Richard Williams is an animator, director, producer and the writer of ‘The Animator’s Survival Kit’. He has won 3 Oscars, 3 British Academy Awards and over 250 other international awards. He is probably best known for his work as director of animation on Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) for which he won two Oscars, and for his feature film The Thief and the Cobbler.
During his more than 50 years in the business, he has been involved in many animation films, including The Return of the Pink Panther, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, What’s New Pussycat, the James Bond film Casino Royale, The Charge of the Light Brigade, and the Oscar-winning A Christmas Carol. He is an innovator within the industry, and serves as the link between the Golden Age of hand-drawn animation and the new computer animated successes. Perhaps even more important has been his dedication to passing along his knowledge to a new generation of animators so that they, in turn, can push the medium in new directions.
Imogen Sutton is a producer and a documentary director. Her award-winning films include Animating Art (1988) and Daughters of de Beauvoir (1989). Starting as a runner in London, her animation career includes producing The Thief and the Cobbler and Richard Williams’ Animation Masterclass.
Sutton is co-editor of ‘The Animator’s Survival Kit’ and producer and director of the follow-up 16 DVD box-set and iPad app. She has just produced Richard Williams’ new animated short Prologue.
Richard Williams is present for a Q&A, after the screening of his films The Thief and the Cobbler and Prologue.
photo by Roberto Dooner