Don Hertzfeldt

Don Hertzfeldt

Don Hertzfeldt (born August 1, 1976) is an American animator, writer, and independent filmmaker. He is a two-time Academy Award nominee who is best known for the animated films World of Tomorrow, It's Such a Beautiful Day, Rejected, and World of Tomorrow Episode Two. In 2014, his work appeared on The Simpsons. Eight of his short films have competed at the Sundance Film Festival, a festival record. He is also the only filmmaker to have won the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for Short Film twice. Hertzfeldt's work has been described as "some of the most influential animation ever created,", "some of the most vital and expressive animation of the millennium," and "some of the most essential short films of the past 20 years."In his book The World History of Animation, author Stephen Cavalier writes, "Hertzfeldt is either a unique phenomenon or perhaps an example of a new way forward for individual animators surviving independently on their own terms… he attracts the kind of fanatical support from the student and alternative crowds usually associated with indie rock bands." Hertzfeldt's animated feature film, It's Such a Beautiful Day, was listed by many film critics as one of the best films of 2012 and the L.A. Film Critics Association awarded it runner-up for Best Animated Feature Film of the year. A poll of film critics ranked Hertzfeldt as the 9th Best Film Director of 2012. After a limited UK release the following year, the film was ranked #3 on Time Out London's list of the 10 Best Films of 2013 and #4 on The London Film Review's list of the same. In 2014, Time Out New York ranked It's Such a Beautiful Day #16 on its list of the "100 Best Animated Movies Ever Made," and in 2016, The Film Stage critics ranked the film #1 on their list of the "Best Animated Films of the 21st Century (So Far)." In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked World of Tomorrow #10 on its list of the "Greatest Animated Movies Ever" and the Indiewire film critics named the short film one of the "Best Movies of the 21st Century". Despite its short running time, The A.V. Club called it "possibly the best film of 2015."World of Tomorrow Episode Two: The Burden of Other People's Thoughts premiered in 2017 and received rare "A+" reviews from Indiewire and Collider, where it was described as "another soulful sci-fi masterpiece." The Daily Beast called it "one of the best films of the year... a must-see animated masterpiece."Hertzfeldt primarily supports his work through self-distribution such as ticket sales from theatrical tours, DVDs, VOD, and television broadcasts. He has refused all advertising work.Hertzfeldt lives in Austin, Texas. He spent many years in Santa Barbara, California after attending college there. He has kept a blog on his website since 1999.

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