Film director and animator who brought Raymond Briggs’s stories to life on screen
The work of the author and illustrator Raymond Briggs reached television and cinema screens with its scratchy, slightly grubby exuberance and its tender soulfulness intact thanks in part to the director and animator Roger Mainwood, who has died aged 65 of cancer.
Although Mainwood made his directorial feature debut only in 2016, with a typically meticulous adaptation of Briggs’s 1998 autobiographical book Ethel & Ernest, which he also scripted, he had a hand in some of the earlier screen versions of the author’s work, including The Snowman (1982) and Father Christmas (1991); the opening sequence of the former, in which a little boy builds a snowman, was entirely his responsibility.
The work of the author and illustrator Raymond Briggs reached television and cinema screens with its scratchy, slightly grubby exuberance and its tender soulfulness intact thanks in part to the director and animator Roger Mainwood, who has died aged 65 of cancer.
Although Mainwood made his directorial feature debut only in 2016, with a typically meticulous adaptation of Briggs’s 1998 autobiographical book Ethel & Ernest, which he also scripted, he had a hand in some of the earlier screen versions of the author’s work, including The Snowman (1982) and Father Christmas (1991); the opening sequence of the former, in which a little boy builds a snowman, was entirely his responsibility.
- 10/5/2018
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
Producer Camilla Deakin remembers ”considerate, collaborative and respectful” animator.
Roger Mainwood, the UK filmmaker and animator, has died after an illness at the age of 65.
His credits included the feature animation Ethel & Ernest, which chronicles the lives of the parents of The Snowman illustrator Raymond Briggs. It was nominated for mutiple awards including best animated feaure at the European Film Awards in 2017.
The film was a passion project for Mainwood, who spent eight years developing it, adapting the screenplay from Briggs’ own graphic novel and drawing the majority of the storyboard himself. He then spent a further two years...
Roger Mainwood, the UK filmmaker and animator, has died after an illness at the age of 65.
His credits included the feature animation Ethel & Ernest, which chronicles the lives of the parents of The Snowman illustrator Raymond Briggs. It was nominated for mutiple awards including best animated feaure at the European Film Awards in 2017.
The film was a passion project for Mainwood, who spent eight years developing it, adapting the screenplay from Briggs’ own graphic novel and drawing the majority of the storyboard himself. He then spent a further two years...
- 9/24/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
“The Square” was the big winner at the European Film Awards, taking nearly every top prize: Best Film, Director, Actor, Screenwriter, even Best Comedy for good measure. It continues a very good year for Ruben Östlund’s art-world satire, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and is considered a likely nominee for the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film.
Also represented were “On Body and Soul,” which won the Golden Bear at Berlinale and earned Alexandra Borbely the Best Actress award, and “Communion,” which took the Documentary prize.
This year’s ceremony, the 30th, took place in Berlin. Avail yourself of the winner list below.
Read More:2017 European Film Awards Nominations: ‘The Square,’ ‘Bpm,’ ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer,’ and More Lead the Way Best European Film
“Bpm (Beats per Minute),” (Robin Campillo, France)
“Loveless,” (Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia, Belgium, Germany, France)
“On Body and Soul,” (Ildiko Enyedi,...
Also represented were “On Body and Soul,” which won the Golden Bear at Berlinale and earned Alexandra Borbely the Best Actress award, and “Communion,” which took the Documentary prize.
This year’s ceremony, the 30th, took place in Berlin. Avail yourself of the winner list below.
Read More:2017 European Film Awards Nominations: ‘The Square,’ ‘Bpm,’ ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer,’ and More Lead the Way Best European Film
“Bpm (Beats per Minute),” (Robin Campillo, France)
“Loveless,” (Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia, Belgium, Germany, France)
“On Body and Soul,” (Ildiko Enyedi,...
- 12/9/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
The European Film Awards nominations have been released, with a number of festival favorites landing high-profile nods. Among them are “The Square” and “Bpm,” which were both nominated for Best European Film, and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” which missed out on the top category but was recognized in the Director, Actor, and Screenwriter fields.
