Elena F. Engel is a producer/director of film, video, radio, and audio for
The Walt Disney Company,
Worldcat.org Retrieved March 2013.,
Simon & Schuster,
UNICEF (
United Nations),
awn.com Retrieved March 2013.Western Publishing Company
Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and ...
,
National Public Radio,
Warner Bros., ''
Sesame Street'', and the
Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
.
Early life and education
Elena Engel was born in New York to actress Lillian Engel and theater director Sanford Engel. She attended high school at
Point Loma in
San Diego, California, and went on to get a B.A. in Psychology from
Evergreen State College. Elena pursued graduate work in creative dramatics at the University of Washington, where she was a member of the Poncho's Children's Theatre ensemble. She then continued her studies at Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg in Hollywood, California.
Career
Engel's career spans more than 20 years in the entertainment industry an award-winning writer, producer, and director of film, video, radio and audio recordings.
orlabs.oclc.org. Retrieved March 2013. During this time, she served as a creative resource to
The Walt Disney Company,
,
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
's
Amblin Entertainment,
Simon & Schuster,
Western Publishing Company
Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and ...
,
National Public Radio, ''
Sesame Street'', and
UNICEF (
United Nations).
Public Radio
As Director of Children's Programming at member station
KWAX, her weekly show "Kidwax" enjoyed top creative honors from the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting three years running. As a recipient of a CPB Producer's Grant with WGBH and a CPB Technical Engineering Grant, Elena went on to produce a radio series featuring traditional storytellers of the Northwest and funded by the National Endowment of the Arts. She also was a regular features contributor to NPR's "All Things Considered."
The Walt Disney Company
Joining
The Walt Disney Company as Writer-Producer-Director of children's audio, Elena received a Grammy nomination, four Gold and two Platinum albums for her efforts.
Bibbboard.com. Retrieved March 2013. Later, as Executive Producer of Film and Video at Disney's Non-Theatrical division, Elena piloted more than seventeen award-winning live-action and animated films for the cable television, home video, and educational divisions. In addition, she was a creative development contributor to both the EPCOT Educational Pavilion at
Walt Disney World and the
Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
.
Azimuth Productions
Following her work with Disney, Elena formed her own company, Azimuth Productions, producing videos and films with the talents of
Michael Tucker,
Joe Spano,
Tempestt Bledsoe,
Loretta Swit,
Ally Sheedy,
Giovanni Ribisi, and others. Through Azimuth, Elena also wrote, produced, and directed original audio recordings featuring the popular ''
Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. '', ''
Super Mario Bros.'', ''
Dennis the Menace,'' and
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
characters, as well as developed original children's program concepts for the television market. During this period, her film, "Listen to Me," a dramatic story about child abuse, won the prestigious Lillian Gish Award at the Women in Film International Film Festival.
Philanthropy
Elena's humanitarian and non-profit projects have included travel around the world on behalf of
UNICEF,
producing programs televised in more than forty-five countries for its International Child Survival Campaign. Elena also completed consultation and video projects in support of Mercy Corp International, an NGO providing humanitarian aid and development assistance to communities worldwide. She served on its European Executive board while living in the United Kingdom for the last six years.
Professional Credits
* THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY – Executive producer Film/Video Non-theatrical Five Cine-Golden Awards, Winner of Lillian Gish Award Women in Film Festival, Birmingham Intl. festival, and others.
* Audio Producer – Grammy Nomination, Four Gold, Two Platinum Albums Corporate Development Liaison to EPCOT Disney World, Orlando, Florida. Disney Channel-Development
* AZIMUTH PRODUCTIONS – President/owner, video/film production –
Tempestt Bledsoe,
Giovanni Ribisi,
Ally Sheedy,
Loretta Swit,
Joe Spano,
Michael Tucker. Audio recordings – ''
Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. '', ''
Super Mario Bros.'', ''
Dennis the Menace'' and
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
.
* NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO – Director of Children's Programming. Top CPB Creative honors for three years. Recipient of CPB Producer's Grant at WGBH, CPB Technical Training Grant, and a Radio series grant from
National Endowment of the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
.
* UNITED NATIONS – Producer/Director of educational television programs distributed worldwide for UNICEF's Child Survival Campaign. Official Selection-Annecy International Animation Festival, Switzerland
* MERCY-CORPS INTERNATIONAL – World Ambassador, Executive board member, Producer of support videos, and Director of Corporate Development in NYC. Consultant to ''
Sesame Street'' Productions/Mercy Corps video partnership for Haitian earthquake victims.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Engel, Elena
Film producers from New York City
American radio producers
Living people
University of Oregon alumni
University of Washington alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
American women radio producers
American women film producers