Marek Colek

Marek Colek was born in Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia, and grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

An immeasurable passion for drawing inflamed by a gentle melancholy and an obsessive nostalgia for the late 15th century inevitably led to a career in animation.

For the past decade, Marek has worked as both a director and designer of award winning animation for prominent studios such as Cuppa Coffee Animation and Corus/YTV, and for clients such as PBS, Cartoon Network, Teletoon, and HBO. His work for children has included directing TREVOR!, a seven minute pilot for Cartoon Network, as well as a complete design package for ARTOPIA, a new children's series about art produced by PBS/WNET New York.

In 2006 he was awarded a Chalmers Arts Fellowship from the Ontario Arts Council to pursue his next project Heart of the Forest, an animated improvisation based on Slavic folklore and contemporary environmental narratives.

His illustration work has recently been featured in the The New Yorker Magazine, as well as Communication Arts.

Pat Shewchuk

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Pat is a multidisciplinary artist working in the mediums of sculpture, photography, painting and film. She is a classically trained animator proficient in cell, stop-motion, and digital animation.

She began her animation career at Cuppa Coffee Animation, and has worked as a professional and independent animator since 1998, garnering numerous awards and grants for her work as both an animation director and designer. Her interests in urban studies, progressive politics, and environmentalism guide her motivation as a filmmaker.

Pat and Marek are married and live in Toronto, Canada. In 2004, they established Tin Can Forest Animation and Design, an independent art, design and animation studio, dedicated to creating unique, issue-driven and visually compelling work, ranging from experimental films to films for children.