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Don Hertzfeldt was born on August 1, 1976 in California's Bay Area. He made four self-taught 16mm animated shorts at UC Santa Barbara, each one more successful than the last on an unprecedented level for student films. By 1999 these shorts had collectively helped him finance his own 35mm setup with the purchase of an antique animation stand, paving the way for his current work. His films have been seen in over a thousand film festivals and theatrical venues around the world and have received over a hundred awards. His film, Rejected, was nominated for an Oscar in 2001. Although Don's approach to animation is very traditional (pen, paper, film), his methods are entirely self-taught and unorthodox. His films are often created without a finished script, beginning with a central concept that's gradually shaped out as the months (or years) of production progress. This opens the door for creative experiments, improvisations, and an element of spontaneity rare to animation. He doesn't use computers in his animation or photography process, and rarely even works with cels. In 2003, Don created The Animation Show with Mike Judge, a personally curated touring festival that annually brings animated short films to more American theaters than any distributor in history. |