AWN is sad to share that Haarlem, Netherlands-based Oscar-winning animation producer Cilia van Dijk Lieshout died April 26, 2023, at the age of 81, after a short illness. After marrying artist Gerrit van Kijk in 1963, she began her career as a film producer when he began making animated films.
Lieshout’s 1984 Dutch animated short, Anna & Bella, earned her an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film as a producer. Her other notable production credits include DaDa, Frieze Frame, I Move so I Am, The Last Words of Dutch Schultz (2001), and A Good Turn Daily (1983).
In 1978, Lieshout established Animated People, a Dutch distribution company and forerunner of the Netherlands Institute for Animated Film. In addition, she was a board member of the Holland Animation Association, participated in advisory committees for grant awards, and was active on selection committees and as a jury member for festivals worldwide.
Lieshout was involved in the Haarlem artist circuit and contributed to various local initiatives. She looked after the production and finances of Haarlem theatre company Het Volk and was involved administratively with the Toneelschuur. She was appointed Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau and was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
