Known for Visual Effects
Liron Topaz is an award-winning director and supervising animator, and former Animation Department Chair at DreamWorks Animation. Liron worked on DreamWorks Animation’s most iconic franchises, including Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, The Croods, and The Bad Guys. He began his career after studying at Ringling College of Art + Design, where he was selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to intern at Sony Pictures Imageworks. He later joined Sony, contributing to Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, before becoming a key creative force at DreamWorks Animation. His directorial debut, Bilby, premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it received multiple awards and was shortlisted for an Academy Award. He later directed DreamWorks’ The Bad Guys: Little Lies and Alibis, which screened in theaters in January 2025. Most recently, he wrote and directed Saba, a poetic animated film that will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2026.
Filmography
22 films


Saba
2026 · 9m · UK
In an abstract and symbolic world where gravity is reversed, a unique bond forms between a grandfather and his grandson. As Saba, the grandfather guides the boy through this surreal reality, a violent storm strikes, tearing one of the ropes anchoring their home - and with it, their life together. After suffering a devastating loss of Saba, the boy embarks on an emotional journey in search of closure. Through a stylized and poetic visual language, the film explores life's fundamental questions: the paths we take, separation from those we love, and the endless effort to find closure, reconcile loss, and move forward.


The Bad Guys: Little Lies and Alibis
2025 · 5m · US
A group of former criminals do their best to get to their parole interview on time.


Bilby
2018 · 8m · US
Threatened daily by the deadly residents and harsh environment of Australia’s Outback, a lonesome bilby finds himself an unwitting protector, and unexpected friend, to a helpless (and quite adorable) baby bird.


This Side Up
2009 · 3m · US
A naive music-lover's patience is tested on his quest to download music online, as his perspective on technology completely changes.