Joanna Lisa Quinn is an English independent

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

Early life

Quinn was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and grew up in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

. She went to school at

Highgate Wood Secondary School Highgate Wood School is a secondary school located in Crouch End in the North London borough of Haringey. It accommodates pupils aged 11–16, providing secondary education to 1,500 pupils. The school also has a sixth form (ages 16–18). The ...

and completed a foundation course in art at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

, University of London before studying for a BA in

Graphic Design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

at Middlesex University.

Career

Quinn's first film ''Girls Night Out'' was completed in 1987 and won three awards at the Annecy Film Festival. This film introduced the anti-heroine character of Beryl and follows her antics when she goes to see a male stripper. Beryl appeared in Quinn's next film ''Body Beautiful'' (1990) in which she is the factory union rep dealing with a macho workmate named Vince, voiced by

Rob Brydon Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He played Dr Paul Hamilton in the Australian/British comedy series ''Supernova'', Bryn West in the BBC sitcom '' Gavin & Stacey'' ...

. In ''Dreams and Desires - Family Ties'' (2006), Beryl becomes obsessed with film making and is asked to video a friend's wedding. '' Affairs of the Art'' was written and produced by

Les Mills Leslie Roy Mills (born 1 November 1934) is a retired New Zealand track and field athlete and politician. He represented New Zealand at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games over two decades, competing in the shot put and discus throw. He w ...

and voiced by Brendan Charleson and Menna Trussler as Beryl. It was released in January 2021, and won Best Animation at its World Premiere in the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival. Beryl is totally obsessed with drawing and her fixation dominates her life the entire household. Quinn's other films include ''Elles'' (1992), ''Britannia'' (1993) — with voice talent of Christine Pritchard and music by Ben Heneghan and Ian Lawson, '' Famous Fred'' (1996) — with voice talent of

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in '' The Le ...

and

Tom Courtney Thomas "Tom" William Courtney (born August 17, 1933) is a retired American athlete, winner of two gold medals in the 1956 Olympic Games Tom Courtney came into national prominence while a student at Fordham University, winning the 1955 NCAA 88 ...

— and ''Wife of Bath'' (1998) — with voice talent of Billie Whitelaw, Liz Smith and

David Troughton David Troughton (born 9 June 1950) is an English actor. He is known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage and for his many roles on British television, including Dr Bob Buzzard in ''A Very Peculiar Practice'' and Ricky Hanson in ''Ne ...

. In 1987 Quinn founded Beryl Productions International Ltd with producer/writer

. As well as personal films Beryl Productions International Ltd has produced commercials for the UK, US, Mexican and Canadian markets. Clients include

Charmin Charmin ( ) is an American brand of toilet paper manufactured by Procter & Gamble. History The Charmin name was first created on April 19, 1928 by the Hoberg Paper Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1950, Hoberg changed its name to Charmin Pape ...

, (which in the 2010 US industry magazine,

Adweek ''Adweek'' is a weekly American advertising trade publication that was first published in 1979. ''Adweek'' covers creativity, client–agency relationships, global advertising, accounts in review, and new campaigns. During this time, it has cover ...

, put the Charmin bear as one of the top 10 advertising icons of the decade),

Whiskas Whiskas (formerly known as Kal Kan) is a brand of cat food sold internationally. It is owned by the American company Mars, Incorporated. It is available either as small meaty pieces in sauce, gravy or jelly packaged in tins, foil trays or pouch ...

, and

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

. Nearly all of these commercials have Quinn's distinctive drawing style, and were animated by hand, on paper. Quinn has been honoured with retrospectives of her work in all over the world including Rome, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Stuttgart, Zagreb, Hiroshima, Toronto, Montreal, Gothenburg, Bradford, Cordoba, Tampere, Ottawa, London, Valencia, Taiwan, and Moscow. In 2008, her work was shown in an exhibition called 'Drawings that Move', curated by Michael Harvey at the

National Media Museum The National Science and Media Museum (formerly The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 1983–2006 and then the National Media Museum, 2006–2017), located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is part of the national Science Museum G ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, England. This exhibition has since travelled to Valencia, Spain,

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, Slovenia, Teplice, the Czech Republic, and Amarante in Portugal. Quinn has been awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Arts from the University of

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

, an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Arts from Middlesex University, a Fellowship from the University of Wales, and has been made an Honorary Fellow of Royal College of Art, London. She became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2017.

Awards

Quinn has won over a hundred international awards, including 2

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

awards, 4 BAFTA awards and Jury prizes at all the major animation festivals. Two of her films, '' Famous Fred'' (1997) and '' Affairs of the Art'' (2021), each received an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination. The latter film has already won numerous international awards including 6 Audience prizes, 2 grand prix, and awards for best comedy, best director, best British and Best European film. In 1996 Quinn was invited to

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

and awarded the Leonardo da Vinci International Art Award. In 2006 her film ''Dreams and Desires'' won Grand Prix at World Festival of Animated Film -

Animafest Zagreb World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb ( hr, Svjetski festival animiranog filma), also known as Animafest Zagreb, is a film festival entirely dedicated to animated film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Fi ...

. In 2014, she was honoured with the

ASIFA The International Animated Film Association (French: ''Association Internationale du Film d'Animation'', ASIFA) is an international non-profit organization founded in 1960 in Annecy, France, by the best known animation artists of the time such as ...

laureate. In 2021 she received the Crystal Pegasus —a lifetime achievement award, at the 2021 Animator Festival in Poznań.

Filmography

* ''Girls Night Out'' (1987) * ''Body Beautiful'' (1990) * ''Elles'' (1992) * ''Britannia'' (1993) * '' Famous Fred'' (1996) * ''The Wife of Bath - The Canterbury Tales'' (1998) * ''Dreams and Desires – Family Ties'' (2006) * '' Affairs of the Art'' (2021)

References

External links

Beryl Productions
* *
Joanna Quinn: Desert Island Flicks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Joanna Living people English film directors British animated film directors British women film directors English animators People from Birmingham, West Midlands British women animators Year of birth missing (living people)