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Stephen Quay

Known for directing · Born 17 June 1947 · 79 · Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA

60 credits

Stephen Quay was born in 1947 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA. He studied illustration at the Philadelphia College of Art and later continued his education at the Royal College of Art in London, where he met his twin brother Timothy and began collaborating in animation. Together, they founded Atelier Koninck and produced their first experimental short films in the late 1970s. Throughout his career, Stephen has directed and co-directed short films, feature films, and stop-motion projects, including Nocturna Artificialia (1979), Street of Crocodiles (1986), Institute Benjamenta (1995), and The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes (2005). His work is characterized by dreamlike, detailed, and symbolic worlds, often using dolls and carefully crafted objects to create surreal and unsettling atmospheres.

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Known for

Street of Crocodiles

1986

Quay

2015

Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life

1995

The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer

1984

The Falls

1982

The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes

2005

Stille Nacht I: Dramolet

1988

The Comb

1991

Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married?

1992

In Absentia

2000

This Unnameable Little Broom

1985

Anamorphosis

1993

Acting (11)

2026Sledgehammer RevealedSelfFilm
2017The Music of Zdeněk LiškaSelfFilm
2015QuaySelfFilm
2015The 1000 Eyes of Dr MaddinFilm
2011Behind the Scenes with the Quay BrothersSelfFilm
2010Inside The InstituteFilm
2009The Bug TrainerSelf - stop-motion animatorFilm
2009The Art of TimeFilm
2006The Making of "The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes"Film
2003The Phantom Museum: Random Forays Into the Vaults of Sir Henry Wellcome's Medical CollectionLibrarianFilm
1982The FallsIpson FallariFilm

Crew (1)

2015QuayThanksFilm

Directing (46)

2025Sanatorium Under the Sign of the HourglassDirector, Screenplay, Animation, Editor, SoundFilm
2022The Art Teacher from Drohobycz: Bruno SchulzDirectorFilm
2022Ghosts and WhispersDirector, AnimationFilm
2021VadeMecumDirectorFilm
202111 Preliminary Orbits Around Planet LemDirectorFilm
2019The Doll's BreathDirectorFilm
2011Through the Weeping Glass: On the Consolations of Life Everlasting (Limbos & Afterbreezes in the Mütter Museum)Director, Sound, Editor, AnimationFilm
2010MaskaDirector, WriterFilm
2010Wonderwood: Comme des garçonsDirectorFilm
2009Inventorium of TracesDirector, Director of Photography, Editor, Sound DesignerFilm
2009Kinoteka IdentDirectorFilm
2007Alice in Not So WonderlandDirector, Writer, CinematographyFilm
2007Phantom Museums: The Short Films of the Quay BrothersDirectorFilm
2005The Piano Tuner of EarthquakesDirector, Writer, Production DesignFilm
2004Quay Brothers: The Short Films 1979-2003DirectorFilm
2003The Phantom Museum: Random Forays Into the Vaults of Sir Henry Wellcome's Medical CollectionDirectorFilm
2003Songs for Dead ChildrenDirectorFilm
2001Stille Nacht V: Dog DoorDirector, WriterFilm
2001Sonic Cinema: SparklehorseDirectorFilm
2000In AbsentiaDirector, AnimationFilm
2000The SandmanDirectorFilm
2000The Brothers Quay Collection: Ten Astonishing Short Films 1984-1993DirectorFilm
1995Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human LifeDirector, WriterFilm
1995The SummitDirectorFilm
1993AnamorphosisDirector, Animation, Art Direction, Camera Operator, Editor, DecoratorFilm
1993Stille Nacht III: Tales from Vienna WoodsDirector, Animation, Camera OperatorFilm
1993Stille Nacht IV: Can't Go Wrong Without YouDirector, Camera Operator, AnimationFilm
1992Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married?Director, Animation, Camera OperatorFilm
1991The CombDirector, Writer, Animation, Art Direction, Camera Operator, EditorFilm
1991The CalligrapherDirector, AnimationFilm
1989Ex VotoDirectorFilm
1988Stille Nacht I: DramoletDirectorFilm
1988Rehearsals for Extinct AnatomiesDirector, Cinematography, Animation, DecoratorFilm
1988Rain DanceDirectorFilm
1987Tales of the Brothers QuayDirectorFilm
1986Street of CrocodilesDirector, Editor, Writer, Production Design, AnimationFilm
1985This Unnameable Little BroomDirector, Writer, Director of PhotographyFilm
1984The Cabinet of Jan ŠvankmajerDirector, Director of PhotographyFilm
1984The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer: Prague's Alchemist of FilmDirectorFilm
1983Janáček: Intimate ExcursionsDirectorFilm
1982Igor Stravinsky: The Paris Years Chez Pleyel 1920-1929DirectorFilm
1981Punch and Judy: Tragical Comedy or Comical TragedyDirector, AnimationFilm
1981The Eternal Day of Michel de GhelderodeDirector, WriterFilm
1981A FratricideDirector, AnimationFilm
1979Nocturna ArtificialiaDirector, CinematographyFilm
—Kieślowski by QuaysDirectorFilm

Editing (1)

2007Eurydice: She, So BelovedEditor, Director, Set DesignerFilm

Visual Effects (1)

2013Unmistaken Hands: Ex Voto F.H.Animation, Writer, DirectorFilm