ClairBoone at 01:39, 20 January 2026

2026-01-20T01:39:37Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian-Canadian film director}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2016}}

'''Ishu Patel''' is an Indian-Canadian animation film director/producer and educator. During his twenty-five years at the [[National Film Board of Canada]] he developed animation techniques and styles to support his themes and vision. Since then he has produced animated spots for television and has been teaching internationally.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nfb.ca/animation/objanim/en/filmmakers/Ishu-Patel/overview.php |title=National Film Board Key Filmmakers: Ishu Patel |publisher=National Film Board |accessdate=2006-08-20 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060814025523/http://www.nfb.ca/animation/objanim/en/filmmakers/Ishu-Patel/overview.php |archivedate=14 August 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/1999/99.11.01.html |title=Academy to Celebrate National Film Board of Canada Anniversary |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |date=1 November 1999 |accessdate=2006-08-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051118214125/http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/1999/99.11.01.html |archivedate=18 November 2005 }}</ref>

==Background and Studies==
Ishu Patel was born on 20 April 1942, in the State of [[Gujarat]], India.

He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from M.S.University of Baroda, Gujarat, following which he was accepted into the first cohort of faculty trainees hired at the newly formed [[National Institute of Design]], [[Ahmedabad]], [[Gujarat]].

This was an exceptional design school created by the [[Government of India]] under the auspice of the influential industrialist family of [[Gautam Sarabhai|Gautam]] and [[Gira Sarabhai]]. The school was based upon the recommendations and philosophy of the American industrial designers [[Ray and Charles Eames]], as found in [[The India Report]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ishupatel.com/PHOTOGRAPHY/My-Time-with-Henri-Cartier-Bresson/1/caption|title=Ishu Patel Animation & Photography | My-Time-with-Henri-Cartier-Bresson | 1|access-date=11 October 2018|archive-date=21 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221185223/https://www.ishupatel.com/PHOTOGRAPHY/My-Time-with-Henri-Cartier-Bresson/1/caption|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Through a [[Ford Foundation]] Grant provided to the [[National Institute of Design]], Ishu Patel was able to finish his post graduate studies in Graphic Design under Armin Hoffman at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule in [[Basel]], Switzerland, and returned to the [[National Institute of Design]] where he taught and became Head of Visual Communications.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ishupatel.com/ABOUT/1/caption|title=Ishu Patel Animation & Photography | ABOUT | 1|access-date=11 October 2018|archive-date=21 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221185223/https://www.ishupatel.com/ABOUT/1/caption|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Career==
A [[Rockefeller Foundation]] Scholarship brought Ishu Patel to the [[National Film Board of Canada]] to study animation filmmaking for a year, and in 1972 he joined the NFB where, for the next twenty-five years under the NFB mandate Ishu Patel produced and directed animated films and mentored young animation filmmakers.

There he both adapted and originated several notable techniques:
in the abstract film ''Perspectrum'' he adapted the Norman McLaren technique of multiple passes and variable exposures; the films ''Afterlife'' and ''Top Priority'' were the result of accidentally discovering, and then developing, the under-lit plasticine technique; for the film ''Paradise'' he developed the under-lit pin hole technique with multiple passes; and for ''The Bead Game'' he created the procedures for moving thousands of tiny beads under an ever-zooming-outward camera.

He co-produced animation projects with [[NHK]] of Japan and [[Channel Four]] of [[United Kingdom|Britain]], and contributed French language segments to [[Sesame Street]] for the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]].

His many international awards include the [[British Academy Award]], two Oscar nominations, the Silver Bear Award at the [[Berlin Film Festival]], Grand Prix at the [[Annecy International Animation Film Festival]], and Grand Prix at the [[Montreal World Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Marc | last=Glassman | url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSF/is_16_6/ai_30214756/print | title=United Nations of animation - National Film Board of Canada | publisher=Take One| date=Summer 1997 | accessdate=2006-08-20}}</ref> He is particularly known for his 1977 film ''Bead Game'' which was nominated for an Academy Award.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nfb.ca/portraits/hommage/drouin/html/en/portesouvertes_03/patel_01.html |title=National Film Board Corridors Open House - Ishu Patel Bead Game |publisher=National Film Board |accessdate=2006-08-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515054254/http://www.nfb.ca/portraits/hommage/drouin/html/en/portesouvertes_03/patel_01.html |archivedate=15 May 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=Linda | last=Simensky | authorlink= Linda Simensky | url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSF/is_16_6/ai_30214833/print | title=O Canada: - Canadian animators | publisher=Take One| date= Summer 1997 | accessdate=2006-08-20}}</ref>

==Teaching and Master Classes==
Through the [[National Film Board of Canada]] Outreach Program Ishu Patel conducted animation workshops with Inuit artists of [[Cape Dorset]], with healthcare fieldworkers in [[Ghana]], and with students in the former [[Yugoslavia]], [[Korea]], Japan and the United States. During those years he returned regularly to Ahmedabad, India where he often taught his approaches and techniques to the animation students at his alma mater the [[National Institute of Design]], and contributed some assistance in formulating the animation program.

