Writer and director Joseph Pierce is an award-winning animator and filmmaker with a background in film, theatre and experimental art. In 2008, he graduated with an MA in Animation Direction from National Film and Television School. After his multi-awarded graduation film Stand Up (2008), his debut film A Family Portrait (2009) has won major prizes at festivals in Stuttgart, Clermont-Ferrand, Hiroshima, London and Bristol. He works in London as a freelance animator.