Oscar-nominated in 2019 for her animated short Late Afternoon — about an older woman looking back on her life — Louise Bagnall is now directing her first feature Julián, which has been selected for the Cannes Annecy Animation Showcase.
Adapted from Jessica Love’s book Julián Is A Mermaid, it follows a boy spending the summer with his abuela (grandmother) from the Dominican Republic in a colourful Brooklyn neighbourhood, as they come to terms with his desire to be a mermaid.
“It’s a lovely and tender story about self-expression,” says Bagnall. “It’s bubbly and happy but with complications in the mix. This kid is just beginning to search out the possibilities of how he can be out in the world.”
In her youth, Bagnall loved drawing and creating her own characters. Once she discovered animations, she fell for The Lion King and older Disney classics such as Sleeping Beauty. Later, Studio Ghibli proved a big inspiration. “They are a great symbol of what you can do with 2D animation storytelling, and how ambitious you can be.”
After studying animation in her hometown of Dublin, then in Denmark, and working in Germany, Bagnall came back to Ireland in 2013. The Irish studio Cartoon Saloon had released its gamechanging animation The Secret Of Kells in 2009 and Bagnall joined the team to work on The Song Of The Sea. She has been with the Kilkenny-based company ever since.
Bagnall has worked in different roles, serving as a character designer on Puffin Rock and The Breadwinner, storyboarding Wolfwalkers, and assistant directing My Father’s Dragon, while making her own shorts.
“It’s not everywhere you find a studio and people who are interested in supporting people coming up through the ranks the way they are here,” she says of Cartoon Saloon.
Bagnall has been working on Julián since 2021 — a collaboration between Cartoon Saloon, Folivari, Sun Creature, Aircraft Pictures and Wychwood Media — and is aiming for a release in 2026. “I hope it will bring people a bit of positivity in the world,” she says. “It’s about embracing each other rather than pushing each other away.”
Contact: Louise Bagnall
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