After leaving the NFBC he conducted student workshops and Master Classes throughout Asia, mentoring young faculty and developing curricula. He has conducted Master Classes at [[Bezalel Academy of Art and Design]], Jerusalem, and the Animation Image Society of Toronto, at the School of Animation, [[Communication University of China]], Beijing, and at the School of Animation, Southwest University of Nationalities, Chengdu, China. Ishu Patel was Special Guest and conducted screenings and a Master Class at the 7th. Big Cartoon Festival in Moscow, Russia, November 2014. He was Visiting Professor at the School of Art, Design and Media, [[Nanyang Technological University]], Singapore.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/ntulibraries/docs/admrls1314|title=ADM Research Lecture Series - 2013/2014 by NTU Libraries - Issuu|access-date=11 October 2018|archive-date=21 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221185222/https://issuu.com/ntulibraries/docs/admrls1314|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Filmography==
* ''Moondust''
* ''Divine Fate''
* ''[[Paradise (1984 film)|Paradise]] (Paradis)''<ref name="cartoonresearch.com34">{{cite web|url=http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/cartoons-considered-for-an-academy-award-1984/|title=Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award – 1984 -|website=cartoonresearch.com}}</ref>
* ''[[Top Priority (film)|Top Priority]]''
* ''[[Afterlife (1978 film)|Afterlife]]'' <ref name="cartoonresearch.com31">{{cite web|url=http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/cartoons-considered-for-an-academy-award-1978/|title=Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award – 1978 -|website=cartoonresearch.com}}</ref>
* ''[[Bead Game]]'' <ref name="cartoonresearch.com21">{{cite web|url=http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/cartoons-considered-for-an-academy-award-1977/|title=Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award – 1977 -|website=cartoonresearch.com}}</ref>
* ''Perspectrum'' <ref name="cartoonresearch.com30">{{cite web|url=http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/cartoons-considered-for-an-academy-award-1975/|title=Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award 1975 -|website=cartoonresearch.com}}</ref><ref>[http://oddballfilms.blogspot.com/2016/11/strange-sinema-106-computeresque.html Oddball Films: Strange Sinema 106 - Computeresque: Experiments With Light + Technology - Thur. Nov. 17th - 8PM]</ref>
* ''[[How Death Came to Earth]]''

==Awards==
''Moondust:''
*2009: AWARD OF EXCELLENCE - ANIMATION, ''50th Annual Illustration Exhibition'', New York, USA

''Divine Fate:''
* 1995: UNICEF PRIZE, ''Ottawa International Animation Film Festival'', Ottawa, CANADA
* 1995: SILVER MEDAL - ECOLOGY, ''Medikinale International Film Festival'', Parma, ITALY
* 1994: SPECIAL DISTINCTION FOR ITS MESSAGE, ''Annecy International Animation Film Festival'', Annecy, FRANCE

''Paradise/Paradis:''
*1985: OSCAR NOMINATION FOR BEST ANIMATED SHORT, ''57th Annual Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences'', Hollywood, California, USA <ref name="cartoonresearch.com34"/>
*1985: SILVER BEAR AWARD, ''35th Berlin Film Festival'', Berlin, GERMANY
*1985: SPECIAL JURY AWARD, ''25th International Animation Film Festival'', Annecy, FRANCE
*1985: FIRST PRIZE FOR THEATRICAL SHORT, ''Melbourne Film Festival'', Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
*1985: SPECIAL AWARD BEST FILM FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, ''23rd International Film Festival for Children and Young People'', Gijon, SPAIN
*1985: FIRST PRIZE, ''1st Los Angeles International Animation Celebration'', Los Angeles, USA

''Top Priority:''
*1983: BLUE RIBBON HUMAN CONCERN AWARD, ''25th American Film Festival'', New York, New York, USA
*1982: BEST SHORT FILM, ''XXIV Seaman International De Cinema'', Barcelona, SPAIN
*1982: SPECIAL RECOGNITION OF MERIT, ''Los Angeles Film Exposition Filmex'', Los Angeles, USA

