Timothy Quay
Director · Actor · WriterTimothy Quay was born in 1947 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA, as the identical twin of Stephen Quay. He studied at the Philadelphia College of Art and later at the Royal College of Art in London, where he began working with his brother in experimental animation. Timothy has directed and co-directed numerous short films, feature films, and stop-motion projects, including Nocturna Artificialia (1979), Street of Crocodiles (1986), Institute Benjamenta (1995), and The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes (2005). His work is distinguished by surreal, detailed atmospheres, frozen worlds, and objects full of history, with a constant collaboration alongside Stephen throughout his career.
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KNOWN FOR
FILMOGRAPHY
ACTOR8
DIRECTOR48
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass
2025
Director
Ghosts and Whispers
2022
Director
- The Art Teacher from Drohobycz: Bruno Schulz
The Art Teacher from Drohobycz: Bruno Schulz
2022
Director
VadeMecum
2021
Director
11 Preliminary Orbits Around Planet Lem
2021
Director
The Doll's Breath
2019
Director
Unmistaken Hands: Ex Voto F.H.
2013
Director
Through the Weeping Glass: On the Consolations of Life Everlasting (Limbos & Afterbreezes in the Mütter Museum)
2011
Director
Maska
2010
Director
Wonderwood: Comme des garçons
2010
Director
- Inventorium of Traces
Inventorium of Traces
2009
Director
Kinoteka Ident
2009
Director
Phantom Museums: The Short Films of the Quay Brothers
2007
Director
Eurydice: She, So Beloved
2007
Director
Alice in Not So Wonderland
2007
Director
The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes
2005
Director
Quay Brothers: The Short Films 1979-2003
2004
Director
Songs for Dead Children
2003
Director
The Phantom Museum: Random Forays Into the Vaults of Sir Henry Wellcome's Medical Collection
2003
Director
Stille Nacht V: Dog Door
2001
Director
Sonic Cinema: Sparklehorse
2001
Director
In Absentia
2000
Director
The Sandman
2000
Director
The Brothers Quay Collection: Ten Astonishing Short Films 1984-1993
2000
Director
Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life
1995
Director
The Summit
1995
Director
Anamorphosis
1993
Director
Stille Nacht III: Tales from Vienna Woods
1993
Director
Stille Nacht IV: Can't Go Wrong Without You
1993
Director
Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married?
1992
Director
The Comb
1991
Director
The Calligrapher
1991
Director
Ex Voto
1989
Director
Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies
1988
Director
Stille Nacht I: Dramolet
1988
Director
Rain Dance
1988
Director
Tales of the Brothers Quay
1987
Director
Street of Crocodiles
1986
Director
This Unnameable Little Broom
1985
Director
The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer
1984
Director
The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer: Prague's Alchemist of Film
1984
Director
- Janáček: Intimate Excursions
Janáček: Intimate Excursions
1983
Director
- Igor Stravinsky: The Paris Years Chez Pleyel 1920-1929
Igor Stravinsky: The Paris Years Chez Pleyel 1920-1929
1982
Director
Punch and Judy: Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy
1981
Director
The Eternal Day of Michel de Ghelderode
1981
Director
- A Fratricide
A Fratricide
1981
Director
Nocturna Artificialia
1979
Director
- Kieślowski by Quays
Kieślowski by Quays
Director
WRITER11
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass
2025
Screenplay
Unmistaken Hands: Ex Voto F.H.
2013
Writer
Maska
2010
Writer
Alice in Not So Wonderland
2007
Writer
The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes
2005
Writer
Stille Nacht V: Dog Door
2001
Writer
Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life
1995
Writer
The Comb
1991
Writer
Street of Crocodiles
1986
Writer
This Unnameable Little Broom
1985
Writer
The Eternal Day of Michel de Ghelderode
1981
Writer
EDITOR7
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass
2025
Editor
Through the Weeping Glass: On the Consolations of Life Everlasting (Limbos & Afterbreezes in the Mütter Museum)
2011
Editor
- Inventorium of Traces
Inventorium of Traces
2009
Editor
Eurydice: She, So Beloved
2007
Editor
Anamorphosis
1993
Editor
The Comb
1991
Editor
Street of Crocodiles
1986
Editor
CINEMATOGRAPHER8
- Inventorium of Traces
Inventorium of Traces
2009
Director of Photography
Anamorphosis
1993
Camera Operator
Stille Nacht III: Tales from Vienna Woods
1993
Camera Operator
Stille Nacht IV: Can't Go Wrong Without You
1993
Camera Operator
Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married?
1992
Camera Operator
The Comb
1991
Camera Operator
This Unnameable Little Broom
1985
Director of Photography
The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer
1984
Director of Photography
SOUND3
VISUAL EFFECTS15
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass
2025
Animation
Ghosts and Whispers
2022
Animation
Unmistaken Hands: Ex Voto F.H.
2013
Animation
Through the Weeping Glass: On the Consolations of Life Everlasting (Limbos & Afterbreezes in the Mütter Museum)
2011
Animation
In Absentia
2000
Animation
Anamorphosis
1993
Animation
Stille Nacht III: Tales from Vienna Woods
1993
Animation
Stille Nacht IV: Can't Go Wrong Without You
1993
Animation
Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married?
1992
Animation
The Calligrapher
1991
Animation
The Comb
1991
Animation
Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies
1988
Animation
Street of Crocodiles
1986
Animation
Punch and Judy: Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy
1981
Animation
- A Fratricide
A Fratricide
1981
Animation
