Iain Gardner was shortlisted for Best Short Animation for the 97th Academy Awards® for his half hour special A BEAR NAMED WOJTEK, which also won Best Long Form Animation at the British Animation Awards and was nominated for an Annie Award®. He apprenticed at the Richard Williams Animation Studio and has worked for TVCartoons, Lupus Films and Red Kite Animation whilst directing his own award-winning short films, including AKBAR’S CHEETAH and THE TANNERY. He established Animation Garden in 2016 through which he has pitched at Cartoon Forum, Animation Production Days and been a beneficiary of the BFI’s Young Audience Content Fund. In addition to his filmmaking career, he has lectured in Animation and was the Animation Programmer for the Edinburgh International Film Festival for a decade, during which time he was Artistic Director for McLAREN 2014 celebrating the Centenary of Scottish Born animation pioneer Norman McLaren.