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Ludmila
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Ludmila
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Author, illustrator, animator and filmmaker Ludmila Zeman Spaleny was born in Gottwadlov, Czechoslovakia on April 23, 1947. She now lives in Montreal, Quebec with her husband and children. Ludmila Zeman, daughter of well-known filmmaker Karel Zeman, was raised by an artistic family who encouraged her creativity. As a child, Zeman spent her summers building puppets and painting backgrounds for her father's films. She worked on her father's award winning movie An Invention for Destruction. She also did still photographs of the film, which were exhibited in Europe. While studying fine art at university, Zeman continued to work with her father. She designed costumes, sets, puppets and developed her photography skills. After finishing art school, she began to create her own films, combining her knowledge of puppetry and cell animation. In spite of her films' popularity on Czech television, she was unable to attract the interest of a European audience. By 1967, Zeman had become assistant director on her father's films. In 1969, she decided to continue her study of puppetry and film making at Palacky University. After she returned from Palacky, she became the leading designer at her father's studio. The films she worked on have gained critical acclaim from audiences world-wide.
The entrance into the world of children's book illustration was relatively easy for this remarkably talented artist. While working on a children's film with her husband Eugene Spaleny, the Zeman studio's chief animator, Ludmila Zeman was approached to illustrate a children's book. Zeman agreed to do the illustrations and went on to produced an animated film and her first children's book in the same year.
In 1983, under Czechoslovakia's then communist government, Zeman and her husband were denied permission to teach film technique at the Emily Carr College in Vancouver, British Columbia. Zeman and her husband were then accused of pro-western sentiments by the authorities, which made life in Czechoslovakia very difficult for the family. She was forced to leave her father's studio. By 1984, the situation had become unbearable and Zeman, her husband and their two daughters left Czechoslovakia for a refugee camp in Austria. From there, the family immigrated to Canada where they were able to accept the teaching positions at Emily Carr College.
Ludmila Zeman and Eugene Spaleny have created several short animated films for children in Canada. Their first Canadian film was an animated short called The Cedar Tree of Life, which they produced for the Canadian version of Sesame Street. Without the advantages of a studio or financial backing Zeman and Spaleny created The Cedar Tree of Life on their kitchen table. Currently, Ludmila Zeman and Eugene Spaleny are working on an animated version of the Gilgamesh epic.
In preparation for the lengthy and expensive process of doing a feature length animated film; Ludmila Zeman approached Tundra Books hoping to restart her career as an illustrator of children's books. When the president of Tundra saw Zeman's storyboards for the Gilgamesh film, she requested a picture book that would employ her unique style of illustration. Initially, Zeman was sceptical about transferring the complex epic from the animation storyboards into a picture book. However, the idea flourished into a breathtaking three book series. Zeman's Gilgamesh books have earned her tremendous critical acclaim. The final instalment in the series,The Last Quest of Gilgamesh, earned Zeman the 1995 Governor General's Award for Children's Literature in illustration.
Ludmila Zeman's knowledge of puppet design, film and animation enhance her work as an illustrator. With her keen eye for style and design, Zeman has created a unique series of books with stunning illustrations. Confident in a wide variety of mediums, Ludmila Zeman is a storyteller whose narratives know no bounds.
Click here to view Ludmila's bibliography and a list of other awards she has one.
Click here to view a list of articles and links on Ludmila Zeman and The Last Quest of Gilgamesh