Kirsten Lepore
{{short description|American animator}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Kirsten Lepore
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| nationality = American
| spouse = Daniel Kwan
({{abbr|m.|married}} 2016)
| children = 1
| field = Animation, stop motion
| training =
| education = Maryland Institute College of Art (BFA)
CalArts (MFA)
| works =
| awards =
| website =
}}
Kirsten Lepore is an American animator known for her stop-motion short films, including Sweet Dreams (2008), Bottle (2011), and Move Mountain (2013). From 2014 to 2015, she worked on an episode of the American cartoon series Adventure Time entitled "Bad Jubies", serving as writer, storyboard artist, and director. The episode eventually aired on January 14, 2016 to critical acclaim.{{cite web |last1=Lloyd |first1=Robert |date=January 14, 2016 |title=Kirsten Lepore Brings a Real Third Dimension to 'Adventure Time' |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-adventure-time-kirsten-lepore-interview-20160114-column.html |access-date=January 16, 2016 |website=Los Angeles Times}}{{cite web |last1=Sava |first1=Oliver |date=January 14, 2016 |title=Adventure Time{{'}}s stop motion Episode Praises the Healing Power of Art and Nature |url=https://avclub.com/adventure-time-s-stop-motion-episode-praises-the-healin-1798186239 |access-date=February 5, 2016 |website=The A.V. Club |publisher=The Onion}}{{cite web |last=Flores |first=Terry |date=February 4, 2017 |title='Zootopia' Wins Top Prize at Annie Awards (Winners List) |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/annie-awards-2017-zootopia-winners-list-1201978375/ |access-date=February 5, 2017 |work=Variety |publisher=Penske Media Corporation}}
Education
Lepore was raised in South Brunswick, New Jersey.{{cite web|author=Kuperinsky, Amy|url=https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2022/08/meet-njs-kirsten-lepore-the-animation-whiz-behind-marvels-i-am-groot-and-marcel-the-shell.html|title=Meet N.J.'s Kirsten Lepore, the animation whiz behind Marvel's I Am Groot and Marcel the Shell|publisher=NJ.com|date=August 10, 2022|access-date=September 10, 2022|quote=Lepore, a writer, director and animator who grew up in South Brunswick, also had a hand in A24′s biggest grossing movie to date{{em dash}}the kaleidoscopic adventure Everything Everywhere All At Once, which opened wide in April. ... In 2009, the alum of South Brunswick High School, who grew up drawing, making small sculptures and filming her sisters in experiments with the family camcorder, moved to the West Coast.}} In an interview with The A.V. Club, Lepore explained that, as a child, she was fascinated by the animation techniques used by both Disney and the Jim Henson Company. Lepore attended South Brunswick High School, where she began to earnestly explore art, and as a young adult, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Maryland Institute College of Art, where she studied "experimental animation". Her undergraduate thesis was the short stop motion film entitled Sweet Dreams (2008).{{cite web|last1=Lepore|first1=Kirsten|title=Animation Magazine Feature|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/kirstenlepore/3678731901/in/photolist-6B5sQ6-6cge4P-7JxJzE-6dQcvP-aYuHVc-9jRtHD-6ggDeK-9ZVZMU-7JbUvE-bjzAd6-6aajEb-66ZjdU-99Z4ub-8E7rJH-a7MdE9-a978so-92upE2-8RqdNR-8HmRFE-7AFKzw-6gkPdy-6779WB-6779ZT-5UAt5z-p3kCK-nQHdcf-67NXhJ-6779Yv-67bnL1-2cHjEY-p3kbg-8SSiNh-5ZeUDm-ESbHw5-6ggDd2-ewMKkY-6ggDi4-dc3whg-EAxFhh-EAxFC7-Euc14n-E6hPmv-F1mN4C-E6hPyp-dc3gkr-6gkPc9-dc2Zgg-6gkPf5-6M36S9-qVPyBc|publisher=Flickr|access-date=November 29, 2016|date=July 1, 2009}} Following college, she applied to studios and freelanced on the side, but she "never heard back from the studios, and the freelance work kept coming." She returned to her parents' house and began working on ads and small production projects. During this phase in her life, she felt that she did not have enough technical expertise.