We at Animation Magazine are excited about our 7th World Animation and VFX Summit, which takes place November. 3-5 at its new venue, The Garland in North Hollywood, California. This beautiful, warm and intimate property consists of seven acres of park-like land in the heart of the “Toon Town” that surrounds the hotel. The proximity to so many of the country’s top animation and VFX studios makes it easy to start your week on Sunday night at our Gala Awards Ceremony and continue to meet and network over the next two days with people from these creative demesnes, and around the world. Perhaps you will find value in extending your stay at The Garland while you visit with some of the people you meet at the summit, who may become your future partners.
We hope to see you at the summit this year!
2019 Summit Honorees and Agenda
The seventh annual gala event will kick off on Sunday, Nov. 3 with a special cocktail reception (sponsored by Nickelodeon) at 5 p.m., followed by a gala at 7 p.m. held at The Garland. The gala will honor this year’s Hall of Fame Game-Changer award winners:
- Jill Culton, writer and director of DreamWorks/Pearl’s Abominable
Award presented by producer Suzanne Buirgy (Abominable) - Sergio Pablos, writer and director of SPA and Netflix feature Klaus
Award presented by Melissa Cobb, VP of Original Animation, Netflix - Adina Pitt, Cartoon Network’s VP of acquisitions and co-productions
Award presented by Rob Sorcher, global chief content officer, Cartoon Network - SpongeBob SquarePants, Nickelodeon’s blockbuster animated hit
Award presented to Bill Faggerback (Patrick) by Kelley Gardner, exec of current series, Nickelodeon - Marlon West,head of effects animation, Frozen II
Award presented by veteran director, producer and animator Bruce W. Smith (The Proud Family) - Mike Young, veteran animation producer and Splash Entertainment and Kabillion co-founder/partner
Award presented by Susan Young; exec director, production, Disney TV Animation
Please note: Sunday night’s awards gala is completely sold-out, but we still have tickets for Monday and Tuesday events.
Monday, Nov. 4
8:30 — 9:45 AM Registration & Networking Breakfast (Sponsored by Netflix)
10:00— 10:50 A Conversation with Kristine Belson, President, Sony Pictures Animation and Series
11:00—11:50 Independent Toon Boom in the City of Angels
12:00—12:50 The Business of Show Business
1:00—2:25 Lunch (Sponsored by DeZerlin)
2:30—3:20 Asian Power Players: A Global Co-Production Primer
3:30—4:20 The Big VFX Picture: Intersection of Art, Commerce and Tech
4:30—4:55 Afternoon Break
5:00—5:50 Your Guide to the 2019 Animation Oscar Contenders
7:00—9:00 Cocktail Party (Sponsored by Mattel, Studio Aragon, Verite, Nickelodeon, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Animation, Illumination, Splash Entertainment and Netflix)
Tuesday, Nov. 5
9:00—9:50 AM Networking Breakfast (Co-sponsored by Animation Scotland and Screen Scotland)
10:00—10:50 Primer on Today’s Canadian Animation Landscape
11:00—11:50 Brave, New Alternatives in Animation Production Pipelines
12:00—12:50 Riding the Animated Shorts Wave
1:00—2:20 Lunch (Co-sponsored by Sony Pictures Animation & Animation Magazine)
2:30—3:20 The View from Europe: Co-Pro Models, Pipelines and Funding
3:30—4:20 Blending VR Technology and Animation: The Next Chapter
4:30—5:35 How to Stand Out in a Small Screen Content World
5:45—6:35 Producing Animation with a Cause
6:45—7:45 Cocktail Hour (Sponsored by Minor Accident of War)
8:00—9:15 Animated Shorts Screening (Acid Rain, Hair Love, Marooned, Minor Accident of War, Substance, ZOG)
9:15 — 10:00 Behind-the-Scenes Shorts Panel
This year’s panelists and speakers include:
- Ken Anderson, Founder, CEO & Creative Director, Red Kite Animation
- Frank Antonelli, President, DeZerlin U.S.
