Hotessa Laurence is an animator and illustrator as well as an academic based in London. She is a senior lecturer in the department of Animation at the University of Westminster and a PhD candidate at the Royal College of Art. As a co-director of the animation production company Belzebu Films she produced a wide range of music videos, commercials and independent short films between 1999 and 2010. Her current practice-led research resides at the intersection between animation, film and narrative theory and picture book design and experiments with visual representations of Time in wordless narratives for children. 

What is your favourite British animation of all time?

‘Hilary’ by Anthony Hodgson

What’s the best thing about working in the industry?

I’m a full time academic now and spend half my time educating new generations of animators so for me the best thing about my job is watching these talented young students challenge preconceptions, adapt technologies to their own ends and find their own voice. They never cease to surprise and inspire me and I love every minute of it.

Provide a quirky quote or comment

Something I always remind my students, stolen from George Bernard Shaw;
‘We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing’.