Stephen Irwin is a graduate of the Central St. Martins College of Art & Design. His film Moxie was awarded the Grand Prize in Ottawa 2011, and The Black Dog's Progress won Best Short Film at the British Animation Awards 2010. He has received commissions from the UK Film Council, BBC New Talent, Animate Projects/Arts Council England, and Channel 4. His films have been screened in competition at festivals all over the world, including Sundance, Annecy, Zagreb, Edinburgh, Ann Arbor and Clermont-Ferrand. He was named as one of Animation Magazine's Rising Stars of Animation 2009.