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Stephen Quay

Directing

Stephen Quay

Born June 17, 1947 · 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.

Known for

Street of Crocodiles

6.6 TMDB

Street of Crocodiles

Director, Editor, Writer, Production Design, Animation

Quay

50IMDb6.3

Quay

Self, Thanks

Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life

70IMDb7.0

Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life

Director, Writer

The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer

6.9 TMDB

The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer

Director, Director of Photography

The Falls

62IMDb7.1

The Falls

Ipson Fallari

The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes

48IMDb6.2

The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes

Director, Writer, Production Design

Stille Nacht I: Dramolet

6.4 TMDB

Stille Nacht I: Dramolet

Director

The Comb

6.7 TMDB

The Comb

Director, Writer, Editor, Camera Operator, Animation, Art Direction

Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married?

6.1 TMDB

Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married?

Director, Animation, Camera Operator

In Absentia

6.5 TMDB

In Absentia

Director, Animation

This Unnameable Little Broom

6.2 TMDB

This Unnameable Little Broom

Director, Director of Photography, Writer

Nocturna Artificialia

5.9 TMDB

Nocturna Artificialia

Director, Cinematography

Anamorphosis

IMDb7.1

Anamorphosis

Director, Editor, Animation, Camera Operator, Art Direction, Decorator

Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies

6.6 TMDB

Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies

Director, Cinematography, Animation, Decorator

Stille Nacht III: Tales from Vienna Woods

6.1 TMDB

Stille Nacht III: Tales from Vienna Woods

Director, Animation, Camera Operator

Stille Nacht IV: Can't Go Wrong Without You

6.9 TMDB

Stille Nacht IV: Can't Go Wrong Without You

Director, Camera Operator, Animation

The Calligrapher

6.4 TMDB

The Calligrapher

Director, Animation

Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass

IMDb5.9

Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass

Director, Animation, Screenplay, Sound, Editor

The Phantom Museum: Random Forays Into the Vaults of Sir Henry Wellcome's Medical Collection

6.2 TMDB

The Phantom Museum: Random Forays Into the Vaults of Sir Henry Wellcome's Medical Collection

Librarian, Director, Animation

Maska

7.0 TMDB

Maska

Director, Writer

Filmography

  1. 2026Postscriptum. Ruminations on My CraftDirectorMovie
  2. 2026Sledgehammer RevealedSelfMovie
  3. 2025Sanatorium Under the Sign of the HourglassDirector, Animation, Screenplay, Sound, EditorMovie
  4. 2022The Art Teacher from Drohobycz: Bruno SchulzDirectorMovie
  5. 2022Ghosts and WhispersAnimation, DirectorMovie
  6. 202111 Preliminary Orbits Around Planet LemDirectorMovie
  7. 2021VadeMecumDirectorMovie
  8. 2019The Doll's BreathDirectorMovie
  9. 2017The Music of Zdeněk LiškaSelfMovie
  10. 2015The 1000 Eyes of Dr MaddinMovie
  11. 2015QuaySelf, ThanksMovie
  12. 2013Unmistaken Hands: Ex Voto F.H.Animation, Writer, DirectorMovie
  13. 2011Through the Weeping Glass: On the Consolations of Life Everlasting (Limbos & Afterbreezes in the Mütter Museum)Director, Editor, Sound, AnimationMovie
  14. 2011Behind the Scenes with the Quay BrothersSelfMovie
  15. 2010Wonderwood: Comme des garçonsDirectorMovie
  16. 2010MaskaDirector, WriterMovie
  17. 2010Inside The InstituteMovie
  18. 2009The Art of TimeMovie
  19. 2009Kinoteka IdentDirectorMovie
  20. 2009The Bug TrainerSelf - stop-motion animatorMovie
  21. 2009Inventorium of TracesSound Designer, Director, Director of Photography, EditorMovie
  22. 2007Eurydice: She, So BelovedDirector, Editor, Set DesignerMovie
  23. 2007Alice in Not So WonderlandWriter, Cinematography, DirectorMovie
  24. 2007Phantom Museums: The Short Films of the Quay BrothersDirectorMovie
  25. 2006The Making of "The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes"Movie
  26. 2005The Piano Tuner of EarthquakesDirector, Writer, Production DesignMovie
  27. 2004Quay Brothers: The Short Films 1979-2003DirectorMovie
  28. 2003The Phantom Museum: Random Forays Into the Vaults of Sir Henry Wellcome's Medical CollectionLibrarian, Director, AnimationMovie
  29. 2003Songs for Dead ChildrenDirectorMovie
  30. 2001Sonic Cinema: SparklehorseDirectorMovie
  31. 2001Stille Nacht V: Dog DoorDirector, WriterMovie
  32. 2000The SandmanDirectorMovie
  33. 2000In AbsentiaDirector, AnimationMovie
  34. 2000The Brothers Quay Collection: Ten Astonishing Short Films 1984-1993DirectorMovie
  35. 1995Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human LifeDirector, WriterMovie
  36. 1995The SummitDirectorMovie
  37. 1993Stille Nacht IV: Can't Go Wrong Without YouDirector, Camera Operator, AnimationMovie
  38. 1993Stille Nacht III: Tales from Vienna WoodsDirector, Animation, Camera OperatorMovie
  39. 1993AnamorphosisDirector, Editor, Animation, Camera Operator, Art Direction, DecoratorMovie
  40. 1992Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married?Director, Animation, Camera OperatorMovie
  41. 1991The CombDirector, Writer, Editor, Camera Operator, Animation, Art DirectionMovie
  42. 1991The CalligrapherDirector, AnimationMovie
  43. 1989Ex VotoDirectorMovie
  44. 1988Rain DanceDirectorMovie
  45. 1988Stille Nacht I: DramoletDirectorMovie
  46. 1988Rehearsals for Extinct AnatomiesDirector, Cinematography, Animation, DecoratorMovie
  47. 1987Tales of the Brothers QuayDirectorMovie
  48. 1986Street of CrocodilesDirector, Editor, Writer, Production Design, AnimationMovie
  49. 1985This Unnameable Little BroomDirector, Director of Photography, WriterMovie
  50. 1984The Cabinet of Jan ŠvankmajerDirector, Director of PhotographyMovie
  51. 1984The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer: Prague's Alchemist of FilmDirectorMovie
  52. 1983Janáček: Intimate ExcursionsDirectorMovie
  53. 1982The FallsIpson FallariMovie
  54. 1982Igor Stravinsky: The Paris Years Chez Pleyel 1920-1929DirectorMovie
  55. 1981A FratricideDirector, AnimationMovie
  56. 1981Punch and Judy: Tragical Comedy or Comical TragedyAnimation, DirectorMovie
  57. 1981The Eternal Day of Michel de GhelderodeDirector, WriterMovie
  58. 1979Nocturna ArtificialiaDirector, CinematographyMovie