Check back soon for 2024 schedule updates!
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Registration and Networking Breakfast
Matthew A Cherry: From Oscar-Winning Short to Hit Family Series
Writer-director-producer Matthew A. Cherry, who won an Oscar for his 2019 short “Hair Love”, discusses his latest project, the acclaimed animated series “Young Love”, which debuted on Max in September. The talented creator will talk about his inspirations, challenges and the art of developing a successful animated series based on the short, which tackles the issues faced by an everyday Black millennial family pursuing their dreams in the big city.
Matthew A. Cherry
Dan Abraham and Trent Correy: Recreating 100 Years of Disney Magic
In the new short “Once Upon a Studio”, Dan Abraham and Trent Correy bring back 543 characters from more than 85 features and shorts from Disney’s archives. The talented directors will talk about their inspirations for this massive undertaking and how they were able to bring back some of the studio’s biggest animators and voice actors for this poignant valentine to the Mouse House.
Trent Correy
Dan Abraham
Meet Today's Comics-to-Animation Masters
From the early days of animation, comic-book properties have been a great source of inspiration for the art form. This year, animated content based on “Superman”, “Spider-Man”, “Peanuts”, “Batman”, “The Smurfs”, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Invincible” continue this tradition. In this informative panel, we’ll talk to some of the talented animation visionaries who are behind some of these latest adaptations and find out the ins and outs of adapting beloved comic-book properties for today’s audiences.
Steve Loter
Simon Racioppa
Raymond S. Persi
Mike Roth
Mark Hoffmeier
Spotlight on Scotland's Animation
Find out more about what’s happening in Scotland’s thriving animation sector and meet internationally acclaimed Scottish talent and studios. Scotland is globally celebrated for its creative and technical excellence in animation, VFX and video games. This session will give you the opportunity to meet some of Scotland’s most exciting and internationally acclaimed animation talent & studios and find out more about their latest projects. It will also provide an insight into the latest developments in the sector and what opportunities there are to work with and partner in Scotland.
Tom Bryant
Sueann Rochester
Richard Scott
Rhona Drummond
David Smith
Networking Lunch (Sponsored by Animation Scotland)
Business of Show Business
This eclectic panel on various current business and professional aspects of the animation and VFX world will highlight important things every studio owner, producer and artist needs to know. Panelists will offer tips on how to protect your animation ideas, copyrights, digital rights, sales and licensing rights, including attracting financial investors, as well as some of the latest technology solutions to help you up your game.
Troy Underwood
Richard Frankie
Rachel Artmont
Peter McHugh
How to Find the Right Global Partners
Animation studios and production companies around the world are teaming up with international partners to create visually stunning projects. Many of these studios were able to take advantage of the new work-from-home paradigm to reach out to new artists and talent. Join some of today’s big players in the international animation scene who will share their success stories and offer advice on how to find the right resources and financing, expand your goals and up your productivity by teaming up with the right co-producers around the world.
Tatiana Krokar
Sandrine Nguyễn Tiết
Robert Jaczczurowski
Matt Berkowitz
Lindsay Watson
Andrew Davies
Awards Feature Contenders
If you’d like to meet some of the major creative forces behind some of the best-loved and acclaimed animated movies of the year, this is the right spot for you. Find out the behind-the-scenes secrets and development/production successes and headaches of some of 2023’s award season contenders.
Troy Quane
Sam Fell
Ramin Zahed
Nick Bruno
Kirk DeMicco
Kemp Powers
Justin K. Thompson
Joaquim Dos Santos
Benjamin Renner
Awards Feature Contenders
Part 2
Walt Dohrn
Ramin Zahed
Peter Sohn
Michael Jelenic
David Wachtenheim
Chris Buck
admin
Hall of Fame Awards Cocktail Party
Hall of Fame Awards Gala
Thursday November 2, 2023
Networking Breakfast by Animation from Spain (ICEX)
Peter Sohn: The Art of Making the Personal Experience Universal
Pixar veteran Peter Sohn chronicles his challenging and rewarding journey of helming the studio’s summer release “Elemental”, which became one of the biggest underdog box office champions of the year. The director will discuss the importance of the immigrant experience, bringing personal perspectives to animated stories, pushing the technological envelope with each title, and the art of creating animated movies that resonate with today’s demanding audiences.
