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	KAREN AQUA 108 Pleasant Street #3 Cambridge, MA 02139 U.S.A. Phone: +1 (617) 492-1970 Fax: +1 (617) 492-1970 E-mail: aquak@att.net Homepage: home.att.net/~aquak
Biography	Filmography	Screenings

Biography

Karen Aqua has been making animated films since her graduation from Rhode Island School of Design in 1976. Her award-winning films have been screened nationally and internationally, including at the New York Film Festival, and at international animation festivals in Zagreb, Hiroshima, Ottawa, and Annecy (France). She has received film production grants from the American Film Institute, Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities, New England Film/Video Fellowship Program, New Forms Regional Initiative, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Puffin Foundation. Aqua was a Lecturer in Animation at Boston College from 1984-1991, and Animation Instructor at Emerson College in 1987. She has served as a juror for major animation and film festivals in the US and Canada, and has presented one-person screenings of her work at museums and universities around the US, including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston), California Institute of the Arts, University of Oregon, and Harvard University. Since 1990 she has produced, directed, and animated over a dozen segments for the acclaimed "Sesame Street" television program.

Filmography

Karen Aqua's animated films explore the themes of ritual, journeys, transformation, and the human spirit. Much of her work reflects an interest in symbols, mythology, and prehistoric and tribal cultures. The elements of rhythm, dance, and music are also important in her films. Aqua's most recent film, "GROUND ZERO / SACRED GROUND," was inspired by travels and research in New Mexico (in the Southwestern United States), where she spent a number of months as an Artist-in-Residence. The film explores the juxtaposition between a Native American rock art site and the nearby Trinity Site (where the first atomic bomb was tested). "GROUND ZERO / SACRED GROUND", 1997, 9 minutes "PERPETUAL MOTION", 1992, 5 minutes "KAKANIA", 1989, 4 minutes "NINE LIVES", 1987, 7 minutes "YOURS FOR THE TAKING", 1984, 7 minutes "VIS-A-VIS", 1982, 12 minutes "HEAVENLY BODIES", 1980, 3 minutes "PENETRALIA", 1976, 4 minutes

Screenings

PENETRALIA (1976; 4 minutes)  CINE Eagle Certificate, 1977.  Sinking Creek Film Celebration, 1977: Judge's Award.  Marin County Film Competition, 1977: Honorable Mention.  Fourth Rhode Island Community Film Competition, 1977: 2nd Prize, College Category.  Athens International Film Festival, 1978: Merit Award & Roadshow.  Le Touquet Festival, France, 1978: Special Award.  South Carolina Arts Commission: Travelling Show.  Showtime Cable Television.  Home Box Office. HEAVENLY BODIES (1980; 3 minutes)  Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada, 1980.  New York Filmmakers Exposition, 1981: Judge's Award of Merit & Travelling Show.  Big Muddy Film Festival, 1981: Award.  New England Film Festival, 1981: Honorable Mention.  Ann Arbor Film Festival, 1981.  Hirshhorn Museum, 1981.  Santa Fe Winter Film Exposition, 1982.  Cambridge Animation Festival, England, 1983.  USA Cable Network.  WNET/13, New York Public Television. VIS-A-VIS (1982; 12 minutes)  Sinking Creek Film Celebration, 1982: Judge's Award.  Baltimore International Film Festival, 1982: Honorable Mention.  New England Film Festival, 1982: Independent Filmmaker Award.  Denver International Film Festival, 1982.  ASIFA-East Animation Awards, 1983: Honorable Mention.  Annecy International Animation Festival, France, 1983.  Cinanima, Portugal, 1983.  New York Independent Filmmakers Exposition, 1983: Festival & Travelling Show.  International Stuttgart Animated Film Festival, Germany, 1984.  Bangkok Animation Festival, Thailand, 1986. YOURS FOR THE TAKING (1984; 7 minutes)  Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films, Yugoslavia, 1984.  Humboldt Film Festival, 1984: 1st Prize, Animation.  Marin County Film Festival, 1984: 2nd Prize, Animation.  Sinking Creek Film Celebration, 1984: Tennessee Arts Commission Purchase Award.  New England Film Festival, 1984: Independent Filmmaker Award.  New England Animation Festival, 1984: "Chuck Jones Award" for Best Animated Film.  FILMEX (Los Angeles Film Exposition), 1984.  Bucks County Film Festival, 1985: Special Committee Award.  Independent Filmmakers Exposition, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, 1985.  Odense Film Festival, Denmark, 1985.  International Stuttgart Animated Film Festival, Germany, 1986 & 1990.  Baltimore International Film Festival, 1986: 1st Prize, Animation. NINE LIVES (1987; 7 minutes)  Marin County Film Festival, 1987: 2nd Prize, Animation.  Sinking Creek Film Celebration, 1987: Judge's Award.  New England Film Festival, 1987: Honorable Mention.  Bucks County Film Festival, 1987: Honorable Mention.  Denver International Film Festival, 1987.  ASIFA-East Animation Awards, NYC, 1988: 3rd Prize, Soundtrack.  Independent Filmmakers Exposition, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, 1988.  Shanghai International Animation Film Festival, China, 1988.  Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada, 1988.  Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films, Yugoslavia, 1988.  Film Forum, NYC, 1988: "Streams of Consciousness: New American Animation." KAKANIA (1989; 4 minutes)  22nd International Tournee of Animation: National theatrical touring show.  New York Film Festival, 1989.  Marin County Film Festival, CA, 1990: 1st Prize, Animation. Humboldt Film Festival, CA, 1990: 1st Prize, Animation.  ASIFA-East Animation Awards, NYC, 1990: 1st Prize, Design.  New York Exposition of Short Film & Video, 1989: 1st Prize, Animation.  Baltimore International Film Festival, 1990: 2nd Prize, Animation.  Bucks County Film Festival, PA, 1989: Judges' Commendation.  Sinking Creek Film Festival, Tennessee, 1989: Judge's Award.  Black Maria Film & Video Festival, 1989: Director's Choice Selection.  Athens International Film Festival, Ohio, 1990: Award.  Annecy International Animation Festival, France, 1989.  USA Film Festival, Dallas, Texas, 1990: Finalist.  Cleveland International Film Festival, 1990.  Wellington & Auckland Film Festivals, New Zealand, 1990. PERPETUAL MOTION (1992; 5 minutes)  New York Film Festival, 1992.  Ottawa International Animation Festival, 1992.  Sinking Creek Film Festival, Tennessee, 1992: Judge's Award.  ASIFA-East Animation Awards, NYC, 1993: 1st Prize, Direction.  Black Maria Film & Video Festival, 1993: Jurors' Citation Award.  Bucks Co Independent Film Tour, 1993: Grand Prize Winner.  New England Film & Video Festival, 1993: Animation Award.  Humboldt International Film Festival, California, 1993: Honorable Mention.  Annecy International Animation Festival, France, 1993.  Cleveland International Film Festival, 1993.  Charlotte Film & Video Festival, North Carolina, 1993.  National Film Board of Canada, Toronto, 1993: "Animation Sensation" Series.  Carolina Film & Video Festival, North Carolina, 1994; Grand Prize, Animation. GROUND ZERO / SACRED GROUND (1997; 9 minutes)  Humboldt International Film Festival, CA, 1998: 1st Prize, Animation.  Marin County National Festival of Short Films, CA, 1998: 1st Prize, Animation.  Ann Arbor Film Festival, 1998: Telepost Editing Award.  Black Maria Film & Video Festival, 1998: Director's Choice Award.  Big Muddy Film Festival, 1998: Jury Prize.  New England Film & Video Festival, 1998: Honorable Mention.