Paul Fierlinger

Paul Fierlinger
Born	Pavel Fierlinger March 15, 1936
Nationality	Czech American
Occupation	Animator

Paul Fierlinger(born March 15, 1936, asPavel Fierlinger) is a creator ofanimated filmsandshorts,especiallyanimated documentaries.He is also a part-time lecturer atUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Design.

Early life

Paul Fierlinger was born on March 15, 1936, inAshiya, Japan.His father, Jan Fierlinger, was a Czechoslovak diplomat, and his uncleZdeněk Fierlingerwas a prominent figure in the Czechoslovak communist regime from 1948 until 1968.He spent theWWIIyears in theUnited States.He studied at a boarding school inPoděbrady,where his schoolmates wereMiloš Forman,Ivan PasserandVáclav Havel.There, at age 12 Fierlinger created his firstanimated filmby shooting drawings from hisflipbookwith a 16 mmBolexcamera. His experiences of youth and the difficulties of adapting to life in America and then returning to Czechoslovakia are documented in his biopic animated filmDrawn from Memory.

European career

In 1955, he graduated from the School of Applied Arts inBechyně.After two years of military service, he freelanced inPragueas a book illustrator and gagcartoonistfor cultural periodicals under the pen nameFala.Fierlinger established himself in 1958 as Czechoslovakia's first independent producer of animated films, providing 16 mm films from his home studio inPragueforCzechoslovak Televisionand the 16 mm division of Kratký Film. Fierlinger was one of the first animators in all of the communist countries across theEastern Blocto get away with privately producing animated films, which he sold to many state-run film and television studios acrossCzechoslovakia.Thus, he created approximately 200 films, ranging from 10-second station breaks to 10-minute theatrical releases and TV children’s shorts.

In 1967, Fierlinger moved from communistCzechoslovakiato theNetherlandsfor freedom, where he pitched for a number of station breaks for Dutch television inHilversum.He then went toParis,Franceto work for a short stint as a spot animator for Radio Television France and ended up inMunich,West Germanyfor half a year, having been offered the job of keyanimatoron afeature filmat Linda Films,The Conference of the Animals.InWest Germany,prior to his departure to theUnited States,he married Helena Straková, a Czechoslovak compatriot and photographer.

AR&T

In the United States Fierlinger formed AR&T Associates Inc., his own animation house, in 1971. It produced animated segments forABC'sHarry Reasonerspecials andPBS'Sesame Street,including the popularTeeny Little Super Guyseries; a network ID forTVPaint;Nickelodeon;and more. Since 1971, AR&T produced over 700 films, of which several hundred were television commercials. Many of these films received considerable recognition, including anAcademy Awardnomination forIt's So Nice to Have a Wolf Around the House.Other awards include some from theOttawa International Animation FestivalforAnd Then I'll Stop,a 1989 film on drug and alcohol abuse. At that time, Paul and Helena were divorced.

1990s and beyond

Fierlinger became a steady provider of many TV commercials and sales films forUS Healthcare (now Aetna),winning a variety of international awards. At this time he met and married Sandra Schuette, a fine-arts painter and printmaker at the Boston Museum of Art School and thePennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.Together they developed a small series ofinterstitialsforNickelodeoncalledAmby & Dexter:The Way of Silent;aSesame Streetseries calledAlice Kadeezenberry;and a twenty-minute film of children’s songs for the Children's Book of the Month Club calledPlaytime.

During this time, Fierlinger received a commission fromPBS'American Playhouseto create a one-hour-long autobiography, calledDrawn from Memory.

In 1997, Fierlinger received aPEW Fellowship in the Artsaward for the body of his work.

In the late 1990s,ITVS,an agency of theCorporation for Public Broadcasting,commissioned Fierlinger to create a half-hour PBS special calledStill Life with Animated Dogs.This film, about dogs and other things of a divine nature, premiered on national feed March 29, 2001. The film went on to win First Prize at the 2002 International Festival of Animation inZagreband thePeabody Awardin April 2001.

At the end of 1999, production onStill Lifehad to be interrupted for several months so that the Fierlingers could develop and begin the production of an animation series forOxygen Network,Drawn from Life:two-minute films that feature the voices and simple stories of real-life women. That series won the Grand Prix of 2000 at theOttawa International Animation FestivalinOttawa, Ontario,Canada.

The Fierlingers' own production ofMy Dog Tulip,based on the book of the same title byBritishauthorJ. R. Ackerley,featured the voice talents ofChristopher Plummer,Lynn RedgraveandIsabella Rossellini.

Paul and Sandra Fierlinger currently live and work out of theirWynnewood, Pennsylvania,home and studio.

Selected filmography

• Rainbowland(1978)
• It's So Nice to Have a Wolf Around the House(1979)
• Drawn from Memory(1995)
• Still Life with Animated Dogs(2000)
• My Dog Tulip(2009)
• Me... Jane(2014, animator, director and painter)

External links

• My Dog Tulipofficial website
• STILL LIFE WITH ANIMATED DOGSsite forIndependent LensonPBS
• Paul FierlingeratIMDb
• LiveJournal thread with Fierlinger
• "Drawn from Memory" at the AWN store (description and DVD)
• Drawn from Memory on Animation Show of Shows