Where Animation Takes me in 2023 - France, Kosovo and Ecuador

“We are where animation happens” is a philosophy deeply rooted in my career and for the team I lead. The year of 2023 is no exception because animation has taken me on a world tour in familiar parts and foreign lands where I met the most kind souls who also share the same passion for animation.

Annecy International Animation Film Festival

In June, I traveled to Annecy, France, for the annual Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which this year attracted over 16,000 attendees from 102 countries. My participation included attending master classes, world-premiere and competition screenings, panel discussions and many networking events. With Mexico being the festival’s 2023 country spotlight, a number of the events celebrated Mexican animation.

The week kicked off with the WIA (Women in Animation) World Summit. WIA is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering and advocating for people of underrepresented gender identities in the art, technology, production and business of animation. Its summit theme this year was “Break the Box: Gender and Leadership,” and writer and comics artist Molly Ostertag (BFA 2014 Illustration) participated in the event’s Authentic Storytelling panel. I was also part of an Annecy Mifa Campus panel discussion, “The Art of Finding Your Dream Job: From Student to Professional in the Animation Industry,” for which I was joined by industry pros Stephane Biava, Joan Da Silva and Tran Ma, along with the moderator Stephanie Hayot, of ArtStation/Epic Games.

Anibar International Animation Festival

In July, I was invited to participate in Kosovo’s Anibar International Animation Festival as a juror for the International Short Film and Feature Film competition categories. My fellow jurors included industry pros Claus Toksvig Kjaer, Chris Robinson, Alice Saey and Anastasiya Verlinskaya. I also ran a three-hour master class, “Portfolio and Pitch—Kickstarting You and Your Animation”, about navigating the different stages of an animation career. This event was one of the most life-changing experience because of how tightly knitted the community of jurors and participants was. The festival and program were designed in the most thoughtful way that everyone felt inclusive. Life-time friendships were formed with hearts and smiles.

Anímate 2D23

In September, I was invited to be a part of Anímate 2D23, hosted at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. This three-day festival brought together an international group of animation experts, emerging artists and studios. Speakers and panelists included Tim Dillnutt, Axur Eneas, Tomás Kiyoshi, Lina Porras and Alonso Jose Vega Peña Vizcardo. In addition to leading the master class “Bridging the Gap between Education and the Animation Industry”, I hosted two afternoons of portfolio reviews where she met with local talent and gave them constructive feedback on improving their work and taking the next step in their career.

The trip was possible because a personal invite by Gaby Chavez (MFA 2015 Computer Art), who attended SVA on scholarship before returning to her home country of Ecuador to teach and work in the industry. “I am now a teacher at USFQ, the top university in Ecuador and one of the highest-ranked institutions in South America,” she says. “It has been an honor to share the knowledge I gained during my MFA Computer Art program at SVA and contribute to the animation industry. This event broadens our horizons as educators, helps elevate the industry and inspires students to dream big.”