Animated Short Film.
The Flying Sailor is a 2022 Canadian independent animated short film directed by Oscar-nominated directors Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis. The film debuted at the 2022 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and has received several nominations and awards, including a nomination for Best Animated Short Film at the 95th Academy Awards, and winning the award for the Best Canadian Film at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
Letter to a Pig is a 2022 Israeli-French animated short film written and directed by Tal Kantor. The 17-minute animated film about generational trauma has been awarded in various international film festivals, including the Jerusalem Film Festival, the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and the Chicago International Children's Film Festival. The film was nominated for the 2024 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
27 is a 2023 French-Hungarian animated short film directed by Flóra Anna Buda.
More Than I Want to Remember is a 2022 animated short film directed by Amy Bench and written by Bench and Mugeni Awano. It is based on the true story of Mugeni, a young girl from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The film follows Mugeni as she escapes her village after a sudden attack and sets out on a journey across unfamiliar terrain to find her family.
Beautiful Men is a 2023 Belgian-French-Dutch animated short film written and directed by Nicolas Keppens.
Maybe Elephants is a 2024 Canadian-Norwegian animated short film written and directed by Academy Award winner Torill Kove. The 16-minutes animated film about family and memories has been selected in various international film festivals, including Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Spark Animation Film Festival where the film won the Canadian Film Prize. The film is listed as part of the qualified shorts under consideration in the 2025 Academy Award Best Animated Short Film Category.
Iain Alexander Gardner is a Scottish animator and director based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His notable works include the 2023 Scottish-Polish animated short film A Bear Named Wojtek (2023).
Iain Harvey is a British film producer based in London, England. He is mostly known for being the founder of the UK-based animation studio The Illuminated Film Company and for executive producing the BAFTA-awarded short The Snowman (1982), the animated TV show The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1993) and the animated short film T.R.A.N.S.I.T (1998).
