Michael DUDOK DE WIT was born (1953) and educated in the Netherlands. After school he studied etching in Geneva, and animation at Farnham, England, where he made his first film “The Interview”. After animating for a year in Barcelona he settled in London in 1980. Working freelance with different studios, in particular with the production company Richard Purdum Productions, he directed and animated many award winning commercials for television and cinema.
In 1992 he created his short Tom Sweep, followed by The Monk and the Fish which was made at the studio Folimage, France. This film was nominated for an Oscar and it won a César. His most well-known short film Father and Daughter won the Grand Prix in Annecy, an Oscar and a BAFTA award. In 2004 he completed his short film The Aroma of Tea and he has recently written and directed the feature film The Red Turtle in France with Prima Linea Productions, coproduced by Studio Ghibli, Japan. It was nominated for an Oscar (2017) and it has won the Special Prize at Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival 2016, as well as numerous other international awards.