Peter Sohn
Jim Capobianco: Realizing an Indie Passion Project in Stop-Motion
Oscar-nominated writer-director Jim Capobianco (Ratatouille) shares the long, creative journey of realizing his passion project “The Inventor”. The former Pixar veteran discusses how he realized his vision for the well-received stop-motion/2D hybrid movie, which follows the adventures of Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci after he left Italy for France. He shares practical advice on how to stay true to your artistic vision while pursuing an independent project that doesn’t quite fit the mold of what big studios are looking for today.
Jim Capobianco
AI: Helpful Tool or Dangerous Adversary?
AI has emerged as one of the most divisive and possibly impactful technologies of the year. Many industry professionals are issuing warnings about the dangers of using it to replace creative jobs in animation, but others are praising its potentials and seeing it as providing possible new options for smaller companies and indie animation outfits. We’ll talk to some of the experts in the field to find out more about the future implications of AI to get a more grounded understanding of the potential dangers and possibilities of the technology.
Gordon Midwood
Evan Baily
Eric Day
Dirk Hampel
Carl Reed
What’s Hot and What’s Not: Animation Execs Tell You How to Up Your Game!
2023 has been quite a challenging year for animation for both traditional outlets and the streamers and everyone tries to hang on to their audiences as competition continues to grow and everyone feels the impact of the writers and actors strikes, the latest mergers and the tough economic times. We will catch up with some of the top animation professionals to find out how these trying times have impacted the way they do business and what kind of animated projects they are seeking from the creative animation community and producers worldwide.
Stacy Kim
Sander Schwartz
Kari Kim
Julian Malagon
Dave Jargowsky
Networking Lunch
Making Toons for Tots: Spotlight on New Preschool Shows
2023 has been quite a fruitful year in the preschool animation landscape as several top-quality new shows have premiered on various streamers and cable and linear outlets. We’ll spotlight some of the show-runners behind these to understand how they created, developed and produced the shows, and highlight some of the key steps you need to take to bring an inclusive, creative, inspiring and entertaining animated show to today’s preschool audiences and their parents.
Tom Warburton
Stephanie Simpson
Rachel Larsen
Olubunmi Mia Olufemi
Karen Idelson
Guy Toubes
Sharing the Best Apple Recipes
We will catch up with some of the top creative players at Apple TV+ to find out about their latest animated shows, how they put together their acclaimed series and what they look for in projects that appeal to their audiences worldwide. The show-runners will also discuss the challenges of their jobs and share the secrets of producing top-notch children and family programs in a highly competitive field. Features shows are “Shape Island”, Peanuts co-view specials, “Frog and Toad”, “Stillwater” and “Jane”.
Rob Hoegee
Raymond S. Persi
Ramin Zahed
Mac Barnett
Kelli Bixler
Jon Klassen
J. J. Johnson
Drew Hodges
Welcome to the Age of Adult Animation
With the massive success of several shows, adult animation has opened new doors of opportunity for creators who want to push the medium beyond what has traditionally been the territory of family entertainment. What are some of the challenges and rewards of producing animated content for a sophisticated, adult audience who is expecting top-quality material? How do you push the comedy envelope without becoming offensive and insensitive to segments of the audience? How much violence is considered too much for today’s viewers? We will talk to some of the show runners, development execs and creators to find out more about the next stage in this expanding and exciting area of the business.
Zach Hadel
Steve Levy
Sean Buckelew
Michael Cusack
Jennifer Wolfe
Jane Wu
Shorts Cocktail Party
Award Season Shorts Screening
The Year’s Top Shorts in the Spotlight
We will chat with some of this year’s top awards’ season contenders acclaimed animated shorts producers/directors to learn more about the latest trends and strategies to increase exposure in this fast-growing area of the animation business. How can you make festival and awards season exposure work for you as an animated shorts director and producer?
Tal Kantor
Ramin Zahed
Mitra Shahidi
John Musker
Janice Nadeau
Flóra Anna Buda
Ethan Barrett
Damián Perea
Andrew Ruhemann
Andreas Deja
Trent Correy
Dan Abraham
Friday November 3, 2023
Networking Breakfast
Breakfast with DreamWorks Animation's Chief Creative Officer, TV, Peter Gal
The talented animation veteran discusses a decade of making acclaimed series for the studio and shares his recipes for success and vision for the future.
Peter Gal
The Art of Being Vivienne Medrano!
