Press release from the Irish Film Board:

Award-winning feature animation director and story artist Brenda Chapman has been confirmed as the second National Film School Visiting Fellow at IADT and she will be in residence on campus in Dún Laoghaire between the 17^th and 27th February. Chapman will deliver a series of seminars, workshops and tutorials to the NFS Animation undergraduate programme as well as a masterclass for the Irish animation industry. Arrangements will be made for other Irish animation students to attend some sessions.

Brenda Chapman was the first woman to direct an animated feature from a major Hollywood studio, when she directed The Prince of Egypt in 1998. Brenda is also the original writer and director of Pixar’s upcoming feature, Brave. Her other animation credits include: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, WALL-E, and Up.

Speaking about the announcement The National Film School’s Creative Director, Donald Taylor Black, said; 

“We are absolutely delighted that Brenda will be working with our students on our highly successful BA (Hons) in Animation, which is unique in Ireland. She follows in the footsteps of the first NFS Visiting Fellow, Academy Award winner, John Canemaker, Professor of Animation at NYU. She will also deliver an NFS Lecture during her residency. Previous NFS Lecturers have included Oliver Stone, Stephen Frears, Mike Leigh, John Landis, Alan Parker, and John Sayles.”

The National Film School (NFS) at IADT was launched in November 2003. It is a center of excellence for undergraduate and postgraduate studies in animation, film, television, and media. IADT is the only Irish full member of the Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision (CILECT), the International Association of Film and Television Schools, and the CILECT regional association, GEECT, the Groupement Européen des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision. 

The NFS Visiting Fellowship is supported by Bord Scannán na hÉireann / The Irish Film Board, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Visiting Artists Program and Screen Training Ireland.