Caroline Leaf (born August 12, 1946 in Seattle, Washington) is a Canadian-American filmmaker and animator.Leaf made her first film, Sand, or Peter and the Wolf, in 1968 at Harvard University. The short was made by dumping sand on a light box and manipulating the textures frame-by-frame.Her second film, Orfeo (1972), had her painting directly on glass under the camera. Later that year she was invited to join the National Film Board of Canada's English Animation Studio.She mixed paint with glycerine to produce The Street, adapted from the short story of the same name by Mordechai Richler, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 49th Academy Awards.From 1981 until 1986 she worked on various live action documentary films. In 1986 she produced her first animation in nearly a decade by scratching on 70mm color film and reshooting it on 35mm. "Two Sisters" (1990) won the award for best short film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in 1991. In 2004 she co-directed "Suite for freedom" (her part was called "Slavery"). It was included in the Animation Show of Shows in 2004.She worked as an animator/director at the NFB until 1991.In 1991 she left animation temporarily to work on documentary films.In 2004 she contributed animation to a film about the Underground Railroad.Caroline Leaf currently lives in London and is a tutor at The National Film and Television School.
She has had a career as an animator with The National Film Board of Canada. She is known for using the paint-on-glass technique and her short "The Street" (1976) is regarded as a masterpiece of this form of animation.
Director
Title
Year
Status
Character
I Met a Man
1991
Short
Entre deux soeurs
1991
Short
A Dog's Tale: A Mexican Parable
1986
Short
The Fox and the Tiger: A Chinese Parable
1986
Short
The Owl and the Pussycat
1985
Short
An Equal Opportunity
1982
Short
Kate and Anna McGarrigle
1981
Documentary short
Interview
1979
Short
The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa
1978
Short
The Street
1976
Short
The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend
1976
Short
Sand or Peter and the Wolf
1969
Short
Animation Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Street
1976
Short animator
The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend
1976
Short animator
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
1972-1974
TV Series animator - 3 episodes
Suite for Freedom
2004
Video short animator
The Passerby
1995
animator
Entre deux soeurs
1991
Short animator
Legends and Life of the Inuit
1978
Documentary animator
The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa
1978
Short animator
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
Creative Process: Norman McLaren
1993
Documentary scratched inserts
War
1982
TV Mini-Series documentary series opening title sequence - 8 episodes
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Entre deux soeurs
1991
Short
A Dog's Tale: A Mexican Parable
1986
Short
The Fox and the Tiger: A Chinese Parable
1986
Short
Pies
1984
Short
An Equal Opportunity
1982
Short
A Right to Refuse?
1981
Short
The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa
1978
Short written by
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Pies
1984
Short producer
An Equal Opportunity
1982
Short producer
A Right to Refuse?
1981
Short producer
The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa
1978
Short producer
Art Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa
1978
Short designer
Art Director
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Street
1976
Short
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Come Again in Spring
2007
Short special thanks
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Love in the Cold: Animation at the National Film Board of Canada
1994
Herself
The Magical Eye
1989
Documentary
Herself (film director)
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1996
Lifetime Achievement Award
Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films
1994
Norman McLaren Heritage Award
Ottawa International Animation Festival
1992
Grand Prize
Ottawa International Animation Festival
Entre deux soeurs (1991)
1992
Craft Prize
Ottawa International Animation Festival
Best Story
Entre deux soeurs (1991)
1992
Best Animation
Tampere International Short Film Festival
International Competition
Entre deux soeurs (1991)
1991
Grand Prize
World Animation Celebration
Entre deux soeurs (1991)
1980
Grand Prix
Melbourne International Film Festival
Interview (1979)
1979
Jury Prize (Short Films)
Montréal World Film Festival
Interview (1979)
1978
Golden Dragon
Krakow Film Festival
The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa (1978)
1978
C.I.D.A.L.C. Award - Special Mention
Krakow Film Festival
The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa (1978)
1978
Special Jury Prize
Ottawa International Animation Festival
The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa (1978)
1977
Silver Dragon
Krakow Film Festival
The Street (1976)
1976
Grand Prize
Ottawa International Animation Festival
The Street (1976)
1976
OIAF Award
Ottawa International Animation Festival
Films for Children
The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend (1976)
Nominated Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1991
Gold Hugo
Chicago International Film Festival
Best Short Film
Entre deux soeurs (1991)
1977
Oscar
Academy Awards, USA
Best Short Film, Animated
The Street (1976)
1976
BAFTA Film Award
BAFTA Awards
Best Animated Film
The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend (1976)