''Afterlife:''
*1979: GRAND-PRIX, ''12th International Animation Film Festival'', Annecy, FRANCE
*1979: OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, ''London Film Festival'', London, ENGLAND
*1979: SPECIAL HONOUR, ''Los Angeles International Film Exposition Filmex'', Los Angeles, USA
*1978: GRAND PRIX DE MONTREAL, ''Festival des Films du Monde'', categorie court metrage, Montreal, CANADA
*1978: SILVER HUGO, ''14th International Film Festival'', Chicago, USA
*1978: ETROG AWARD: BEST ANIMATED FILM, ''Canadian Film Awards'', Toronto, CANADA

''Bead Game''
*1978: OSCAR NOMINATION FOR BEST ANIMATED SHORT, ''50th Annual Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences'', Hollywood, California, USA <ref name="cartoonresearch.com21"/>
*1978: BEST SHORT FICTIONAL FILM, ''British Academy of Film and Television Arts'', London, ENGLAND
*1978: GOLD MEDAL, SPECIAL JURY AWARD, ''Greater Miami International Film Festival'', Miami, USA
*1978: AWARD OF EXCELLENCE, ''Film Advisory Board Inc.'', Los Angeles, USA
*1978: BLUE RIBBON AWARD - VISUAL ESSAY, ''20th Annual American Film Festival'', New York, USA
*1978: BEST OF CATEGORY - FILM AS ART, ''Pacific Association for Communication and Technology Film Festival'', Honolulu, USA
*1977: SPECIAL PRIZE FOR ANIMATION, ''International Documentary and Short Film Festival for Cinema and Television'', Leipzig, GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ishupatel.com/ANIMATION/Awards-&-Juryships/1/caption|title=Ishu Patel Animation & Photography | Awards-&-Juryships | 1}}</ref>

==Juryships==
*2015: International Jury President - Animation, ''18th Shanghai International Film Festival'', Shanghai, CHINA
*2014: International Jury Member, ''SICAF (Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival)'', Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
*2013: International Jury Member, ''AniWow Student Animation Film Festival'', Beijing, CHINA
*2009: Chairperson, International Jury, ''Etiuda & Anima International Film Festival'', Kracow, POLAND
*1997: International Jury Member, ''SICAF (Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival)'', Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
*1995: International Jury Member, ''Film and Video Festival on Science, Society and Development'', Trivandrum, INDIA
*1990: International Jury Member, ''Bombay International Film Festival for Documentary Short and Animated Films'', Mumbai, INDIA
*1987: Chairperson, International Jury, ''Zagreb International Animation Film Festival'', Zagreb, CROATIA
*1985: International Jury Member, ''1st International Animation Film Festival HIROSHIMA '85'', Hiroshima, JAPAN
<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ishupatel.com/ANIMATION/Awards-&-Juryships/1/caption|title=Ishu Patel Animation & Photography | Awards-&-Juryships | 1}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Herdeg, Walter (ed). ''Film & TV Graphics 2: An International Survey of the Art of Film Animation''. Zurich, Switzerland: The Graphis Press, 1976: 139-141. Print.
*Bonneville, Leo (ed). ''Sequences: Animation at the National Film Board, Volume 23, Num 91, October 1978''. Montreal, Canada:NFBC, 1978: 129-145. Print.
*Laybourne, Kit. ''The Animation Book''. New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 1979: 52, 247 and plates. Print.
*Halas, John. ''Masters of Animation''. Salem House Pub, 1987: 68. Print.
*Bendazzi, Giannalberto. ''Cartoons: One Hundred Years of Cinema Animation''. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1996: 270-271. Print.
*Wiedemann, Julius (ed.) ''Animation Now!'' Los Angeles: Taschen, 2004: 200-209. Print.
*Editions Glenat (ed.) ''Createurs & Creatures - 50 years of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival''. France: CITIA, Editions Glenat, 8 June 2010: 160-165. Print.

==External links==
*[http://ishupatel.com/ Official Web Site]
*{{IMDb name | id=0665373| name=Ishu Patel}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Ishu}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Film directors from Gujarat]]
[[Category:Indian animators]]
[[Category:Indian animated film directors]]
[[Category:Canadian animated film directors]]
[[Category:Indian animated film producers]]
[[Category:Canadian animated film producers]]
[[Category:People from Vadodara]]
[[Category:BAFTA winners (people)]]
[[Category:National Film Board of Canada people]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:Directors of Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners for Best Animated Short]]
[[Category:Animation educators]]
[[Category:Canadian film educators]]
[[Category:Indian film educators]]
[[Category:Gujarati people]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Gujarati descent]]

Ishu Patel - Revision history

ClairBoone at 01:39, 20 January 2026