Annabel graduated from the West Surrey College of Art and Design in 1976. Annabel with Rocky Morton was the creative force behind Cucumber Studios, their animation company that was founded in 1976. Cucumber was celebrated for pushing the boundaries of film-making with innovative combinations of animation, CGI and live action, producing many award-winning commercials, short films and music videos including the seminal "Accidents Will Happen" for Elvis Costello in 1978. Several music videos reside in the permanent collections of the V+A in London, and MOMA in NYC. She also co-created and co-directed Max Headroom - 20 minutes Into The Future - a made-for-TV movie and 13-part series for Channel 4 and HBO that led to its US re-visioning in 1986. This led to offers from Hollywood where she co-directed the cult movies DOA, with Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid, and Super Mario Brothers, with Dennis Hopper and Bob Hoskins. She was a founding partner of Morton Jankel Zander in Los Angeles in 1991. MJZ became one of the most creative and successful production companies in the world, with offices in Los Angeles, New York and London. She continues to make commercials, and directed the award-winning feature Skellig, starring Tim Roth,(Reservoir Dogs; Lie To Me) John Simm (Dr Who; Life on Mars) and Kelly McDonald.(No Country For Old Men.)
As Pilot Director and Director of the music/documentary multi-camera Series Live From Abbey Road, broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK and Sundance Channel in the US, over the course of the series she has directed over seventy of the world's leading artists, including Herbie Hancock, Paul Simon, The Killers, Massive Attack, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Her most recent production was Elbow - Live on Air, a multi-camera one hour music and documentary show culminating in a live performance at London's O2 centre by the Manchester band, shot and broadcast in both 2D and 3D, for Sky1, Sky Arts and Sky Atlantic. She is developing several personal projects, including a BFI funded script from the novel "Tell It To The Bees" by Fiona Shaw. When not travelling, as a US and UK citizen, DGA and Directors UK member, she dots between LA and London, via NYC on occasions.
