BIO

Accomplished filmmaker, author and illustrator, Ludmila Zeman was born in the Czech Republic. She now lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Daughter of well-known Czech film director Karel Zeman (Invention for Destruction, Baron Munchhausen, Jester’s Tale, Stolen Airship), Ludmila worked on major motion pictures early in her career as a designer and assistant director. Later, she created her own short animated films for Czech television. Her unique design was recognized and valued, and she was invited to illustrate two children’s books written by a well-known Czech author -- this established her love for book illustration.

In the early 1980s, Ludmila immigrated to Canada with her husband and two children. She taught at Emily Carr College in Vancouver, and created animated shorts for Sesame Street. Once again her talent was recognized and together with her husband she was invited to create a short film for the National Film Board of Canada. The film, Lord of the Sky, was short-listed for an Oscar nomination and received numerous awards around the world including the Blue Ribbon at the American Film and Video Festival in Chicago.

The success of the film, Lord of the Sky, led Ludmila back to her love of children’s books. She wrote and illustrated a trilogy for Tundra Books based on the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh. The trilogy, translated into many languages, was a success all over the world. It received numerous awards, including the highest in Canada – the Governor General’s Literary Award. She continued creating The First Red Maple Leaf (inspired by aboriginal legends), and a trilogy re-telling of the Sindbad story from the Arabian Nights.

In 2009 Tundra Books published Ludmila’s picture book based on her film Lord of the Sky and authored by her daughter Linda Zeman-Spaleny. Ludmila and Linda continued their collaboration and at the request of the producer Rock Demers (La Fete Productions) co-wrote a feature film script based on Ludmila's Gilgamesh trilogy.

Throughout her career, Ludmila has been very active as a lecturer, presenter and storyteller. She was invited to appear and speak in many schools (ages 4-99), festivals and bookfairs around the world. Her presentations, mostly visual, are modern and attractive focusing on the use of literature, art, film and history in her work.

The success of Ludmila's books (both Gilgamesh and Sindbad trilogies were published in Japan) and her father's films, led to a large exhibit of Karel Zeman's and Ludmila Zeman's works that toured Japan in 2010. The response to this exhibit was overwhelming and led to an idea of creating a permanent Karel Zeman Museum in Prague (www.muzeumkarlazemana.cz). Ludmila and her daughter Linda spent over two years researching, archiving and proposing materials for the Museum. The Museum opened in 2012 and features works from Karel Zeman films (including puppets, scripts and original sketches), as well as Ludmila's works including her films and books published in Canada. In just three years, the Museum has become an establishment in central Europe and a source of artistic inspiration for young and old around the world.

In 2015, Ludmila and Linda finished a large format monograph about the life and work of Karel Zeman entitled The Fabulous World of Karel Zeman. Simultaneously, they co-produced and co-wrote a documentary film about Ludmila’s father called Film Adventurer Karel Zeman.