Co Hoedeman
Biography
Born in Amsterdam, Jacobbus Willem Hoedeman moved to Canada at the age of 25, where he made, at the NFBC, the document Continental Drift (1968), succeeded by other films like Maboule/Oddball (1969), Matrioska (1970) and Tchou-tchou (1972). In 1970 he went on a stay to Czechoslovakia during which he perfected his animation skills with marionettes. Back in Canada, he became interested in the legends of the Far North, and, together with members of the Inuit community, adapted a number of them into films. He has since directed Le Chateau de sable / The Sand Castle (1977), Le trésor des Grotocéans / The Treasure of the Grotoceans (1980), La Boite / The Box (1989), L´Ours renifleur / The Sniffing Bear (1992). Co Hoedeman's work has earned him praise and recognition around the world. In 1978 the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences acknowledged his exeptional talent and awarded him an Oscar for the film The Sand Castle. Also later Hoedeman´s series featuring Ludovic, a sweet young teddy bear and his family, became very popular - The Snow Gift (1998), A Crocodile in My Garden (2000), Visiting Grandpa (2001), and Magic in the Air (2002), released together under the common title Four Seasons in the Life of Ludovic.