Joanna was born in Birmingham, England and completed a foundation course in art at Goldsmiths College, University of London before studying for a BA in Graphic Design at Middlesex University. It was here that Joanna first discovered the magic of animation, quickly adapting her unique drawing abilities to produce beautifully fluid and dynamic animated passages. Her first film, Girl’s Night Out (1986), won 3 prizes at the Annecy Animation Festival in 1987 and thrust her into the international animation scene.
Some of her work:
Joanna is now a highly acclaimed figure in world animation and was named Animation Laureate 2013 by ASIFA International. Her fine drawing skills, wonderful characterisations and her humour mark her out as a unique talent. Joanna has won a raft of top awards, including Emmys, Baftas and Jury prizes at all the major animation festivals. Two of her films, Famous Fred (1996) and The Wife of Bath (1998) have received Oscar© nominations. Her masterpiece, Britannia, a brilliantly biting view of British Imperialism, won her the prestigious Leonardo Da Vinci award in 1996, which was ironically presented by Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace!
Joanna 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, Valencia and Taiwan. 2008 saw the culmination of her work in a beautiful exhibition called ‘Drawings that Move’, curated by Michael Harvey at the National Media Museum in Bradford. This much-celebrated exhibition has since travelled to Valencia, Spain and Teplice in the Czech Republic.
Sources:
http://www.berylproductions.co.uk/
Celestin Dimitriu 