Zeman, Ludmila, 1947- : Ludmila Zeman was born on April 23, 1947 in Zlín (Moravia, former Czechoslovakia) in the Czech Republic. Her talent for painting, puppetry, and film-making was nurtured in her hometown where her father Karel Zeman, a famous film-maker, had his animation film studio. By the age of ten she was already painting and creating puppets for her father's prize-winning films including those presented in the Czech Pavilion during Montreal's Expo 67. Ludmila Zeman studied at the Art and Design Institute in Uherské Hradi¿te; (Czech Republic). She then worked on major motion pictures and animation films early in her career as a designer and assistant director under her married name Ludmila Spalena. She also created with her former husband Eugene Spaleny short animated films for Czech television.
The lack of artistic freedom and administrative difficulties under the regime led the Zeman- Spaleny family to flee to Yugoslavia. They escaped and stayed in a refugee camp in Austria for several months before being allowed to move to Canada as they were invited to teach film technique at the Emily Carr College of Art + Design in Vancouver. Ludmila Zeman became a Canadian citizen in 1988, she now lives in Montreal. In collaboration with her former husband Eugene Spaleny, they created animations for the television program Sesame Street. In 1992, they collaborated on a short animated film The Lord of the Sky, a legend about West Coast Aboriginal people for the National Film Board. Ludmila Zeman was married to film animator Eugene Spaleny, they have two daughters Linda and Malvina.
Ludmila Zeman has illustrated the highly acclaimed picture-book Gilgamesh trilogy about the epic of the mighty king of Mesopotamia (Gilgamesh the King, The Revenge of Ishtar, and The Last Quest of Gilgamesh). These children's books were translated in seven languages and sold worldwide. She also illustrated a retelling of the Sindbad story based on the Thousand and One Nights Tales (Sindbad, Sindbad in the Land of Giants, and Sindbad's Secrets). The First Maple Leaf is a legend explaining why maple leaves are turning red, she wrote and illustrated it as a tribute to Canada from an artist who arrived as a refugee. Ludmila Zeman's original illustrations are exhibited worldwide, including at the Prince Takamado Gallery at the Embassy of Canada in Tokyo (Japan).
To preserve films, designs and original props created by her father's studio, the Karel Zeman Museum was launched in Prague in 2012. The museum features works from Karel Zeman's films (including puppets, props, scripts and original sketches), as well as Ludmila's films and her books published in Canada. (www.muzeumkarlazemana.cz) Ludmila Zeman and her daughter Linda Zeman-Spaleny published a biography of Karel Zeman The Fabulous World of Karel Zeman, they also co-produced and co-wrote a documentary film: Film Adventurer Karel Zeman.
Ludmila Zeman's other projects include exhibitions, storyboard for the Gilgamesh trilogy, a film with the NFB and new epic picture books.
