Q Is For Joanna Quinn

It's Friday, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! These last couple of days have been drowning Chitown and the rest of the Midwestern area. I had to take a canoe to work and half expected to see the animals lining up two by two. I can't believe we are nearing the end of week three of the A to Z. High fives my fellow challengers, keep up the amazing work.

My Q entry is for animator, director and producer Joanna Quinn. Her first animated feature was Girls Night Out in 1987. It featured her distinctive style, drawn on paper and animated by hand. This film introduced the world to Beryl, an anti heroine who has many a misadventure while on her way to see a male stripper. Quinn's studio, Beryl Productions is named after her quirky girl.

Joanna has gone on to create 5 more animated features including Body Beautiful, Famous Fred, Elles and Canterbury Tales: The Wife of Bath. Her studios have produced commercial animated shorts for companies like United Airlines and Charmin. In the US, I'm sure we are all familiar with the red and blue toilet paper bears. 

She has been twice nominated for an Academy Award and has won 4 BAFTAs. Her work has garnered her 2 Emmy awards as well as the Leonardo da Vinci International Art Award. Joanna has also earned jury prizes at every major international animation competition such as Annecy, France. 2008 saw her work compiled into an international exhibit called Drawings That Move.