MAY 2011 GIRL ON TOP OF THE MONTH

FEATURING ELIZA IVANOVA

Girl On Top and I Can Too continue to team up as we feature I Can Too’s US Ambassador Eliza Ivanova as our 2011 Girl On Top of the Month. She is the newest supporter of the I Can Too initiative (http://icantoo.eu/index.php). For those unfamiliar with I Can Too, it is a Bulgarian charity that helps children with disabilities.

Eliza was born in Bulgaria where she graduated from The American College of Sofia. This interesting young woman has dedicated herself to art and animation. Her passion for animation grew from her love for both film and fine art. For her this seemed like the most natural fusion of these media’s. Right after school, Eliza decided to pursue a career in animation abroad, continuing her education at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles. She made four short films there, which took part in multiple film festivals. Most notably, her junior film, “Piece of Cake” was a national finalist in the 2010 Annual Student Academy Awards. Eliza also won the highest award for short film in her school, the Walter and Gracie Lantz Animation Prize, with “Piece of Cake”.

Eliza graduated CalArts with a BFA for Character Animation. After graduation she was offered an internship at Pixar Animation Studios in the bay area, which later became an animation position on Pixar’s newest feature film, Cars 2. Presently she is one of the successful animators of Pixar Animation Studios (http://www.pixar.com). Even with the heavy load of work, she still paints and animates on the side and is in the process of developing several small scale projects of her own.

Eliza is a real go-getter and is a great example of how hard work and determination pay off. Girl On Top is grateful for her support of I Can Too and for being a female leader. Many thanks to Eliza Ivanova for being our May 2011 Girl On Top of the Month!

Please visit her websites to see more of her outstanding work:

www.elizaivanova.com
http://eleezer.tumblr.com
http://vimeo.com/eleeza

Take a look at these accomplished credentials!

Filmography:

- The Real McCoy, 2010 (animated short, 3:17 min, Calarts);

- Piece of Cake, 2009 (animated short, 3:16 min, Calarts);

- Hard Lines, 2008 (animated short, 3:18 min, Calarts),

- What the Hell, 2007 (animated short, 1:30 min, Calarts)

Film festivals:

- Student Shorts Film Festival 08, Toronto, Canada;

- San Diego Women’s Film Festival 08, San Diego, USA;

- Contravision Film Festival 08, Germany;

- Rome Film Festival 08– Extra Section, Rome, Italy;

- Youtube Calarts/Film & Video channel, 2008;

- FIA 08 – International Animation Festival, 2008, Uruguay;

- Melbourne International Animation Festival 22-28 June 2009, Australia;

- 12^th Fine Cut, KCET’s Festival of Student Film, 2009, California, USA;

- FIA 09 – International Animation Festival, 2009, Uruguay

Exhibitions:

- One-man show in the National Art Gallery in

- Bulgaria, 2001; Character Animation Show, Calarts, 2006; Character Animation Show, -

- Calarts, 2007; Character Animation Show, Calarts, 2008

Awards:

- National finalist in the 2010 Student Academy Awards with Piece of Cake;

- Walter and Gracie Lantz Award for best film in the 2008 Producer Show, Calarts for the

animated short Piece of Cake;

- Second year film Hard Lines chosen for the 2008 Calarts Character Animation Producers’

Show

- First year film What the Hell chosen for the 2007 Calarts Character Animation Producers’

Show;

- CG Choice Award Winner, www.CGTalk.com, Creative Computer Graphics Forum, March,

2005;

- Leonard Teo, Managing Director, Ballistic Media, Adelaide, Australia;

- Third Class Honor Certificate, International Drawing Competition “Rice Is Life”, March

2005, Hong Kong;

- Third Class Honor Certificate of International Competition, 2002 International Year of

Ecotourism and Mountain’s Art and Design Competition, 8-3-2003, Chairman Po Leung

Kuk.