The Directors: Hannah Lau-Walker
Hannah Lau-Walker is an award-winning director, animator, and She Drew That founder. She is celebrated for infusing her work with charm, humour, and warmth. With over 15 years of experience in animation and art direction, she has collaborated with clients like TED-Ed and Room to Read.
Her short film 'Yeah, I’m Good Thanks' earned the top award at the Depict British Awards and was selected for the British Animation Awards 2024. Hannah’s short 'Trang', from the docuseries, 'She Creates Change', was featured in the London Short Film Festival. Passionate about fostering inclusivity, she founded She Drew That, an initiative supporting and mentoring women in animation, dedicated to making the industry more diverse and collaborative.
Name: Hannah Lau-Walker
Location: London
Repped by/in: Nexus Studios worldwide
Awards: Hannah’s short 'Trang', from the docuseries, 'She Creates Change', was featured in the London Short Film Festival 2024, award winner for the Depict British Awards (2022) for her film ‘Yeah, I’m Good Thanks’ and participated in festival panels to present her work ‘She Creates Change: Trang’ (Annecy 2024). Hannah has also been an Animation and Film Juror for numerous industry panels including BAFTA Cymru (2023), Latin American Design Awards (2024), British Animation Awards (2022), and The Young Animator of the Year UK since 2021.
LBB> What are some upcoming projects that you're excited about? Tell us a bit about them?
Hannah> I am currently developing a new personal film that’s in its early stages but it’s really exciting to be making something of my own again. Since my short film ‘Yeah, I’m good thanks’ (2022) I haven’t had the time to really invest in a personal film, so am looking forward to digging in. The film is about the boundaries between your conscious and unconscious mind beginning to break down, it’s giving 'Paprika' in lockdown vibes through the lens of Maria Medem graphic style.
I’m also excited to be developing a new bi-monthly event with my friend Jo Clarke, ‘SELAPD Talkies’ where we’ll be hosting an animation night that revolves around in-depth chats with filmmakers paired with a programme of shorts. I’ve been fortunate enough to have created a few programmes for Playgrounds Festival and have gotten a real taste for it, it’s a real good excuse to watch loads of brilliant films and connect with amazing directors so I’m looking forward to doing more of both of those things in 2025.
LBB> What excites you in the advertising industry right now, as a director? Any trends or changes that open new opportunities?
Hannah> I’m incredibly excited about the developments in software, such as Blender, that are open-source and community-generating. I think it’s brilliant that this kind of software makes access less of a hurdle for people entering the industry. This in turn means there will be a more diverse range of people to collaborate with, who will be using processes and have new styles, all of which will push the work we do forward into new and interesting directions.
I’m also really excited about the new physical spaces that animation is broadening into. Not only these spectacular visual spaces like the Outernet and the Sphere but also gallery spaces.
Animation is moving forward and is being seen by the public as more than just “cartoons”, we are making important progress in the industry as the breadth of our work is going beyond the animation festivals into public spaces, which not only elevates our craft but creates the potential for more people to enter the industry who wouldn’t otherwise think of it as an option.
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?
Hannah> There’s not a particular genre I’m interested in as I think it would be really fun to work in all different types of genres, as that opens you up to work with lots of different types of people, which inevitably makes a project exciting.
In general though the type of work I’m most passionate about are projects that celebrate real world people and their passions and achievements. It’s really satisfying to use your skills to uplift and celebrate people, and showcase their achievements with animation, as for me animation really allows an audience to understand and engage with a subject better than any other medium.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Hannah> At the end of the day, it's not only the best idea wins, but the right idea. I think it’s important to remember that directing commercials is a service and we’re working towards a deliverable that fulfils the needs of the client. So it’s really important to be open and collaborative, hearing their needs and allowing that idea to be flexible and to evolve.
A great idea may be great, but if it’s not right for the client it needs to be shelved and the project needs to move forward. I think what’s exciting about working with a client and being collaborative is that you’re going to make something you’d never of made, and they’d never of imagined, that’s something totally new.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
Hannah> I am very much open to mentoring, I’ve run a mentoring scheme for the last four years with a community group I found called ‘She Drew That’, that supports, develops and promotes women in the animation industry. We take on ten women each year and source mentors for them that align with their career goals.
I think as a more experienced person in the industry it’s my responsibility to use the power and clout I’ve acquired over the years to make space for and support those around me, as well as shed light on areas that are still in the shade.
LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work?
Hannah> Pre Nexus Studios I didn’t feel confident embracing new technology, purely because I draw for a living the idea of new tech felt quite overwhelming. But since being with Nexus it’s been eye-opening.
In my recent project, The Lion King Outernet, which was an immersive experience, we used VR to visualise how it would look inside the Outernet and it really gave me a taste of the potential for new tech.
When you get the chance to be surrounded by people devising and developing new software in this way, it really makes you excited for the future and the potential areas you could explore even with 3D printing and interactive storytelling, it’s something Nexus Studios has been doing for a while and something I’m really excited to explore.
LBB> Which pieces of your work do you feel show what you do best – and why?
Hannah> ‘Trang’
This is a film I made with Nexus Studios and it really is the epitome of one of the types of projects I really enjoy working on. It’s a joyous celebration of an incredible real-life person and takes you on an emotional journey through the main character's hardships and her eventual triumph. And it has a duck. You’ve got to love animating a duck.
‘The Lion King Outernet’
This experience is the other type of project I love working on because it brings loads of different disciplines together and really is a collaboration in the sense that no one person could make it on their own. It’s so exciting working in this way, as the project reveals itself as it develops and as you bring on more people so you can only see and experience the whole of it when you are actually standing in the Outernet. Thankfully we had test days.
This is a short film I made in 2022 and it’s not only something I enjoyed making but is the most open I’ve been in my work to date about my struggles with anxiety and the general pressures of being creative. It’s a reflective film that hits a melancholic tone that you don’t often see in my work.