{{cite web|last1=Sava|first1=Oliver|title=Adventure Time{{'}}s Kirsten Lepore on the Joys and Pains of Stop Motion Animation|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/adventure-times-kirsten-lepore-joys-and-pains-stop-230556|website=The A.V. Club|publisher=The Onion|access-date=January 15, 2016|date=January 14, 2016}} As a result, she attended CalArts, graduating in 2012 with a Master of Fine Arts in experimental animation.{{cite web|title=Alumni Accomplishments: 04/29/2012|url=https://filmvideo.calarts.edu/blog/alumni-accomplishments?page=2|publisher=CalArts.edu|access-date=February 5, 2016|date=May 27, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084840/https://filmvideo.calarts.edu/blog/alumni-accomplishments?page=2|archive-date=March 4, 2016}} Her graduate thesis, a short film entitled Move Mountain (2013), caught the attention of Adventure Time showrunner Adam Muto, and Lepore eventually guest-animated the episode "Bad Jubies".{{cite web|last1=Lloyd|first1=Robert|title=Kirsten Lepore Brings a Real Third Dimension to 'Adventure Time'|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-adventure-time-kirsten-lepore-interview-20160114-column.html|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 16, 2016|date=January 14, 2016}}
Accolades
Lepore has won various awards, including a Student Annie Award, a South by Southwest special jury award for animation, and an Annecy + award for best animation.{{cite web|title=Info // Contact|url=http://www.kirstenlepore.com/Info-Contact|publisher=KirstenLepore.com|access-date=February 5, 2016}}
Personal life
Lepore has been married to fellow filmmaker and animator Daniel Kwan since 2016, and together they have one son.{{Cite news |last=Ito |first=Robert |date=June 14, 2016 |title='Swiss Army Man,' the Strangest Movie Shown at Sundance? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/19/movies/daniel-kwan-and-daniel-scheinert-make-swiss-army-man.html |access-date=May 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite Instagram|postid=BJamuHHDVlr|user=dunkwun|title=This is Kir and I the day after our wedding ...|date=August 22, 2016|author=Daniel Kwan}}
Selected filmography
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;width:100%;"
! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Description ! scope="col" | Role |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2007
| Story from North America | Short film | Director, animator |
|---|
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2008
| Sweet Dreams | Short film, BFA thesis | Writer, director |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2011
| Bottle | Short film | Writer, director |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2013
| Move Mountain | Short film, MFA thesis | Writer, director |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2014–15
| "Bad Jubies" | Adventure Time episode | Writer, storyboard artist, director |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2016
| Hi Stranger | Short film | Writer, director, animator |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2018
| "It's My Party" | Summer Camp Island episode | Writer, storyboard artist |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2021
|Marcel the Shell with Shoes On |Film |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2022
|Everything Everywhere All At Once |Film |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2022–present
|Short film series | Writer, director, executive producer{{Cite web|last=Paige|first=Rachel|date=November 12, 2021|title=Disney+ Day 2021: New Look at 'I Am Groot'|url=https://www.marvel.com/articles/tv-shows/i-am-groot-new-look-disney-plus|access-date=November 12, 2021|website=Marvel Entertainment|language=en}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|3338081}}
- {{vimeo|kirstenlepore|Kirsten Lepore}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lepore, Kirsten}}
Category:American animated film directors
Category:Women animated film directors
Category:American women film directors
Category:American women animators
Category:People from South Brunswick, New Jersey
Category:South Brunswick High School (New Jersey) alumni
Category:American stop motion animators
Category:California Institute of the Arts alumni
Category:Maryland Institute College of Art alumni