Ishu Patel is an Indian-Canadian animation film director/producer and educator. During his twenty-five years 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 ...

he developed animation techniques and styles to support his themes and vision. Since then he has produced animated spots for television and has been teaching internationally.

Background and Studies

Ishu Patel was born on 20 April 1942, in the State of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from M.S.University of Baroda, Gujarat, following which he was accepted into the first cohort of faculty trainees hired at the newly formed

National Institute of Design The National Institutes of Design (NID) are a group of autonomous public design institutes in India, with the first institute established in 1961 in Ahmedabad. The other NIDs are located in the cities of Kurukshetra, Amaravati, Jorhat and Bho ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

. This was an exceptional design school created by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

under the auspice of the influential industrialist family of Gautam and Gira Sarabhai. The school was based upon the recommendations and philosophy of the American industrial designers Ray and Charles Eames, as found in The India Report. Through a

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

Grant provided to the

, Ishu Patel was able to finish his post graduate studies in Graphic Design under Armin Hoffman at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, Switzerland, and returned to the

where he taught and became Head of Visual Communications.

Career

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

Scholarship brought Ishu Patel to the

to study animation filmmaking for a year, and in 1972 he joined the NFB where, for the next twenty-five years under the NFB mandate Ishu Patel produced and directed animated films and mentored young animation filmmakers. There he both adapted and originated several notable techniques: in the abstract film ''Perspectrum'' he adapted the Norman McLaren technique of multiple passes and variable exposures; the films ''Afterlife'' and ''Top Priority'' were the result of accidentally discovering, and then developing, the under-lit plasticine technique; for the film ''Paradise'' he developed the under-lit pin hole technique with multiple passes; and for ''The Bead Game'' he created the procedures for moving thousands of tiny beads under an ever-zooming-outward camera. He co-produced animation projects with

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

of Japan and

Channel Four Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded entirely by its commer ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, and contributed French language segments to

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

. His many international awards include the British Academy Award, two Oscar nominations, the Silver Bear Award at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

, Grand Prix at the

Annecy International Animation Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring ever ...

, and Grand Prix at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.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 ...

Outreach Program Ishu Patel conducted animation workshops with Inuit artists of Cape Dorset, with healthcare fieldworkers in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, and with students in the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, Japan and the United States. During those years he returned regularly to Ahmedabad, India where he often taught his approaches and techniques to the animation students at his alma mater the

, and contributed some assistance in formulating the animation program. After leaving the NFBC he conducted student workshops and Master Classes throughout Asia, mentoring young faculty and developing curricula. He has conducted Master Classes at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, and the Animation Image Society of Toronto, at the School of Animation,

Communication University of China The Communication University of China (CUC) is a public university in Chaoyang, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The university is part of the Double First-Class Construction and Project 211. CUC developed from ...

, Beijing, and at the School of Animation, Southwest University of Nationalities, Chengdu, China. Ishu Patel was Special Guest and conducted screenings and a Master Class at the 7th. Big Cartoon Festival in Moscow, Russia, November 2014. He was Visiting Professor at the School of Art, Design and Media,

Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1981, it is also the second oldest autonomous university in the country. The university is organised across numerous colleges and schools, includi ...

, Singapore.

Filmography

* ''Moondust'' * ''Divine Fate'' * ''

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

(Paradis)'' * '' Top Priority'' * ''

Afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...

'' * '' Bead Game'' * ''Perspectrum'' * '' How Death Came to Earth''

