Isabella Spagnolo, is an award-winning Sydney-based Film Director and 2D rough animator. She graduated from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) with Honours in Animation and has since worked at Australian studios including Flying Bark Productions, Cheeky Little, and Studio Moshi on a number of feature films and television series, including Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, LEGO’s Monkie Kid, and Nickelodeon’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

She was chosen to develop one of her own pitches with Flying Bark and directed/wrote/animation supervised their first short film called ‘My Jumper, It Roars!’ (2023). While directing Flying Bark’s short film she empowered a team of emerging artists to reach their best potential as she led by example. She is currently focusing on developing some of her own personal projects and on mentoring.

Isabella’s animated worlds are an expression of her love for reflective storytelling and her passion for animation’s capacity to communicate otherwise indescribable feelings and articulate them visually with little limitation. She loves making drawings move, and her goal is to make drawings that move people.

Isabella is passionate about empowering women to take on more creative roles and also positions of leadership in our heavily male-dominated industry. She is committed to inspiring emerging artists through her lectures and studio demonstrating at the University of Technology Sydney where she explores themes like the experience of directing for the first time and trusting your own voice.