Caroline Leaf (born August 12, 1946) is a
Canadian American filmmaker,
animator
An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...
,
director, tutor and artist. She has produced numerous short animated films and her work has been recognized worldwide. She is best known as one of the pioneering filmmakers at the
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...
(NFB). She worked at the NFB from 1972 to 1991. During that time, she created the
sand animation
Sand animation is a form of stop motion that manipulates images formed with sand under a camera to create animation. A sand animator will make incremental changes in the sand, taking one frame with each change in order to create a sequence of mov ...
and
paint-on-glass animation techniques. She also tried new hands-on techniques with 70 mm
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...
film. Her work is often representational of
Canadian culture and is narrative-based. Leaf now lives in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England, and is a tutor at The
National Film and Television School. She maintains a studio in London working in oils and on paper and does landscape drawing with an
iPad
The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...
.
Biography and early work
Leaf was born in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
,
Washington and lived in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. She attended
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...
,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, and majored in architectural sciences and visual arts from 1964-1968. During her last year of studies, she enrolled in an animation class. The class was taught by
Derek Lamb as a creative practice, not as a professional training. Lamb encouraged his students to focus on movement. Leaf worked with beach sand spread on a
lightbox. This is when she created
sand animation
Sand animation is a form of stop motion that manipulates images formed with sand under a camera to create animation. A sand animator will make incremental changes in the sand, taking one frame with each change in order to create a sequence of mov ...
. Using this technique, she produced her first film ''Sand, or Peter and the Wolf'' and was awarded a scholarship from Harvard University. After graduation, she moved to Italy for a year to focus on her drawing. Returning to Harvard, she made her second animated film, ''Orfeo''
painting on glass
''Painting on Glass'' is the second studio album by The 3rd and the Mortal.
Track listing
# "Magma" - 4:25
# "Commemoration" - 5:41
# "Crystal Orchids" - 2:59
# "Persistent and Fleeting" - 5:58
# "White Waters" - 2:50
# "Aurora Borealis" - ...
. She then did freelance work from a studio in Boston and made ''How Beaver Stole Fire''. Leaf moved to
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
to work as an animator / director for the
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...
in 1972. She worked at the NFB in the French and English animation departments until 1991. She made nine animated and live puppet films and a documentary film during those years.
Career
Leaf made her first film, ''Sand, or Peter and the Wolf'', in 1969 at Harvard University. The short was made by pouring sand on a light box and manipulating the shapes frame-by-frame. Her second film at Harvard, ''Orfeo'', was painted on glass under the camera. In 1972 she was invited to join the National Film Board of Canada's French Animation Studio. Her first film for the NFB was ''
The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend''.
Making the film involved two trips to the
Canadian Arctic
Northern Canada (), colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada, variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories a ...
, first to collaborate on designs with the
Inuvialuk artist
Agnes Nanogak and afterwards to record the sound effects for the film. Her most renowned short film was ''
The Street,'' which was drawn directly under the camera with a mix of paint and
glycerin. It was adapted from the short story by
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...
, and was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the
49th Academy Awards. It is also featured in the
Animation Show of Shows.
Leaf co-directed an animated documentary film called ''Interview with Veronika Soul''. She made a documentary film on the singers
Kate & Anna McGarrigle, produced by
Derek Lamb.
In 1990, she made her first animation in nearly a decade by scratching into the emulsion of exposed black
70 mm colour film and reshooting it on
35 mm film. She worked for two years using this technique on her film ''
Two Sisters'' original version called Entre Deux Soeurs. The tone and story of this film is dark. ''Two Sisters'' won the award for best short film at the
Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 1991.
Leaf worked as an animator/director at the NFB until 1991. In 1991 she left animation to establish herself as a fine arts artist working in oils. In 2004 she contributed animation to a film about the
Underground Railroad produced by
Acme Filmworks in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
called ''Suite for Freedom''. Her part was called ''Slavery''.
Animation techniques and influence
Leaf discovered a spontaneous and artistic hand crafted way of animating in her animation class at Harvard and developed it in her professional career, pioneering:
sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...
and
paint-on-glass animation, along with hand etching on film stock. All of her techniques have been described as having "fluid transitions".
She used different techniques to best tell the story of each of her films which showcased her narrative-based style. She created simple anecdotal and fictional stories based on literary works. Her films contain characters with relatable and complex issues. Her stories are mostly adaptations from literature and reflect her often dark narrative content.
Every decision when I am animating is for the benefit of the story."
Leaf is also considered an influential Canadian filmmaker for her long standing service with the
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...
and her representation of
Canadian culture in her films. This can mainly be seen in her films ''
The Street'', ''
The Owl who Married a Goose'', and ''
Kate and Anna McGarrigle''.
Painting and drawing
Since 2000 Leaf has maintained a studio in London, England, and developed a personal style of painting in oils as well as drawings on paper. Her work is abstract and very much guided by mark-making and a personal search to create spaces a viewer is invited to enter. She has also developed a lively landscape style of direct observation from nature and works on field trips with paper and pencil and also iPad, using programs called Brushes and
ProCreate.
Exhibitions
* onlinegallery.site 'Two Artists One Drawing' 2022
* onlinegallery.site 'Spaces' 2021
* Playing with Perception, The Gallery,
St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...
,
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...
, London, 2015
* The
Leper Chapel,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, England, 2008
* The Shop Gallery, Vallance Road, London, 2006
* The Corridor Gallery, London, 2004
*
Krakow Animation Festival,
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, Poland, 1998
*
Animafest Zagreb (Zagreb International Animation Festival),
Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
, Croatia, 1996
Residencies
* Michael Nock Foundation, Hong Kong, 2014
*
Abbaye de Fontevraud, France, 2014
*
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Canada, summer 1997
Selected filmography
Awards
Other awards
* 1994:
Norman McLaren Award
* 1996: Life Achievement Award, World Festival of Animated Film -
Animafest Zagreb
* 2017:
Winsor McCay Award (Life Achievement,
Annie Awards
The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origi ...
)
* 2019: Dragon of Dragons Award,
Kraków Film Festival
Nominations
* 1977: Academy Award for ''
The Street''
1977, Oscars.org
/ref>
References
External links
Official website
*
Watch several of her animated films at NFB.ca
(free)
Caroline Leaf -- femfilm.ca: Canadian Women Film Directors Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leaf, Caroline
1946 births
Living people
20th-century Canadian women artists
21st-century Canadian women artists
American expatriates in the United Kingdom
Canadian expatriates in England
Canadian women film directors
Canadian animated film directors
Women animated film directors
American women film directors
American animated film directors
National Film Board of Canada people
Directors of Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners for Best Animated Short
American women animators
Canadian women animators
Radcliffe College alumni
21st-century American women