Pilar Garcia-Fernandezsesma was born to Spanish immigrants in New York City. During her high school years, she attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for the Arts in Manhattan as part of their visual arts department, and later went on to attend the Rhode Island School of Design to earn her BFA in Film/Animation/Video. She currently resides in Brooklyn.
Pilar makes a variety of animation and illustration work including independent animated films, commissioned animations, music videos, poster and sticker designs, gifs, and illustrations. Her work varies in medium from digital to traditional, typically using an interplay of the two to give a mixed-media feel to her pieces. Common themes she works with include the use of visual symbolism, violence, human interaction, our connection to the natural world, and animals and femininity in relation to familial dynamics.
Pilar likes to categorize much of her independent work under what she calls the 'beautifully disturbing', as she often uses the idea of the beautiful and pristine to depict otherwise gruesome and violent topics. Much of her work falls under the genre of Folk Horror, with an emphasis on rural settings and the isolation and beauty within them. Her main goal as a filmmaker is to force us to ask questions about how we interact with one another, and above all she wants her viewers to be able to relate to the characters on screen, both real and fictional.
Pilar is a Student Academy Award Gold medalist, a 2023 Jerome Hill Production Grant, and a 2020 Glas Animation Grant recipient. Her films have been shown in Oscar-qualifying festivals such as Annecy, Slamdance, Cinanima, Rhode Island International Film Festival, Animafest Zagreb, Animest, the Norwegian Short Film Festival, and the Brooklyn Film Festival. She has also worked on projects that have gone on to premiere at Tribeca, win Emmys, and been shown at other prominent festivals like SXSW and the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
She has done work for Adult Swim, PBS Frontline, MTV, Giphy, Buck, Ado Ato, Cartuna, and Mighty Oak, among other companies.
Pilar is currently an Adjunct Professor at the School of Visual Arts BFA Animation program.
Filmography
"Alone Time" 2024, 1:10
"Colony" 2022, 13:22
"Ciervo" 2020, 10:15
“Margarita La Del Rio” 2019, 4:39
Commissioned
"Sorry Not Sorry" 2023, 3:18 (Demi Lovato Music video for MTV VMAs)
"Midnight Ash" 2022, 1:49 (Adult Swim OTA)
"BRB I'm on my Break 01" 2021, 2:49 (Adult Swim Smalls)
"BRB I'm on my Break 02" 2021, 2:47 (Adult Swim Smalls)
Other Indie Projects
"Elie Weisel: Soul on Fire" By Oren Rudavsky, 2024
"Inner Wound Real" by Carrie Hawks, 2022
"Christopher at Sea" Tom CJ Brown, 2022
"Un(Re)solved" PBS Frontline 2020
Press:
RIIFF Filmmaker Spotlight Series: “Ciervo"
WIA SPOTLIGHT STORIES: Class of 2020 Showcase Winners
Variety Women in Animation Unveils Class of 2020 Best Short Film Winners
IndieWire 2020 Student Academy Award Winners Are the Most Diverse Class Ever
Animation Magazine Medalists Revealed for the 2020 Student Academy Awards
El Diario "España, México and Bolivia triumph in 'The Student Oscars'”
ArtTribune "The theme of domestic violence in a new animated short"
Frizzifrizzi Mag "Ciervo: A Powerful Animated Short About Domestic Violence"
MacGuffin007 "Pilar Garcia'Fernandezsesma 'I Wanted to Capture the Beauty of Rural Spain'"
Animacion Para Adultos "2020: Ciervo", Short of the Week Colony Review
Lectures and Speaking Engagements
SAIC 2021 | SVA 2021, 2022
NFFTY SUMMIT 2021
"Animation Masterclass" lecturer: 'Indie Short Awards New York' 2022, 2023
Independent Screenings/Showcases
Gutter Show #8: Nov 14th, 2024
Loose Frames: July 6th, 2024
Malt Adult #19 : Feb 27th, 2021
Residencies/Fellowships
Djerassi Fellow 2023
Hambidge Center Fellow 2020
Awards and Grants
2023 Jerome Hill Production Grant
Student Academy Award 2020- Animation Gold Medal
Glas Animation Grant 2020
Film Festival Programming/Jurys
Slamdance Doc Shorts Programmer 2021-present
Drunken Film Fest Oakland Juror 2024
NFFTY Animation Juror 2023
Indie Short Awards New York Juror 2023, 2024
Installations
"Hombres De Musgo' Djerassi Ranch hiking trail
Woodside, CA, 2023
CONTACT
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