About Us

The Animation Playground (TAP) formed in 2016 to create playful, thoughtful and emotionally genuine animated films telling stories respectful of archetypes, literature, culture and history.

In alphabetical order, The Animation Playground is:

Choom Lam, Artistic Director

Choom Lam

Choom Lam is an animator, illustrator and graphic designer based in Gibsons, British Columbia. Originally from Singapore, she has also spent time living in Malaysia and Australia. A graduate of the Vancouver Film School, Choom’s animated films have been shown in festivals around the world, including the Reel Earth Environmental Film festival in New Zealand; the Berlin Flash Film Festival in Germany; the British Animation Film Festival in London; the Animation Block Party in New York City; and, International Children’s Film Festivals in Turkey, Romania, Seattle, San Diego and Los Angeles.

In her art, Choom is interested in articulating experiences and observations that transcend cultural perspectives.

Dewi Minden, Music Director

Dewi Minden

Dewi Minden is a film composer, pianist, trumpeter and musical theatre conductor. She wrote and performed internationally with the Robert Minden Ensemble, an experimental music-storytelling group. Highlight appearances include the Lincoln Centre, Kennedy Centre, and Sesame Street, in addition to numerous international festivals across the UK, the US and Canada. In addition to her work with The Animation Playground, Dewi is currently a Music Director with Second City Theatre in Toronto.

Oliver Sterzik, Writer & Producer

Oliver Sterzik

Oliver is a counselling therapist in private practice.

His education includes completing UBC's Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Education and award-winning Business Analysis programs. He advocates for improving how people interact within the context of relationship systems as a basis for improving organizational performance, and holds a related US patent pending.

For over 15 years, Oliver has assisted projects and organizations of various sizes in Vancouver, British Columbia's IT sector including Simba Technologies (Magnitude Software), Slant Six Games, Absolute Software, Telus (Imagine Project), BCIT and Pivotal CRM (Avolin).

He also enjoys motorcycling and developing iOS apps.