JOSEPH PIERCE

Writer-director-animator

Just graduated from the National Film and Television School (NFTS), Joseph Pierce's imaginative animated shorts have made a splash on the festival circuit. Big On Love, about a sweet encounter between a man and a woman, shows how expressive graphic animation can be. His graduation film, Stand Up, about a comedian whose routine falls apart, develops the rotoscoped technique he used on Big On Love. It is a tribute to his sense of visual humour, animation skills and talent for storytelling. The film has shown at the Annecy and Edinburgh film festivals. His work also includes State Of Nature, shot on a digital stills camera and made using frame-by-frame manipulation. Pierce is now working on more short and feature ideas with producing partner Jessica Levick and fellow graduate Aneil Karia and has contributed to the Royal Opera House's The Minotaur. 'I wish to push my rotoscoped technique, with the goal of breaking into animated features for an adult audience,' he says.