Ancient Mariner Productions Ltd was set up in 1996 by director and producer Paul Bush primarily to work on high quality independent short animation for audiences of teenagers and adults. The company’s films have been recognized both for the innovation of their animation style and the seriousness of their themes. It has also proved itself as an efficient production base for eighteen short independent films and one feature, made to various budgets, and commissioned by a range of broadcasters and arts organisations.
The company has been commissioned by Channel 4, BBC, ITV, S4C and Canal+. It has also made work for commercial organisations such as the French publishers Les Éditions Hatier and English National Opera. It has worked with arts organisations in the UK and more recently in European co-productions with producers in Switzerland, Portugal and Denmark.
Ancient Mariner’s films have reached a wide international audience on television in the UK, and also internationally by broadcasters such as Arte and Canal +, SWF, SWR and WDR in Germany, ORF in Austria, SVT in Sweden, TVE in Spain, NRK in Norway, SBS in Australia and Imagica in Japan. There have been numerous cinema releases in the UK as well in the Netherland, France, Switzerland, Japan and Canada.
These films have been shown and awarded in many festivals including Cannes, Rotterdam, Edinburgh, Montreal, Annecy, Stuttgart, Zagreb and Ottawa. In 2013 the company released its first feature Babeldom in UK cinemas to critical acclaim.
The back catalogue of which Ancient Mariner is the sole copyright holder is a unique and invaluable collection of films which are in constant demand for exhibition. As they are in the curriculum of most animation schools they play a large part in the education of each generation of animators and directors. Their place in the wider animation culture is invaluable and acknowledged by much critical writing, including in Bendazzi’s seminal ‘World History of Animated Films’.
Ancient Mariner Productions employs people on a film by film basis. We are not currently seeking employees or interns.
