Just after International Women’s Day, Corus Entertainment’s animation studio Nelvana teamed up with WIA Vancouver (Women in Animation) to present an important conversation about how to uplift and empower women in animation. The virtual panel, moderated by Rhona Rees, touched on all facets of animation creation, from development to production.
The “Girl Power” talk featured panelists Athena Georgaklis, VP of Nelvana Studios; Melissa Graham, Nelvana’s new Director of Production; Nneka Myers, Design Artist at Nelvana; and Emily Choi, Character & Prop Supervisor. Watch it below:
Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF, laliff.org) took place May 31 – June 4, at the TCL Chinese Theatre and TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood, presenting a lineup of feature films, short films, episodic works, animation, master classes, panels, networking sessions and musical performances. Actor, director & producer Edward James Olmos, founder of LALIFF, closed out the festival by announcing this year’s award winners. Animation honorees include:
- The 2023 Spark Animation Grant Sponsored by Netflix (previously announced): Alec Castillo, Danna Galeano, Sandra Suarez
- Best Episodic Short Award Presented by FX: Astropackers, created by Luisa Velasquez and Felipe Rodriguez
- Best Animated Short Film Award Presented by LatinX in Animation (LXiA): Blanket of Words, directed by Carlos Zerpa, Jacobo Albán and Beltrán Pérez
- Special Jury Award for Directing Animation: Lucky Brave Sunshine, directed by Chogrin (Joseph Game) and Ichi (Andres Aguilar)
Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC, cartooncrossroadscolumbus.org) has announced its featured guests for the 2023 festival running September 27 – October 1 in Columbus, Ohio. “Come Fall in Columbus, everyone who loves cartoons is joyous, because CXC brings the best and the brightest in the fields of animation, comics, graphic novels, political cartoons and comic strips to our fair city!” said Jeff Smith, co-founder of the festival and creator of the graphic novel series Bone, “And this year is going to be star-studded!”
The 9th annual festival will feature:
- Daniel Clowes, a Harvey, Eisner, Ignatz and PEN America Literary Award winner best known for Eightball and Ghost World. Clowes will be debuting his long-awaited new GN, Monica, at CXC–the only festival he’ll be attending this year.
- Raina Telgemeier, cartoonist of the graphic novels Smile, Drama, Sisters, Ghosts and Guts, all #1 New York Times bestsellers. Raina’s appearance at CXC coincides with her retrospective exhibition, Facing Feelings: The Art of Raina Telgemeier, at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum from May 24–November 5.
- Keito Gaku, traveling from Japan, is artist and author of Boys Run the Riot, a critically lauded manga about a transgender high school boy, inspired by his own life. Gaku-sensei’s appearance at CXC will be his first appearance at a comics event in the United States.
- Brenda Chapman, the first woman to direct an animated feature from a major studio, DreamWorks Animation’s The Prince of Egypt. She also co-directed and wrote the Disney/Pixar film Brave and worked as a story artist on The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.
- Jeff Smith, writer and artist of comics and graphic novels Bone, RASL and Tuki and co-founder of CXC. This will be Jeff’s only comics festival appearance in Ohio.
- Derf Backderf, Ohio-native cartoonist best known for his memoir comic My Friend Dahmer and newest release, Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio.
- Chris Sprouse, comics artist known for his work on DC and Marvel comics, including Batman, Justice League, Black Panther and Thor and his work as co-creator of Tom Strong.
- Shelly Bond, comic-book editor known for her two decades at DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint where she edited Eisner winning titles such as Fables and The Sandman: Overture. She is the creator, editor and curator of the BLACK CROWN and OFF REGISTER imprints, and served as editor of Bitter Root, Elementals and Punks Not Dead.
- John Jennings, Hugo Award winner and New York Times bestselling author. He is also the editor and curator for MEGASCOPE, an imprint of Abrams focusing on speculative and nonfiction works by and about people of color.
- M.S. Harkness, Columbus-based autobiographical cartoonist releasing a new book, Time Under Tension, published by Fantagraphics.
- Raeghan Buchanan, Columbus-based illustrator, writer and musician known for her work exploring Black heritage, including The Secret History of Black Punk: Record Zero published by Silver Sprocket.
TMS Entertainment has announced they will be presenting a panel for the upcoming anime adaptation of the Shonen Jump series Undead Unluck at this year’s Anime Expo (anime-expo.org). Voice actors Natsuki Hanae (Shen) and Moe Kahara (Fuuko Izumo), as well as manga editor Takumi Hashimoto and anime producer Ryota Hasegawa will appear as special guests on the panel on Sunday, July 2 from 1:30 p.m. in the Main Events area of the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The panel event will provide U.S. audiences a first look at the highly anticipated anime adaptation of Yoshifumi Tozuka’s Undead Unluck, from UNLIMITED PRODUCE by TMS in collaboration with animation studio david production (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Fire Force, Cells at Work!). The program will feature a discussion and Q&A with the guests along with video commentary from voice actor Yuichi Nakamura (Andy), followed by an exclusive premiere of an unreleased preview of the show. A trivia and giveaway contest hosted by the cast will proceed the panel. All attendees will also receive an Anime Expo exclusive Undead Unluck fan specially designed for the panel.
Synopsis: What happens when an unlucky girl meets an undead guy? Pure chaos!
Tired of inadvertently killing people with her special ability Unluck, Fuuko Izumo sets out to end it all. But when she meets Andy, a man who longs for death but can’t die, she finds a reason to live—and he finds someone capable of giving him the death he’s been longing for. (Watch the trailer.)
SCAD AnimationFest (scad.edu), the university’s celebration of all things digital media, will be held September 28 – 30 in Atlanta, Georgia. The event showcases the latest trends, groundbreaking work and top animated content across film, television, gaming, social media and more.
Highlights of this year’s event include an opening night screening of Minions: The Rise of Gru followed by a curated conversation with Illumination studio, a presentation by designer Julien Fournié on Fashion in the Metaverse, screenings of Emmy-winning Ault Swim series Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal (followed by a presentation by Paris animation house Studio La Cachette) and award-winning feature Little Nicholas: Happy As Can Be, and, of course, the SCAD Student Showcase displaying some of the year’s best student work from the animation program. Additional to be announced this summer.
Anibar Animation Festival (anibar.org) has unveiled its 14th edition theme: “Love | Dashni.” From July 17 – 23, adoring animation fans will flock to Peja, Kosovo to see love take center stage, imbuing the event with vibrant color and heartfelt emotion. The festival also debuted its official poster and trailer for 2023, created by award-winning Estonian animation director Sander Joon (Sierra).
“In a world often consumed by chaos and division, we seek to remind ourselves and everyone that love knows no boundaries and as such, it cannot be defined! But fear not, this is not a realm of clichés or saccharine sweetness. We delve into the many dimensions of love, shedding light on its complexities and unveiling its diverse manifestations …
“Join us as we embrace the multifaceted nature of love, a force that transcends language and speaks to the core of our humanity. Let's celebrate the myriad ways love influences our lives, ignites our souls, and inspires us to be better, both individually and as a society.”
