Nora Twomey is a 46-year-old Irish animator and co-founder of the revered, Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon. She was co-director, with Tomm Moore, of 2009’s The Secret of Kells and head of story on Song of the Sea (2014), both of which were nominated for Academy Awards. Her first solo feature, The Breadwinner, is set in Kabul in 2001 and follows a young girl who disguises herself as a boy to support her family after her father is arrested by the Taliban. That, too, made this year’s shortlist for best animated film at the Oscars – not bad going for a woman who left school at 15 without completing her Leaving Certificate.

The Breadwinner was originally a 2000 novel by Deborah Ellis – you’ve said, after reading it, you felt compelled to make the film. What was it about the story that inspired that reaction?
I’ve always been aware I have an incredibly privileged job, working in a small company that makes independent films. We’re not beholden to shareholders, we’re not trying to push merchandise, and that means we can tell stories that are a little bit different. So for me, reading the character of Parvana, it was so unusual to have a young girl at the heart of a story like this. And she was so full of love and passion, but she’s written in such a realistic way. She’s also very flawed, very human – she fights with her older sister, she gets grumpy. So I guess as a mother as well, I felt excited at the idea of being able to put that on to the screen.

The Breadwinner is dominated by strong girls and women. Have you noticed a change in the film-making landscape in the light of new gender-equality movements in the industry?
I hope it’s long term and not the latest branding exercise, basically. Nora Ephron was asked what question would she wish she was never asked again and it was about being a female film director – how many years ago was that? And here I am. But I hope that the next generation don’t have to answer those questions, or it’s not unusual for a woman to direct a film, or it’s not unusual to have a female character who’s not a male interpretation of a female.

Angelina Jolie is an executive producer on The Breadwinner; what was her involvement in the film?
She became involved about five years ago and was just an incredible guiding force through the whole thing. She set up a girls’ school in Afghanistan over a decade ago, so her heart is very close to the subject matter of the film.

And she helped set the tone and sensibility, so that the film was realistic but at the same time really hopeful. Also, just encouraging our cast and our crew. She would record video messages to make sure that people saw she was watching each milestone as we hit it – whether it was completing animation or recording the voice cast or whatever. That meant a lot.

You worked in a factory after you left school. What were you doing?
The factory cut up vegetables and processed dry and frozen vegetables. So I’d sit at a conveyor belt for 12 hours – I used to work the night shift – and you’d watch the conveyor belt go by with diced vegetables and pick out the black bits, basically. But you know what, it was an incredible training for my imagination. The machinery was very loud so I had to wear earplugs and then headphones on top of the earplugs and I couldn’t talk to anybody. And I’d just make up stories and entertain myself with beginnings, middles and ends in my head for those 12 hours. When I sit at an edit machine now, it’s that same space that I enter.

And now you get to go to the Oscars. Was it a big disappointment not to win this year?
It wasn’t a surprise that Coco won; it’s a really, really beautiful film. For us, the fact our film is up there, that’s it got a light shining on it, that’s the huge win. And honestly, the year I had preceding that, it puts things in perspective. I had a cancer diagnosis during the making of the film, so if you get to finish a film, if you get to celebrate it with your crew and then you get to talk about it with the world’s press at the Academy Awards, if you get to stand up as a female film-maker when Frances McDormand asks for the female nominees in the room to stand up, then that’s a pretty good night.

Have you made a full recovery now?
Yeah, I’m working away. People talk about cures, but once a doctor says the word “cancer” to you, there’s no going back. I read up on it quite a bit and I’m under no illusions about the sneakiness of cancer. But they bought me back time. My doctors gave me back my health, so for me that’s absolutely incredible that they managed to inject me with just the right amount of poison and zap me with the right amount of radiotherapy to give me back time. Time to be making films, time to be with my children, and for that I’m eternally grateful.

The Breadwinner, a film with women’s rights at its core, is being released in the UK and Ireland on the same day as the abortion referendum in Ireland. Which way will you vote?
It’s a hugely emotional issue for all Irish people, but I’m in my mid-40s, I’ve had girlfriends go through all kinds of experiences in the last 30 years, so for me the choice has to be with the medical profession and with the women and the families who are faced with these decisions. We can’t keep exporting our problems. And that’s all that would happen. I’ve been to Argentina recently, where abortion isn’t allowed, and you realise it’s a class thing. The poorer people are left with backstreet solutions to the dilemmas they face in their lives.

What’s next for you?
I have a film in development called My Father’s Dragon. It’s based on a book that’s over 50 years old by Ruth Stiles Gannett about a young boy who argues with his mum and he goes on this adventure. It’s gorgeous – it reminds me of Roald Dahl. You’re not quite sure if it’s real or not, but he meets a best friend and his best friend happens to be a dragon.

The Breadwinner is out on 25 May