Meet Liron Topaz
For the past 17 years, Liron Topaz has helped bring some pretty familiar characters to life.
As an artist and filmmaker at DreamWorks, he has worked on some of the studio’s biggest films, including the Kung Fu Panda franchise, How to Train Your Dragon and The Bad Guys. His work has taken him around the world and even landed his short film Bilby on the shortlist for the Academy Awards.
I was mesmerized with the fact that a drawing could come to life.”
But Liron’s story with animation started long before DreamWorks. In fact, he can pinpoint it to a moment when he was just six years old.
“I was just mesmerized when I was six years old. I was mesmerized with the fact that a drawing could come to life.”
He remembers realizing for the first time that the characters he was watching weren’t simply appearing on the screen. Someone was actually creating them.
“I asked my kindergarten teacher, I was like, how do you call the guy or the person who creates these cartoons? And she told me, animator. And I was like, okay, that’s what I wanna do.”
And he did.
That childhood fascination grew into a career, but Liron says the creativity behind it is still what drives him. It is also something he believes matters whether or not you ever plan to make art professionally.
“I feel it’s like it’s giving us purpose. It’s giving us inspiration.”
That passion eventually led Liron to create something much more personal: Saba, a hand-drawn animated short made in memory of his grandfather.
This September, Liron will bring that passion for storytelling to Denver as a special guest at The Jewish Experience’s 24th Annual Wine & Cheese Gala.
We’ll have the opportunity to watch Saba, the deeply personal film he created in memory of his grandfather, and then hear from Liron about the story and artistry behind it.
For someone who knew at six years old exactly what he wanted to do, Liron still talks about animation with that same sense of wonder.
“I love what I do. I love it. And I’m passionate about that.”
We’re looking forward to sharing that passion with him, and with all of you, on September 1.
