| Robert Morgan | |
| Birth Place: | Yateley, England |
| Nationality: | English |
| Awards: | Bafta (2012 Nominee - Best Short Film), |
| Years Active: | 1997 - present |
| Occupation: | Filmmaker, director, writer |
Robert Morgan (born 1974) is a British filmmaker, director and writer. He is most known for The Cat with Hands (2001), The Separation (2003) and Bobby Yeah (2011) which between them have won over 30 international awards.
Morgan was Raised in Yateley, Hampshire. He has an older sister named Eleanor.[1]
Robert Morgan's passion for film began when he was aged three and watched 1958's Fiend Without a Face film. He previously studied fine art, so was always drawing and painting.[2] He then studied 'Animation Filmmaking' at The Surrey Institute Of Art And Design (now part of University for the Creative Arts).He then started his career in film animation with a student short The Man in the Lower Left-Hand Corner of the Photograph in 1997.[3] 'FilmThreat' ran an article describing The Cat With Hands as "mandatory viewing for anyone who wants to write a horror movie".[4] This film lead to him being commissioned to make 2 short films for Channel 4 and one from S4C in Wales.[5]
He was earlier influenced by Francis Bacon, Edgar Allan Poe, Jan Svankmajer, the Quay Brothers, David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Joel Peter Witkin and Hans Bellmer.[6]
He was a former Channel Four/MOMI animator in residence.[3]
In 2003, he filmed Separation. A 10-minute animated short, begins with a pair of conjoined twin brothers in a hospital room.
Monsters was produced through the Film Council and FilmFour's Cinema Extreme scheme. The film was based on his fears when his family moved close to Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire. It also uses the idea of violent relationship between siblings, which was also autobiographical. It was premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 2004.[5]
In 2009 he filmed Over Taken for the 48 Hour Film Project (as part of the Branchage film festival),[7] - filming the whole film in two days (i.e. 48 hours). He went to Jersey in the Channel Islands, and then he had to pick out of a hat a film genre (he picked 'Western') and a title, and was given a couple of actresses. Then he created a short film out of those elements.[8]
Bobby Yeah is his longest short at 23 minutes, with more characters and development than its predecessors. He likes working with live action or animation/claymation film making processes. He tried to alternate between the two forms.[2]
In 2013, he produced Invocation for Channel 4's 'Random Acts' series.[3] [9]
He occasionally paints, another outlet for his creativity as the film-making processes can take a long time.[7]
Morgan participated in The Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2022 directors' poll, where he listed his 10 favourite films: The Unknown (1927 film), Vertigo (film), Seconds (1966 film),, Vargtimmen, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Le Locataire, Taxi Driver, Stalker (1979 film), and Mulholland Drive (film).[10]
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Paranoid (student Short) | Editor, director, writer, animator | |
| 1997 | The Man in the Lower-Left Hand Corner of the Photograph (Short) | Editor, director, writer, animator | |
| 2001 | The Cat with Hands (Short) | Director, writer, animator | |
| 2003 | The Separation (Short) | Director, writer, animator | |
| 2004 | Monsters (short) | Director, writer | |
| 2009 | Over Taken (short) | Director, writer | |
| 2011 | Bobby Yeah (short) | Director, writer, animator, editor, producer | |
| 2013 | Invocation (Short) | Director, writer, editor, producer | |
| 2014 | ABCs of Death 2 | Director of "D is for Deloused" segment | |
| 2023 | Stopmotion | Director (feature-length debut), co-writer |