In partnership with Screen Ireland, we are delighted to present Screen Sessions – a series of in-depth conversations on craft between emerging and established talent from the Irish Screen industries.
In our second episode, Nora Twomey and Jessica Patterson shine a light on the animation industry. In this insightful chat, they examine their paths into animation, discuss their respective careers and delve into the creative processes behind their filmmaking.
This discussion has been made possible with the support of Screen Ireland.
The next Screen Sessions podcast will be available in August and the series will culminate in a live event later this year.
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NORA TWOMEY
Partner & Creative Director, Cartoon Saloon
Nora’s passion for visual storytelling began at an early age and has led her to explore the medium of animation with Paul Young, Tomm Moore , her partners in the internationally renowned Cartoon Saloon. From the studio’s early years, directing award winning short films & commercials, she went on to co-direct Tomm Moore’s ACADEMY AWARD® nominated The Secret of Kells while also guiding the development processes on a number of series including the preschool show Puffin Rock. Nora was Head of Story and Voice Director on ACADEMY AWARD® nominated Song of the Sea. She directed The Breadwinner, which was nominated for an A
CADEMY AWARD® & GOLDEN GLOBE and won several international awards including the Best Indie Feature Annie and the Audience & Jury Awards at Annecy. Nora most recently directed My Father’s Dragon feature film, a Netflix original animated feature, inspired by the Newbery Award winning children’s book by Ruth Stiles Gannett. Nora continues to develop original films and projects while working on Cartoon Saloon’s slate of projects in development and production. Cartoon Saloon makes brave stories, beautifully told.
- Instagram: @cartoonsaloon
- Facebook: Cartoon Saloon
- X (Twitter): @cartoonsaloon
- LinkedIn: Cartoon Saloon
Jessica Patterson
Jessica is an award-winning director and filmmaker from Dublin, Ireland whose work ranges from short films and music videos to directing large-scale, multimedia television production. Jess is currently a director with BAFTA winning production studio JAM Media, working with clients including Nickelodeon, Amazon Prime, PBS America and BBC, and has recently completed commissioned pieces with Mo Farah for Comic Relief UK and the award-winning short film ‘The Voyage’ with Christy Moore and RTÉ.
Her most recent short film ‘Worry World’ (2023), written by Hugh O’Conor and produced by Shauna Cullen, won the Oscar qualifying James Horgan Award following its premiere screening at the Galway Film Fleadh 2023 and received the audience award for Best Animated Short after its US premier at Newport Beach Film Festival 2023.
