# Caroline Leaf

Caroline Leaf (born August 12, 1946) is a Canadian American filmmaker, animator, 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 (NFB). She worked at the NFB from 1972 to 1991. During that time, she created the sand animation and paint-on-glass animation techniques. She also tried new hands-on techniques with 70 mm IMAX film. Her work is often representational of Canadian culture and is narrative-based. Leaf now lives in London, 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.

## Biography and early work

Leaf was born in Seattle, Washington and lived in Boston. She attended Radcliffe College, Harvard University, 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. 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. She then did freelance work from a studio in Boston and made How Beaver Stole Fire. Leaf moved to Montreal to work as an animator / director for the National Film Board of Canada 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, 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, 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 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 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 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, Trafalgar Square, London, 2015
* The Leper Chapel, Cambridge, England, 2008
* The Shop Gallery, Vallance Road, London, 2006
* The Corridor Gallery, London, 2004
* Krakow Animation Festival, Kraków, Poland, 1998
* Animafest Zagreb (Zagreb International Animation Festival), Zagreb, 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

| Year | Title | Credit Listing |
| 1969 | Sand, or Peter and the Wolf | animator, director |
| 1972 | Orfeo | animator, director |
| 1972 | How Beaver Stole Fire | animator, director |
| 1976 | The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend | animator, director |
| 1976 | The Street | animator, director |
| 1977 | The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa | animator, director |
| 1979 | Interview | co-animator, director |
| 1981 | Kate and Anna McGarrigle | director |
| 1981 | The Right to Refuse | co-screenwriter, co-producer, director |
| 1982 | An Equal Opportunity | director, co-screenwriter |
| 1983 | Pies | animator |
| 1983 | War Series | animator, director |
| 1985 | The Owl and the Pussycat | director, producer, designer |
| 1986 | The Fox and The Tiger: A Chinese Parable | director, designer |
| 1986 | A Dog's Tale: A Mexican Parable | director |
| 1988 | Paradise Found | animator, director |
| 1990 | Two Sisters | animator, director |
| 1991 | I Met a Man | animator, director |
| 1993 | Bell Partout | animator, director |
| 1994 | Fleay's Fauna Centre | animator, director |
| 1995 | Brain Battle | animator, director |
| 1995 | Radio Rock Detente | animator, director |
| 2004 | Slavery | director |

## Awards

| Year | Award | Competition | Title |
| 1975 | Émile Reynaud Special Award | Annecy International Animation Film Festival, France | The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend |
| 1975 | Etrog for Best Animated Film | 26th Canadian Film Awards | The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend |
| 1976 | Victorian Government Prize | Melbourne Film Festival, Australia | The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend |
| 1976 | Third Prize - Silver Boomerang | Melbourne Film Festival, Australia | The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend |
| 1976 | First Prize | Melbourne Film Festival, Australia | The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend |
| 1976 | First Prize - Films for Children | Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada | The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend |
| 1976 | Silver Cindy Award | Cindy Competition, United States | The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend |
| 1976 | Special Award for Animation | Cindy Competition, United States | The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend |
| 1976 | Silver Award | Information Film Producers Association Convention, United States | The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend |
| 1976 | Grand Prix | Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada | The Street |
| 1976 | Wendy Michener Award | 27th Canadian Film Awards | The Street |
| 1976 | Etrog for Best Animated Film | 27th Canadian Film Awards | The Street |
| 1977 | Blue Ribbon Award - Language Arts | American Film and Video Festival | The Street |
| 1977 | Special Prize | Melbourne International Film Festival, Australia | The Street |
| 1977 | First Prize - Animated Films | Cork International Film Festival, Ireland | The Street |
| 1977 | Chris Bronze Plaque | Columbus International Film & Animation Festival, United States | The Street |
| 1977 | First Prize | High Plains Film Festival - Texas Tech University, United States | The Street |
| 1977 | Special Jury Mention | Lille International Short Film Festival, France | The Street |
| 1977 | Red Ribbon Award - Language arts | American Film and Video Festival | The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend |
| 1977 | First Prize | Melbourne Film Festival, Australia | The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend |
| 1977 | Special Jury Mention | International Arctic Film Festival, Finland | The Owl Who Married a Goose: An Eskimo Legend |
| 1977 | Critic's Award | Annecy International Animation Film Festival, France | The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa |
| 1978 | Award for Best Animation | Huesca International Film Festival, Spain | The Street |
| 1978 | Merit Award | Annual International Film Festival, United States | The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa |
| 1978 | Grand Prize | Kraków Film Festival, Poland | The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa |
| 1978 | Special Jury Award | Ottawa International Animation Festival | The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa |
| 1978 | Certificate for Outstanding Achievement | Golden Gate Awards Competition & International Film Festival, United States | The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa |
| 1979 | AMER Golden Eye Award | Annual AMER Film Awards, United States | The Street |
| 1979 | Jury Award for Best Short Film | Montreal World Film Festival | Interview |
| 1979 | First Prize (5-15 mins) | World Festival of Animated Film | Interview |
| 1980 | Certificate for an Outstanding Film | Hong Kong International Film Festival | The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa |
| 1981 | Grand Prix | Melbourne Film Festival, Australia | Interview |
| 1991 | Best Film Award | Annecy International Animation Film Festival, France | Two Sisters |
| 1991 | Grand Prix | International Animation Celebration, United States | Two Sisters |
| 1991 | Best Animation Award | International Short Film Festival, Sweden | Two Sisters |
| 1992 | Honorable Mention | American Film and Video Festival | Two Sisters |
| 1992 | Special Jury Award | International Animation Film Festival, China | Two Sisters |
| 1992 | Alberta-Quebec Award | Quebec-Alberta Prizes, Canada | Two Sisters |
| 1992 | Best Film Award | Tampere Film Festival, Finland | Two Sisters |
| 1992 | Silver Apple Award | National Educational Media Network Competition, United States | Two Sisters |
| 1992 | Grand Prize of the Festival: Best Story | Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada | Two Sisters |

### 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)
* 2019: Dragon of Dragons Award, Kraków Film Festival

### Nominations

* 1977: Academy Award for The Street