- Kristine Belson, President, Features & Series, Sony Pictures Animation
- Raquel Benitez Rojas, CEO, Comet Entertainment
- Matthew Berkowitz, CCO, Thunderbird Entertainment & Atomic Cartoons
- Matt Bishop, Founder Partner, Sinking Ship Ent.
- Daniel Bort, Head of International, Fantawild
- Ettore Botta, Founder & President, SpaceWow
- Jamaal Bradley, Director, Substance
- Lenny Brown, Business Development/Creative Management, Bardel Entertainment
- Chris Butler, Director, The Missing Link, ParaNorman
- Brendan Burch, CEO, Six Point Harness
- Corey Campodonico, Co-Founder, ShadowMachine
- Ben Cawood, Senior VP of Development, DreamWorks Animation Television
- Eryk Casemiro, Senior VP Preschool, Nickelodeon
- Matthew A. Cherry, Writer/Director, Hair Love
- Jérémy Clapin, Director, I Lost My Body
- Jon Clark, Animation Studio Manager, Exceptional Minds
- Rosemary Colliver, Head of Legal & Business Affairs, ShadowMachine
- Jill Culton, Writer/Director, Abominable
- Eric Darnell, Co-Founder/Director, Baobab Studios
- Mo Davoudian, Creative Director & CEO, Brain Zoo Studios
- Dean DeBlois, Director, How to Train Your Dragon trilogy
- John Derevlany, Writer, Creator & Showrunner
- Andy Erekson, Director, Marooned
- Federico Fiecconi, Founder & CEO, GraFFiti
- Josh Fisher, Producer
- Mike Ford, VP of Software Development at Sony Imageworks
- Sherry Gunther-Shugerman, Co-founder, SurfPop Studios
- Chris Hamilton, President/Creative Director, Oddbot
- Dirk Hampel, Founder & CEO, B Water Studios
- Anttu Harlin, Co-Founder & CEO, Gigglebug Entertainment
- Bob Higgins, Exec VP of Kids & Family Content, Boat Rocker Studios
- James Jacobs, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Ziva Dynamics
- Ben Kalina, COO/Supervising Producer, Titmouse, Inc.
- Christopher Keenan, SVP Global Content & Executive Producer, Mattel, Inc.
- Tatiana Kober, President, Bejuba! Entertainment
- Barry Kotler, TV Literary Agent, CAA
- Cort Lane, Senior VP, Marvel Animation & Family Entertainment
- Max Lang, Director; Zog, Room on the Broom, The Gruffalo
- Grant Moran, Founder, KEPYR
- Sergio Pablos, Founder, Sergio Pablos Animation Studios; Writer/Director, Klaus
- Damián Perea Lezcano, Director/Producer, International Summit & Festival Animayo
- Adina Pitt, VP, Content Acquisitions & Co-Productions, Cartoon Network
- Michael Polis, Producer/CEO/Exec Producer, Toybox Ent.
- Frédéric Puech, Partner/CCO, Something Big; CEO, PlayBig
- Jake L. Rowell, Director and Art Director
- Frank Saperstein, President, Partner & Exec Producer, Yeti Farm
- Ethan Shaftel, Director
- Derek Spears, VFX Supervisor/Creative Director, Pixomondo
- Piotr Szczepanowicz, Producer, Acid Rain
- Jermaine Turner, Exec Director, Development, Disney Television Animation
- Annette van Duren, Owner, Annette van Duren Agency
- Rene Veilleux, Co-Founder & CEO, Verite Entertainment
- Chris Waters, Head of Development, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
- Vernon Wilbert, Creative Director & VFX Supervisor, Method Studios
- Daniel Weidenfeld, Senior VP, Animation, FOX Entertainment
- Jennifer Wolfe, Journalist
- Femke Wolting, Founder & Managing Director, Submarine
- Bruce Wright, Effects Animator, Walt Disney Animation Studios
- Andy Yeatman, Head of America, Moonbug
- Aiken Zou, CEO/Founder, AHA Entertainment
For more info, visit www.animationmagazine.net/summit.
