Passion Pictures announced that Academy Award-winning director Alan Barillaro has joined them as a creative director for their animation division, marking the studio’s ambitious expansion into animated features and TV series. Barillaro is the Oscar winning writer and director of the animated short-film Piper (2016).
His recently announced global three-book deal with the leading US children’s publisher Candlewick Press and the Walker Books Group will see Barillaro make his publishing debut with Where the Water Takes Us due out in May 2023.
“Alan is a true pioneer in the animation world and an inspiration to many, so we are delighted to welcome him to the Passion Pictures family. A creative powerhouse, Alan will bring invaluable experience and creativity to the studio and we are excited to be a part of the stories he’s going to tell. As well as crafting his own work, Alan will act as a creative consultant on new and existing projects and will be instrumental in developing our ambitious slate within animated Features and TV Series,” said PASSION Pictures founder Andrew Ruhemann.
“I’m thrilled to be at Passion Pictures as they embark on such an exciting chapter in their already celebrated history. Passion’s move into feature animation is what I and the industry have been waiting for, as Passion has long been a creative hub for some of the most talented and celebrated artists in the industry. I’m honored to join this global studio as they continue to expand their creative and storytelling reach,” Barillaro said.
He began his career in animation at 16 years of age and joined Pixar Animation Studios in January 1997 where he worked for nearly 25 years, animating on feature films, from A Bug’s Life (1998), to Lightyear (2022). Barillaro took the role of directing animator for Finding Nemo (2003), and the role of supervising animator for The Incredibles, (2004), WALL•E (2008), Brave (2012), and The Incredibles 2 (2018). In 2021 he directed the TV Series short, Chore Day – The Incredibles Way.
Barillaro has been honored with an ASIFA-Hollywood Award, an ICFF Award for outstanding career and in 2018, was recognised by the House of Commons of Canada for his artistic and cultural contribution to the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario. His addition further expands the team following the hire of fellow Pixar veteran David Park as production head and executive producer last year, and Nicki Cortese as development head earlier this year. He will work closely with David, Nicki, executive producer Debbie Crosscup and Passion Pictures founder, executive creative director and fellow Oscar-winner, Andrew Ruhemann, to build and develop the production slate in all areas from writing and directing through to research, development and full service production.
A division of Passion Pictures, Passion Animation is a multi-faceted, full-service animation studio working across features, TV series and shorts. With a reputation for premium, original content, Passion Pictures is home to an award-winning team of innovators at the forefront of animation.
Overseen by Passion Pictures founder and executive creative director Andrew Ruhemann and CEO Nick Southgate, the team is in a period of dynamic expansion; presently in production on a highly anticipated animated series for a major streamer, the team is also working on a broad range of original features and episodic series, with a number of major streamers and studio partners with development deals already in place.
