Stephen Quay
- Born
- June 17, 1947 (79 years old)
- Place of birth
- Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA
Biography
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
Filmography
- —Kieślowski by QuaysKieślowski by QuaysFilm · Director
- 2025Sanatorium Under the Sign of the HourglassFilm · Director, Screenplay, Animation, Editor, Sound
- 2022The Art Teacher from Drohobycz: Bruno SchulzThe Art Teacher from Drohobycz: Bruno SchulzFilm · Director
- 2022Ghosts and WhispersFilm · Director, Animation
- 202111 Preliminary Orbits Around Planet LemFilm · Director
- 2021VadeMecumFilm · Director
- 2019The Doll's BreathFilm · Director
- 2015QuayFilm · Thanks★ 6.0
- 2013Unmistaken Hands: Ex Voto F.H.Film · Animation, Writer, Director
- 2011Through the Weeping Glass: On the Consolations of Life Everlasting (Limbos & Afterbreezes in the Mütter Museum)Film · Director, Sound, Editor, Animation
- 2010Wonderwood: Comme des garçonsFilm · Director
- 2010MaskaFilm · Director, Writer
- 2009Kinoteka IdentFilm · Director
- 2009Inventorium of TracesInventorium of TracesFilm · Director, Director of Photography, Editor, Sound Designer
- 2007Eurydice: She, So BelovedFilm · Editor, Director, Set Designer
- 2007Alice in Not So WonderlandFilm · Director, Writer, Cinematography
- 2007Phantom Museums: The Short Films of the Quay BrothersFilm · Director
- 2005The Piano Tuner of EarthquakesFilm · Director, Writer, Production Design★ 6.3
- 2004Quay Brothers: The Short Films 1979-2003Film · Director
- 2003The Phantom Museum: Random Forays Into the Vaults of Sir Henry Wellcome's Medical CollectionFilm · Director
- 2003Songs for Dead ChildrenFilm · Director
- 2001Sonic Cinema: SparklehorseFilm · Director
- 2001Stille Nacht V: Dog DoorFilm · Director, Writer
- 2000The SandmanFilm · Director
- 2000In AbsentiaFilm · Director, Animation★ 6.5
- 2000The Brothers Quay Collection: Ten Astonishing Short Films 1984-1993Film · Director
- 1995Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human LifeFilm · Director, Writer★ 7.6
- 1995The SummitFilm · Director
- 1993Stille Nacht IV: Can't Go Wrong Without YouFilm · Director, Camera Operator, Animation
- 1993Stille Nacht III: Tales from Vienna WoodsFilm · Director, Animation, Camera Operator
- 1993AnamorphosisFilm · Director, Animation, Art Direction, Camera Operator, Editor, Decorator★ 6.6
- 1992Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married?Film · Director, Animation, Camera Operator★ 6.1
- 1991The CombFilm · Director, Writer, Animation, Art Direction, Camera Operator, Editor★ 6.7
- 1991The CalligrapherFilm · Director, Animation
- 1989Ex VotoFilm · Director
- 1988Rain DanceFilm · Director
- 1988Rehearsals for Extinct AnatomiesFilm · Director, Cinematography, Animation, Decorator★ 6.6
- 1988Stille Nacht I: DramoletFilm · Director★ 6.4
- 1987Tales of the Brothers QuayFilm · Director
- 1986Street of CrocodilesFilm · Director, Editor, Writer, Production Design, Animation★ 6.6
- 1985This Unnameable Little BroomFilm · Director, Writer, Director of Photography★ 6.2
- 1984The Cabinet of Jan ŠvankmajerFilm · Director, Director of Photography★ 6.9
- 1984The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer: Prague's Alchemist of FilmFilm · Director
- 1983Janáček: Intimate ExcursionsJanáček: Intimate ExcursionsFilm · Director
- 1982Igor Stravinsky: The Paris Years Chez Pleyel 1920-1929Igor Stravinsky: The Paris Years Chez Pleyel 1920-1929Film · Director
- 1981A FratricideA FratricideFilm · Director, Animation
- 1981Punch and Judy: Tragical Comedy or Comical TragedyFilm · Director, Animation
- 1981The Eternal Day of Michel de GhelderodeFilm · Director, Writer
- 1979Nocturna ArtificialiaFilm · Director, Cinematography★ 5.9
