Timothy Quay
Directing
Timothy 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.
Behind the camera
2025Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass
Director & Screenplay
2022Ghosts and Whispers
Director
2021VadeMecum
Director
202111 Preliminary Orbits Around Planet Lem
Director
2019The Doll's Breath
Director
2013Unmistaken Hands: Ex Voto F.H.
Director & Writer
2011Through the Weeping Glass: On the Consolations of Life Everlasting (Limbos & Afterbreezes in the Mütter Museum)
Director
2010Maska
Director & Writer
2010Wonderwood: Comme des garçons
Director
2009Kinoteka Ident
Director
2007Phantom Museums: The Short Films of the Quay Brothers
Director
2007Eurydice: She, So Beloved
Director
2007Alice in Not So Wonderland
Director & Writer
2005The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes
Director & Writer
2004Quay Brothers: The Short Films 1979-2003
Director
2003Songs for Dead Children
Director
2003The Phantom Museum: Random Forays Into the Vaults of Sir Henry Wellcome's Medical Collection
Director
2001Stille Nacht V: Dog Door
Director & Writer
2001Sonic Cinema: Sparklehorse
Director
2000In Absentia
Director
2000The Sandman
Director
2000The Brothers Quay Collection: Ten Astonishing Short Films 1984-1993
Director
1995Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life
Director & Writer
1995The Summit
Director