Read More:‘The Square’ Director Ruben Östlund Wants to Push Cultural Boundaries, But Won’t Read Any Scripts With Killing
This year’s ceremony, the 30th, takes place in Berlin on December 9. Here are all the nominees:
Best European Film
“Bpm (Beats per Minute),” (Robin Campillo, France)
“Loveless,” (Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia, Belgium, Germany, France)
“On Body and Soul,” (Ildiko Enyedi, Hungary)
“The Other Side of Hope,” (Aki Kaurismaki, Finland, Germany)
“The Square,” (Ruben Ostlund, Sweden, Germany, France, Denmark)
Best European Director
Ildiko Enyedi, (“On Body and Soul”)
Aki Kaurismaki, (“The Other Side of Hope”)
Yorgos Lanthimos,...
Read More:‘The Square’ Director Ruben Östlund Wants to Push Cultural Boundaries, But Won’t Read Any Scripts With Killing
This year’s ceremony, the 30th, takes place in Berlin on December 9. Here are all the nominees:
Best European Film
“Bpm (Beats per Minute),” (Robin Campillo, France)
“Loveless,” (Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia, Belgium, Germany, France)
“On Body and Soul,” (Ildiko Enyedi, Hungary)
“The Other Side of Hope,” (Aki Kaurismaki, Finland, Germany)
“The Square,” (Ruben Ostlund, Sweden, Germany, France, Denmark)
Best European Director
Ildiko Enyedi, (“On Body and Soul”)
Aki Kaurismaki, (“The Other Side of Hope”)
Yorgos Lanthimos,...
- 11/4/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Keep up with the glitzy awards world with our weekly Awards Roundup column.
– The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja) have announced that Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris as the recipient of the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award. Morris will receive his award at the second annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards gala event, set to take place on Thursday, November 2 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York, hosted by Penn Jillette.
Journalist and author Kathryn Schulz will present the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award to Morris. Damien Echols will present the previously announced Critics’ Choice Impact Award to filmmaker Joe Berlinger. Additional award presenters include: Clive Davis, Matt Dillon, Gilbert Gottfried, Barbara Kopple, Lawrence O’Donnell, Linda Perry, and Fisher Stevens, Diane Warren, among others.
Read More:Helen Mirren Set for Chaplin Award, European Film Academy Honors Newcomers, and More — Awards Roundup
Netflix will release Morris’ newest offering,...
– The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja) have announced that Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris as the recipient of the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award. Morris will receive his award at the second annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards gala event, set to take place on Thursday, November 2 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York, hosted by Penn Jillette.
Journalist and author Kathryn Schulz will present the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award to Morris. Damien Echols will present the previously announced Critics’ Choice Impact Award to filmmaker Joe Berlinger. Additional award presenters include: Clive Davis, Matt Dillon, Gilbert Gottfried, Barbara Kopple, Lawrence O’Donnell, Linda Perry, and Fisher Stevens, Diane Warren, among others.
Read More:Helen Mirren Set for Chaplin Award, European Film Academy Honors Newcomers, and More — Awards Roundup
Netflix will release Morris’ newest offering,...
- 10/27/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Zombillenium announced as opener; China named as guest country, Guillermo del Toro to return.
French animator and illustrator Arthur de Pin’s child-friendly comedy-horror tale Zombillenium (pictured) - set against the backdrop of an amusement-terror park were the staff are a motley crew of vampires, zombies and werewolves - will open this year’s edition of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, running June 12-17 this year.
It is among nine special event screenings including Pixar’s Cars 3, which will be proceeded by a presentation of footage from Mexico-set, Day of the Dead-inspired drama Coco in the presence of director Lee Unkrich, producer Darla K. Anderson and co-director Adrian Molina; Despicable Me 3 and The Big Bad Fox And Other Animals.
Zombillenium will also compete in the 10-title feature film competition.
Other contenders for Annecy’s Cristal for best feature film include Iranian director Ali Soozandeh’s Tehran Taboo, exploring sexuality...
French animator and illustrator Arthur de Pin’s child-friendly comedy-horror tale Zombillenium (pictured) - set against the backdrop of an amusement-terror park were the staff are a motley crew of vampires, zombies and werewolves - will open this year’s edition of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, running June 12-17 this year.
