Erica Russell (born 1951) is a New Zealand-born film animator.[1]
Life and career
Russell was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1951.[2] Her family emigrated to South Africa in 1953, where she grew up with a fascination for traditional customs, music and dance. In 1972 she moved to London and worked with animators Richard Williams, Gerald Scarfe and Disney's Art Babbitt.[3] She worked at Rocky Morton's Cucumber Studios, where she worked with Morton and Annabel Jankel on music videos and animations for television.[2]
Russell eventually opened her own studio, named Eyeworks, and worked on commercial projects such as a campaign for the launch of Virgin Megastores.[3] Her first solo project was Feet of Song in 1988, which became part of a trilogy of dance films; it was followed by Triangle (1994) and SOMA (2001).[4] All three films were funded by Channel 4, a British television company.
In 1992, Russell opened her own production company, Gingco.[1]
Accolades
Russell's film Triangle was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.[5][1] The short film Our Girl, on which Russell worked as animator and designer, won the Bronze World Medal at the New York Festivals in 2015.[6]