Ludmila Zeman facts for kids

Ludmila Zeman (born April 23, 1947) is a talented Czech-Canadian artist. She is known for creating amazing animated films and writing children's books. Her father was the famous filmmaker Karel Zeman.

Her Life and Work

Ludmila Zeman was born in Zlín, a city in Czechoslovakia. She studied art at a special college in Uherské Hradiště. After finishing school, she worked with her father, Karel Zeman, on his last films. She married Eugen Spálený, who was the main animator at her father's studio. They had two children, Linda and Malvinia. Ludmila then started her own career, creating storybooks and animated films for children.

Moving to Canada

In 1983, Ludmila and her husband were invited to teach film at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, Canada. However, the government in Czechoslovakia did not want them to leave. They were accused of liking Western ideas too much. Ludmila had to leave her animation job, and Eugen was forced to do construction work.

In the summer of 1984, the family bravely escaped. They traveled through Yugoslavia to a refugee camp in Austria. Finally, they arrived in Canada and were able to start their teaching jobs.

Award-Winning Films

Ludmila and Eugen created a short animated film called The Cedar Tree of Life. It was only thirty seconds long and was made for the Canadian version of Sesame Street. This short film caught the attention of the National Film Board of Canada. They invited the couple to make a longer film about any topic they chose.

Ludmila decided to make a film called Lord of the Sky. This film was based on old stories from the First Nations people of Canada's North Pacific. She used a special technique called cutout animation, where she moved paper cutouts to create the animation. The film was a big success! It won eleven international awards, including a top prize at the American Film Festival in 1993. It was also shown at the Sundance Film Festival and was considered for an Academy Award.

The Gilgamesh Trilogy

After Lord of the Sky, Ludmila and Eugen planned to make a full-length animated movie. It was going to be based on the ancient story of Epic of Gilgamesh. Ludmila's father, Karel Zeman, had introduced her to this epic story when she was eleven years old. It was one of his favorite books.

Instead of a movie, the story became a series of three children's books. Ludmila wrote and illustrated all of them. The books are:

• Gilgamesh the King (published in 1991)
• The Revenge of Ishtar (published in 1993)
• The Last Quest of Gilgamesh (published in 1995)

The last book in the series, The Last Quest of Gilgamesh, won a very important award. It received the 1995 Governor General's Award for Children's Illustration. This award recognizes the best children's book illustrations in Canada. In 2011, the Canadian Embassy in Japan held an exhibition of Ludmila Zeman's artwork in Tokyo.