At the age of 14, Signe Baumane began publishing short stories in Latvia. She received a BA in Philosophy from Moscow State University, then started to work at Riga’s Animated Film Studio as a cel painter. With support of government grants, Signe made 3 animated shorts in Latvia, then moved to New York and spent four years working for independent animator Bill Plympton as an art director and production manager. In 1998, Signe received her US green card as ‘extraordinary ability alien’ and began making films at her own studio.
In 2005 she became a NYFA Fellow in Film. She received two grants from the Jerome Foundation – one for her animated short “Birth”, the other for her animated feature “Rocks In MyPockets”. She also received 3 grants from NYSCA. Signe has written, directed and animated 15 shorts and one feature film, which collectively have been accepted in over 300 film festivals around the world and received many awards. Signe is currently working on her second animated feature, “My Love Affair With Marriage”, which will examine the biological chemistry of love and gender, and also the societal pressures on an individual to conform to social mores. She was also awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in 2017.
Signe Baumane is a writer, director, producer and animator. She created, directed and animated 15 independent short films. Her first animated feature “Rocks in My Pockets” is based on personal brushes with depression and inquiries into family history of depression and suicide. It went to over 160 film festivals around the world and won FIPRESCI award at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2014. Signe is currently working on her second feature film “My Love Affair With Marriage”, a musical story of Love and Gender through the eyes of Biology.
