Lord of the Sky

Linda Zeman-Spaleny was born in the Czech Republic and came to Canada at the age of twelve with her sister and parents. She has degrees in both psychology and law, and she went on to work as an assistant in a social psychology lab, researching early childhood development. After completing law school, Linda was admitted to the Bar of Ontario and became an associate lawyer at a Toronto firm. But Linda was born into a family of film workers, and throughout her pursuits, creativity and artistic expression remained her true passion. She’s worked as a freelance photographer and a photo editor, and she has assisted in the writing of her mother’s books. She is a member of the Writers Guild of Canada. She co-wrote with her mother, a feature film, Gilgamesh the King. Later, she directed a short documentary about the pre-production of the film. Linda lives in Toronto with her husband, Mark, and daughter, Helena.

Accomplished filmmaker, author, and illustrator Ludmila Zeman was born in the Czech Republic. She is the daughter of well-known Czech film director Karel Zeman. Ludmila worked on major motion pictures early in her career, and she went on to create her own short animated films including the award-winning Lord of the Sky for the National Film Board of Canada. Besides films, Ludmila’s storytelling talent and unique design has been expressed in countless children’s picture books. She’s received numerous awards as the author and illustrator of the Gilgamesh and Sindbad trilogies and The First Red Maple Leaf, all published by Tundra Books. In 1995, Ludmila received a Governor General’s Award for Illustration for her book, The Last Quest of Gilgamesh. Ludmila now lives in Montreal, Quebec. For more information about Ludmila Zeman, please visit her website at www.ludmilazeman.com.