It is among nine special event screenings including Pixar’s Cars 3, which will be proceeded by a presentation of footage from Mexico-set, Day of the Dead-inspired drama Coco in the presence of director Lee Unkrich, producer Darla K. Anderson and co-director Adrian Molina; Despicable Me 3 and The Big Bad Fox And Other Animals.
Zombillenium will also compete in the 10-title feature film competition.
Other contenders for Annecy’s Cristal for best feature film include Iranian director Ali Soozandeh’s Tehran Taboo, exploring sexuality...
- 4/25/2017
- ScreenDaily
An adaptation of Raymond Briggs’s Ethel & Ernest is a delicate portrayal of enduring love, while two teenagers battle the class divide in the gorgeous Little Men
And then, in a fog of champagne-fuelled anticipation, it was suddenly 2017. We’ve perhaps been idealising it a little: “I can’t wait for this year to be over,” people would say in response to every nightmare 2016 threw up, as if a mere change of digit would make all the difference. Still, if you fancy getting the new year off to a gentler start, you could do worse than Ethel & Ernest (Universal, PG), Roger Mainwood’s delicate, melancholic and adoringly realised animated adaptation of Raymond Briggs’s autobiographical graphic novel.
Detailing the half-century-spanning relationship between Briggs’s salt-of-the-earth parents, from first date to last goodbye, Mainwood has fashioned a film in which every dramatic conflict lands like a goose down pillow. It’s a very English,...
And then, in a fog of champagne-fuelled anticipation, it was suddenly 2017. We’ve perhaps been idealising it a little: “I can’t wait for this year to be over,” people would say in response to every nightmare 2016 threw up, as if a mere change of digit would make all the difference. Still, if you fancy getting the new year off to a gentler start, you could do worse than Ethel & Ernest (Universal, PG), Roger Mainwood’s delicate, melancholic and adoringly realised animated adaptation of Raymond Briggs’s autobiographical graphic novel.
Detailing the half-century-spanning relationship between Briggs’s salt-of-the-earth parents, from first date to last goodbye, Mainwood has fashioned a film in which every dramatic conflict lands like a goose down pillow. It’s a very English,...
- 1/1/2017
- by Guy Lodge
- The Guardian - Film News
Voice cast of Raymond Briggs’ adaptation also includes Luke Treadaway and Virginia McKenna.
Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent and Brenda Blethyn are to voice the lead characters of Ethel & Ernest, a new hand-drawn animated feature based on Raymond Briggs’ classic graphic novel and tribute to his parents.
Production is underway on the film, set for theatrical release in 2016, and the cast also includes Luke Treadaway as Raymond, Olivier award winner for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and star of Fortitude; Virginia McKenna (Born Free, A Town Like Alice), June Brown (EastEnders), Pam Ferris (Matilda), Simon Day and Roger Allam.
The film will also showcase the voice of 11-year-old Harry Collett as young Raymond, who provides the voice of Buzzbee in Disney Junior’s animated series The Hive.
Ethel & Ernest marks the feature debut of Roger Mainwood, who worked as an animator on Briggs’ classic short The Snowman and was lead animator on the 2012 sequel, [link...
Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent and Brenda Blethyn are to voice the lead characters of Ethel & Ernest, a new hand-drawn animated feature based on Raymond Briggs’ classic graphic novel and tribute to his parents.
Production is underway on the film, set for theatrical release in 2016, and the cast also includes Luke Treadaway as Raymond, Olivier award winner for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and star of Fortitude; Virginia McKenna (Born Free, A Town Like Alice), June Brown (EastEnders), Pam Ferris (Matilda), Simon Day and Roger Allam.
The film will also showcase the voice of 11-year-old Harry Collett as young Raymond, who provides the voice of Buzzbee in Disney Junior’s animated series The Hive.
Ethel & Ernest marks the feature debut of Roger Mainwood, who worked as an animator on Briggs’ classic short The Snowman and was lead animator on the 2012 sequel, [link...
- 8/3/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
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