Awards

''Moondust:'' *2009: AWARD OF EXCELLENCE - ANIMATION, ''50th Annual Illustration Exhibition'', New York, USA ''Divine Fate:'' * 1995: UNICEF PRIZE, ''Ottawa International Animation Film Festival'', Ottawa, CANADA * 1995: SILVER MEDAL - ECOLOGY, ''Medikinale International Film Festival'', Parma, ITALY * 1994: SPECIAL DISTINCTION FOR ITS MESSAGE, ''Annecy International Animation Film Festival'', Annecy, FRANCE ''Paradise/Paradis:'' *1985: OSCAR NOMINATION FOR BEST ANIMATED SHORT, ''57th Annual Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences'', Hollywood, California, USA *1985: SILVER BEAR AWARD, ''35th Berlin Film Festival'', Berlin, GERMANY *1985: SPECIAL JURY AWARD, ''25th International Animation Film Festival'', Annecy, FRANCE *1985: FIRST PRIZE FOR THEATRICAL SHORT, ''Melbourne Film Festival'', Melbourne, AUSTRALIA *1985: SPECIAL AWARD BEST FILM FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, ''23rd International Film Festival for Children and Young People'', Gijon, SPAIN *1985: FIRST PRIZE, ''1st Los Angeles International Animation Celebration'', Los Angeles, USA ''Top Priority:'' *1983: BLUE RIBBON HUMAN CONCERN AWARD, ''25th American Film Festival'', New York, New York, USA *1982: BEST SHORT FILM, ''XXIV Seaman International De Cinema'', Barcelona, SPAIN *1982: SPECIAL RECOGNITION OF MERIT, ''Los Angeles Film Exposition Filmex'', Los Angeles, USA ''Afterlife:'' *1979: GRAND-PRIX, ''12th International Animation Film Festival'', Annecy, FRANCE *1979: OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, ''London Film Festival'', London, ENGLAND *1979: SPECIAL HONOUR, ''Los Angeles International Film Exposition Filmex'', Los Angeles, USA *1978: GRAND PRIX DE MONTREAL, ''Festival des Films du Monde'', categorie court metrage, Montreal, CANADA *1978: SILVER HUGO, ''14th International Film Festival'', Chicago, USA *1978: ETROG AWARD: BEST ANIMATED FILM, ''Canadian Film Awards'', Toronto, CANADA ''Bead Game'' *1978: OSCAR NOMINATION FOR BEST ANIMATED SHORT, ''50th Annual Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences'', Hollywood, California, USA *1978: BEST SHORT FICTIONAL FILM, ''British Academy of Film and Television Arts'', London, ENGLAND *1978: GOLD MEDAL, SPECIAL JURY AWARD, ''Greater Miami International Film Festival'', Miami, USA *1978: AWARD OF EXCELLENCE, ''Film Advisory Board Inc.'', Los Angeles, USA *1978: BLUE RIBBON AWARD - VISUAL ESSAY, ''20th Annual American Film Festival'', New York, USA *1978: BEST OF CATEGORY - FILM AS ART, ''Pacific Association for Communication and Technology Film Festival'', Honolulu, USA *1977: SPECIAL PRIZE FOR ANIMATION, ''International Documentary and Short Film Festival for Cinema and Television'', Leipzig, GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

Juryships

*2015: International Jury President - Animation, ''18th Shanghai International Film Festival'', Shanghai, CHINA *2014: International Jury Member, ''SICAF (Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival)'', Seoul, SOUTH KOREA *2013: International Jury Member, ''AniWow Student Animation Film Festival'', Beijing, CHINA *2009: Chairperson, International Jury, ''Etiuda & Anima International Film Festival'', Kracow, POLAND *1997: International Jury Member, ''SICAF (Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival)'', Seoul, SOUTH KOREA *1995: International Jury Member, ''Film and Video Festival on Science, Society and Development'', Trivandrum, INDIA *1990: International Jury Member, ''Bombay International Film Festival for Documentary Short and Animated Films'', Mumbai, INDIA *1987: Chairperson, International Jury, ''Zagreb International Animation Film Festival'', Zagreb, CROATIA *1985: International Jury Member, ''1st International Animation Film Festival HIROSHIMA '85'', Hiroshima, JAPAN

References

External links

Official Web Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Ishu 1942 births Living people Film directors from Gujarat Indian animators Indian animated film directors Canadian animated film directors Indian animated film producers Canadian animated film producers People from Vadodara BAFTA winners (people) National Film Board of Canada people Indian emigrants to Canada Directors of Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners for Best Animated Short Animation educators Gujarati people Canadian people of Gujarati descent