biography
filmography
link
  • Nocturna Artificialia
  • The Cabinet Of Jan Svankmajer
  • The Epic of Gilgamesh
  • Street Of Crocodiles
  • Rehearsals For Extinct Anatomies
  • Dramolet
  • The Comb
  • Anamorphosis
  • Are We Still Married?
  • Long Way Down (Look What The Cat Drug In)
  • Tales From The Vienna Woods
  • Can't Go Wrong Without You
  • Institute Benjamenta
  • In Absentia
  • The Phantom Museum
    		•
    The Brothers Quay
    Biography

    The extraordinary Brothers Quay are two of the world’s most original filmmakers. Identical twins who were born in Pennsylvania in 1947, Stephen and Timothy Quay studied illustration in Philadelphia before going on to the Royal College of Art in London, where they started to make animated shorts in the 1970s. They have lived in London ever since, making their unique and innovative films under the aegis of Koninck Studios.

    Devotees of the Czech animation maestro Jan Svankmajer, the Quays display a passion for detail, a breathtaking command of color and texture, and an uncanny use of focus and camera movement that make their films unique and instantly recognizable. Best known for their classic 1986 film STREET OF CROCODILES, which filmmaker Terry Gilliam recently selected as one of the ten best animated films of all time, they are masters of miniaturization and on their tiny sets have created an unforgettable world, suggestive of a landscape of long-repressed childhood dreams. In 1994, with INSTITUTE BENJAMENTA, they made their first foray into live-action feature-length filmmaking.

    The Quays have also directed pop promos for His Name is Alive, Michael Penn, Sparklehorse, 16 Horsepower, and Peter Gabriel (contributing to his celebrated “Sledgehammer” video), and have also directed ground-breaking commercials for, among others, The Partnership for a Drug Free America, Coca Cola, MTV, Nikon, and Slurpee.

    The Quays’ work also includes set design for theatre and opera. In 1998 their Tony-nominated set designs for Ionesco’s The Chairs won great acclaim on Broadway.

    In 2000 they made IN ABSENTIA, an award-winning collaboration with Karlheinz Stockhausen, as well as two dance films, DUET and THE SANDMAN. In 2002 they contributed an animated dream sequence to Julie Taymor’s film FRIDA.

    Most recently the Quays have made four short films in collaboration with composer Steve Martland for a live event at the Tate Modern in London (read about the collaboration in The Guardian) and are in pre-production on their long-awaited second feature THE PIANO TUNER OF EARTHQUAKES.
    The Brothers Quay