Michael Dudok de Wit is an animator

Animator

An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...

, director

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 and illustrator

Illustrator

An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...

. In 1978, he graduated from the West Surrey College of Art

Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College

The Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College was an art college in the United Kingdom. It merged with the Kent Institute of Art & Design on 1 August 2005 to form the University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester, now the University for...

 with his first film The Interview. After working for a year in Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, he settled in London where he directs and animates award-winning commercials for television and cinema. In 1992, he created the short film Tom Sweep, followed by The Monk and the Fish (1994), which was made in France with the studio Folimage. This film was nominated for an Oscar and has won numerous prizes including a César Award

César Award

The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....

 for Best Short Film and the Cartoon d'or

Cartoon d'or

The Cartoon d’Or is the pan-European award for animation short films. It rewards every year the best one since only prize-winning films from Cartoon’s partner festivals can compete....

. Michael also writes and illustrates children's picture books and teaches animation at art colleges in England and abroad.

His most well-known film Father and Daughter

Father and Daughter (film)

Father and Daughter is a 2000 Dutch animated short film, made by Michaël Dudok De Wit. It won the 2000 Academy Award for Animated Short Film....

(2000) won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, the Grand Prix at Annecy

Annecy

Annecy is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy , 35 kilometres south of Geneva.-Administration:...

, and dozens of other major awards. His most recent short film is "The Aroma of Tea" (2006), drawn entirely with tea.

All of his films since Tom Sweep

Tom Sweep

-About the film:The author, Michaël Dudok de Wit, said that "Tom Sweep" was intended to be one of a series of films. Unlike the two following films "The Monk and the Fish" and "Father and Daughter" , it is structured around a single camera angle....

feature Michael's trademark brush stroke drawing and his use of ink and watercolour, very much inspired by Chinese and Japanese art.

His films: The Monk and the Fish

The Monk and the Fish

The Monk and the Fish is a 1994 animated short film made by Michaël Dudok de Wit at the studio Folimage. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film at the 67th Academy Awards and Best Short Animated Film at the 48th British Academy Film Awards...

and Father and Daughter

Father and Daughter (film)

Father and Daughter is a 2000 Dutch animated short film, made by Michaël Dudok De Wit. It won the 2000 Academy Award for Animated Short Film....

 were included in the Animation Show of Shows

Animation show of shows

The Animation Show of Shows is a traveling selection of the year's best animated short films, curated and presented by Acme Filmworks founder, Ron Diamond. It began in 1998 with the aim of showing the most original, funny, intelligent short animated films from all over the world and presenting them...

.

Animation

• "The Interview" (1978)
• "Tom Sweep
  Tom Sweep
  -About the film:The author, Michaël Dudok de Wit, said that "Tom Sweep" was intended to be one of a series of films. Unlike the two following films "The Monk and the Fish" and "Father and Daughter" , it is structured around a single camera angle....
  
  " (1992), 3 minutes
• "The Monk and the Fish
  The Monk and the Fish
  The Monk and the Fish is a 1994 animated short film made by Michaël Dudok de Wit at the studio Folimage. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film at the 67th Academy Awards and Best Short Animated Film at the 48th British Academy Film Awards...
  
  " (Le Moine et le poisson) (1994), 6 minutes
• "Father and Daughter
  Father and Daughter (film)
  Father and Daughter is a 2000 Dutch animated short film, made by Michaël Dudok De Wit. It won the 2000 Academy Award for Animated Short Film....
  
  " (2000), 8:30 minutes
• "The Aroma of Tea
  The Aroma of Tea
  The Aroma of Tea is the most recent animated short film made by Michaël Dudok De Wit in 2006.-About the film:A small sphere travels in a determined and rhythmical manner through land-scapes, emerging at the end into a larger sphere of white light. Both the graphic brushstroke and the music, with...
  
  " (2006), 3:20 minutes

Commercials 1985-2002

• "Actifed Germ" The Welcome Foundation, Cough Medicine
• "Heinz Egg" Heinz Salad Cream
• "The Long Sleep" Mcallan Malt Whiskey
• "VW Sunrise" Volkswagen
• "Pink Foot" Owen's Corning Roof Insulation
• "Smart Illusions" Nestlé Smarties
• "Noah" The Irish Lottery"
• "AT&T" five TV commercials
• "A Life" United Airlines
• and many others

Film and Television Specials Animation Contributions

• The Canterbury Tales/The Knight's Tale (Television Series, Pizazz/S4C, GB)
• The Lion, the Watch and The Wardrobe (TV Feature, USA, GB and Spain) 1980
• Heavy Metal (Film featuring the animation of Gerald Potterton
  Gerald Potterton
  Gerald Potterton is a British/Canadian director, producer and animator. He is best known for directing the cult classic Heavy Metal and his animation work on Yellow Submarine....
  
  , Canada, USA & GB) 1980
• Mickey's Audition (Mickey Mouse Special, Disney, USA) 1989
• Prince Cinders (Television special, GB) 1991
• Beauty and the Beast (Storyboarding, Disney Feature, USA) 1992
• T.R.A.N.S.I.T. (Short film directed by Piet Kroon, GB and NL) 1997
• Charlie's Christmas (Television Special, Folimage, France) 1998
• Fantasia Continued (Disney Feature) 2000
• Raining Cats and Frogs (Folimage) 2003

Illustrations in books

• "Snakes and Ladders" (card game, 1991)
• "The History of Geneva" (Editions Chenoises, Geneva 1991)
• "Oscar & Hoo" (Harper Collins 2001) ISBN 3-7941-5022-8 (translated in various languages)
• "Oscar and Hoo Forever"(Harper Collins 2003) ISBN 0-00-714008-8 (translated in various languages)
• "Vader en dochter" (Leopold, NL, 2001) ISBN 90-258-3494-9 (translated in various languages)
• "Vier bevertjes in de nacht" (Leopold, NL, 2004) ISBN 90-7433-690-6 (translated in various languages)
• "Vier bevertjes en een kastanje" (Leopold, NL, 2007) ISBN 978-90-258-5030-2 (translated in various languages)

External links

• Michaël Dudok de Wit at USA representative Acme Filmworks
• Cartoon d'or