The popular animator, writer, illustrator, comic creator and voice actress discusses the creation of her adult animated series “Hazbin Hotel”, which will premiere on Prime Video in January 2024. She will offer anecdotes on adapting original concepts for today’s streaming audiences, and impart knowledge on what it takes to self-start in this industry.
Vivienne Medrano
Riding the Wave of the Future: New Animation Trends That Can Boost Your Career
Let’s face it: the old model of selling and producing 11- and 22-minute animated shows is completely kaput. Buyers and even viewers have lately forsaken these traditional formats. So what’s a creator to do? Stop living in the 20th century and meet some forward-thinking producers who are finding success and viewers in innovative new formats and non-traditional platforms. When one format dies, a dozen new ones rise up to replace it. Come embrace the future of the animated series in this lively (and optimistic) discussion.
Walid Omar
John Derevlany
David Levy
Daisy Wall
Your 2023-2024 Animation Biz Survival Primer!
This past year has been quite a challenging one for everyone who works in the animation business. With the threat of AI looming in the horizon, we take a hard look at what animation industry hopefuls, professionals and veterans need to know about surviving the rough patches and realizing their career dreams. Our panel of animation pros will discuss the skills you definitely need to have to thrive in a highly competitive field. This helpful session will offer tips on making yourself more hirable and attractive to potential studio execs, how to be a better indie animation producer or creator, important steps you need to take after being laid off, and how to maximize your potential at a time when fewer entities are willing to take risks on unknown commodities. We promise you’ll feel better about your future after attending this session!
Josh Fisher
Fred Seibert
Frank Falcone
Camille Eden
Ben Jones
Adrianna Cohen
Lunch Panel
Women In Animation: Redefining Risk and Failure for Equitable Creative Leadership in Animation
In the creative world, risk and failure are inherent and often celebrated as catalysts for innovation and growth. However, what happens when these experiences are viewed through the lens of equity? This panel aims to deepen the conversation by examining the inequitable effects of success and failure, particularly for creative leaders who are historically underrepresented in the animation industry. How can we reframe risk and failure to create a more equitable industry?
Mary Coleman
Mandy Tankenson
Lauren Faust
Ellen Poon
Camille Eden
“It's LEO Season : A conversation with LEO directors Robert Marianetti and David Wachtenheim
Animation veterans Robert Marianetti and David Watchtenheim take us behind the scenes of their new animated movie, Leo, offering us insights into the animation and creative process behind Netflix’s endearing holiday movie, featuring Adam Sandler as the voice of a 74-year-old lizard who decides to escape from his life in a Florida classroom.
Robert Marianetti
David Wachtenheim
Revisiting the Year of the Comeback Brands
“Barbie” wasn’t the only classic brand that had an amazing year with audiences. We’ll take a look at some of the beloved classic animation and toy brands that were revamped and re-introduced over the past year. We’ll talk to some of the creative forces behind these hot animated properties to find out the best ways to re-introduce a class property to a new generation of fans on the small and the big screens. They’ll also discuss some of the challenges and pitfalls of trying to modernize an evergreen property for a modern audience.
Sadaf Muncy
Rob Hudnut
Rob David
Erin Gibson
Claudia Spinelli
Future Trendwatching: Helpful Tips for Savvy Content Producers
How are some of the animation development execs and gatekeepers adapting to the fast-changing viewing habits of young audiences today? We’ll talk to some of the top decision-makers at various studios to find out which key trends are impacting their day-to-day development and acquisitions strategies? How are they tapping into the creative forces of the DIY Roblox generation, and what are some of their tips for animators and creative producers making content for the next wave of fans and consumers in the next few years?
Leanne Preston Cortez
Jason Caparaz
Dan Clark
Anthony Leo
Picture This!
We can’t think of a better way to celebrate the wonderful marriage between comedy and animation than Picture This!, the ONLY live animated comedy show where your favorite comedians and the animators collaborate to bring their jokes to life. Get ready to be blown away by the art and comedy of Ashlyn Anstee (“Eva the Owlet”, “Adventure Time”), Alex Salyer (“Big Mouth”, “BoJack Horseman”), Mike L. Mayfield (“Big Mouth”, “The Midnight Gospel”), Mike Hollingsworth (“BoJack Horseman”, “Tuca & Bertie”) and Sam Varela.