On October 29, I was invited as a guest speaker and presenter for the animated film. A Cat in Paris (Une vie de chat) by French directors Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagno. It is an Academy-Award nominated adventure film is a unique mix of genres, beautifully hand-drawn caper set in a stylized and vibrant Paris.

This year marked the 46th SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques) in Los Angeles, the heart of the CG industry. My participation this year is slightly different than usual… I was more active in panels, studio visits as well as alumni outreach… Here are the highlights!

I still can't believe this is actually happening, this new chapter of my career and life. Thank you, School of Visual Arts and all my colleagues as well as friends in the animation community. Let's paint this world with colors of all the amazing stories we are going to tell together.

My presentation is called “Bridging the Gap between Animation Industry and Education” where I got to share what my experience has been like working at School of Visual Arts as an educator and my take on working with the animation industry leaders, recruiters, and artists on fostering talent.

This is my seventh year attending Annecy and the eighth year where SVA was represented. Over the years, I've witnessed the tremendous growth in the festival in terms of the number of attendees, the variety of the film premieres and selections and the industry's undivided attention to the animation lovers. Sitting in the theatre should-to-shoulder with people who share the same passion as you about animation is the best feeling ever. We cheer, we cry, and we clap at the same time. These are the moments that remind us, as educators, why we do what we do. We want to bring this worldly perspective back to SVA and we also want to bring our unique voices of SVA talents to all corners of the world.