David Fine (born September 13, 1960) is a Canadian filmmaker, who works in animated film alongside his British wife Alison Snowden.[1] The couple are best known as the creators of the Nelvana animated television series Bob and Margaret, and as the directors of several animated short films which have won or been nominated for Genie Awards and Academy Awards.[2]
Fine originally worked in film alongside documentarian Ron Mann, receiving his first Genie Award nomination when The Only Game in Town was shortlisted for Best Theatrical Short Film at the 4th Genie Awards in 1983.[1] He then spent time studying at the National Film and Television School in England, where he met and married Snowden.[1] Fine assisted Snowden on her 1985 short film Second Class Mail.[3] They then worked together on George and Rosemary, which was an Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Short Film at the 60th Academy Awards[4] and won the Genie Award for Best Theatrical Short Film at the 9th Genie Awards.[5]
Their 1989 film In and Out was a nominee for the Genie Award for Best Theatrical Short Film at the 11th Genie Awards.
In 1994 they wrote the screenplay for J. Falconer's animated short film Deadly Deposits,[6] and released their own animated short film Bob's Birthday.[7] The film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 67th Academy Awards,[8] was a Genie Award nominee for Best Theatrical Short Film at the 15th Genie Awards,[9] and formed the basis for the television series Bob and Margaret.[10]
After production of Bob and Margaret ended in 2001, Snowden and Fine created and worked on the animated television series Ricky Sprocket: Showbiz Boy and Shaun the Sheep. In 2018 they released Animal Behaviour, their first theatrical short film since Bob's Birthday, which received another Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film at the 91st Academy Awards.[2]
The couple's daughter Lily Snowden-Fine is a former child actress who was the original voice of Peppa Pig,[11] and currently works as an artist and illustrator.[12]
- ^ a b c Wyndham Wise, "David Fine and Alison Snowden". The Canadian Encyclopedia, January 17, 2012.
- ^ a b "Vancouver filmmaking pair nominated for Oscar with short animation Animal Behaviour". CBC News British Columbia, January 22, 2019.
- ^ "Three Canadian shorts in the race". The Globe and Mail, February 6, 1986.
- ^ "Canadian nominees know the thrill". Toronto Star, February 18, 1988.
- ^ "Genie winners". Toronto Star, March 23, 1988.
- ^ "NFB Biz". Vancouver Sun, July 9, 1993.
- ^ "Bob's Birthday an animation gem". Toronto Star, November 10, 1994.
- ^ "Bob's Birthday a surprise winner: NFB wins 10th Oscar". Hamilton Spectator, March 28, 1995.
- ^ "The Genie nominees". Kingston Whig-Standard, October 20, 1994.
- ^ "Bob and Margaret: gentle TV taboo busters". Canadian Press, December 8, 1998.
- ^ "Group therapy goes barking mad in Oscar-winning duo's ‘Animal Behaviour’". Vancouver Courier, August 21, 2018.
- ^ Lily Snowden-Fine's official website