CONTROVERSIAL FILM DIRECTOR GIVES FIRST-EVER UK INTERVIEW IN BRADFORD

A challenging director and film maker will give his first-ever interview in this country at the Bradford Film Festival next week.

Fifty-five-year-old Belgian Thierry Zéno has produced films and documentaries that have been banned in several countries around the world. Now thanks to an academic at the University of Bradford, there will be a rare opportunity to see some of his provocative work and hear from the man himself.

Mark Goodall, lecturer in the Electronic Imaging and Media Communications Department at the University of Bradford, will be hosting a special one-off interview and screening of three of his works in the Cubby Broccoli Cinema at the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television on Thursday 16 March 2006, starting at 7pm.

The event, which costs £5 for entry or £3 for concessions including NUS, is entitled: 'Thierry Zéno - Humans, Animals, Sex and Death'.

Zéno will be discussing his life, career and controversial work through an interpreter with Mark Goodall who is, aside from his academic role, a film historian and author of the forthcoming book entitled 'Sweet and Savage: The World Through the Shockumentary Film Lens'. There will also be a chance for attendees to ask questions.

Mark Goodall said: "It's a real coup that we've got Thierry to come to the UK let alone Bradford. This is a rare opportunity to meet a truly unique filmmaker whose work has inspired controversy, shock and furious debate and I would encourage all serious film buffs to attend what promises to be a fascinating event."

The three films that will be shown during the event include:
'Vase de Noces' (The Wedding Trough)
'Des Mortes' (Of The Dead)
'Ya Basta - The Battle Cry of the Faceless'.

For more information about the Bradford Film Festival 2006, which runs from Friday 3 to Saturday 18 March 2006, visit www.nmpft.org.uk/bff/2006/home.asp

For more information about Thierry Zéno and the three films that will be shown on Thursday 16 March, visit: www.nmpft.org.uk/bff/2006/filmdetail.asp?ida=6044

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AND THE OSCAR FOR WALLACE AND GROMIT…IS PARTLY DUE TO A KINGSTON UNIVERSITY GRADUATE

Aardman Animation directors Nick Park and Steve Box weren’t the only ones waiting with baited breath for the announcement of their Oscar win for best animated feature. Kingston illustration graduate Claire Billett was just as anxious to see whether the production powerhouse had won its third Academy award for Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Claire, who worked for two years as character animator on the film, is the hands and brains behind Were-Rabbit characters Victor and Lady Tottington. Now she is set to celebrate the film’s Oscar success along with 200 other staff at the company’s Bristol studio next week. “I didn’t know who had won until I switched on the television on Monday morning and it was such great news. I am so proud. A real high point of the job, especially on a high-profile project like Were-Rabbit is, of course, seeing the final product, going to the premiere and having the buzz of seeing your work on the big screen. Everyone on the team is a perfectionist striving to make each production as good as possible and I think the Oscar recognised that.”

Claire is no stranger to success. Her work on the film also saw her carry off a prestigious award of her own – the ANNIE, which is the animation industry’s equivalent of an Oscar – for character animation in January. “On Were-Rabbit I enjoyed trying to convey the characters’ thoughts and emotions, trying to make viewers forget they were looking at a puppet and really believe in them as people. Winning the ANNIE was a complete surprise. I was just honoured to be nominated – I didn't expect to actually win. But of course it feels great – it’s a real boost.”

Claire started at Aardman just after her graduation in 1998, setting to work on the company’s first feature film, Chicken Run. “My Kingston University course had a strong emphasis on drawing and I think that helped me a lot in terms of observation - which is crucial to the kind of animation I now do. My job is to bring the characters alive, like the ones I am working on for the new children’s series, Shaun the Sheep, where I have to do things like making model sheep run round trees. In stop-motion animation, I place the puppets in position, take one frame, move the puppets just a fraction then take another frame. It often takes a whole day to make two seconds or less of finished animation.”

Claire credits the focus of the Kingston University illustration course, and especially her tutors, with part of her success. “It was great that the tutors were practising professionals, always keen to push the students forward. The intensity of the course was invaluable. The strong work ethic created a real buzz of creativity on campus.”

Claire won her first animation accolade during those early days at Kingston, scooping the Royal Television Society’s National Student Award. Technical Officer from the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture Brian Ackland said Claire had been an outstanding student with an absolute passion for the subject. “It’s no surprise she’s gone on to award-winning success so early in her career,” he added.

Kingston University has produced a string of other animation stars. Tim Watts and Andy Gent worked on the Oscar-nominated Corpse Bride while Lucy Izzard’s winning entry in the BBC’s 2005 New Animator Award, Tea Total, is due to screen on BBC Three this month.