MASTER SERIES 2024
June 1, 2024
Reliance Theatre
Emily Carr University of Art + Design
520 East 1st Avenue
Vancouver · Canada
Terabyte Sponsor
Megabyte Sponsors
Kilobyte Sponsors
Byte Sponsors
Partners
Alliance Partner
MASTER SERIES 2024
TOP LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES WITH INDUSTRY NINJAS
June 1, 2024
WELCOME
You’ve got a great idea, great characters, and you’re ready to pitch it all to a studio! Now what? This is the experience of every great artist trying to tell their story.
Join Spark CG Society for a fascinating look inside the mind and life of Jorge R. Gutiérrez, creator and director of El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, The Book of Life and Maya and The Three.
Jorge is a master storyteller. In this Master Series, you will hear how Jorge overcame each and every challenge by staying modest, paying tribute to his Mexican roots, and loving his muse while successfully pitching his projects. Not to be missed.
 |
BE THE BUZZ! Download this stunning poster by Jorge and display it proudly at home, school, or work. Let its vibrant design add a touch of flair to your surroundings and spark those around you. Just remember to ask for permission before hanging in public spaces! Size: 11" x 17" Format: JPG Weight: 3 MB Download Poster >> |
The Book of Life ©2014 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.
Saturday - June 1, 9:30 AM
MASTER SERIES
WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE!! SECRETS OF THE SUPER-MACHO
with Jorge R. Gutiérrez · moderated by Keith Blackmore
OUTLINE
Join Jorge R. Gutiérrez as he narrates his hilarious and epic journey as a confused animation student from Mexico to an even more confused Annie and Emmy-winning creator and feature film director at Netflix. Has Jorge found his calling? “Or am I going to be the only chubby and mustached taco stand guy in Tijuana who knows how to animate?” We have no doubt Gutiérrez will show future aspiring animation professionals the way forward.
Maya and The Three ©2021 Netflix. All rights reserved.
|
Session 1 LEMONS INTO LEMONADE Gutiérrez discusses how his family, work ethic, neurodivergence (he was diagnosed with Autism at age 40), love of his Mexican pop and folk culture, and even his love of failure — became the factors to his success. “The easy path in life, that’s the macho path. The hard path, yes, amigos, that is the super-macho path.” |
|
Session 2 KEEPING TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE A deep dive into the making of Nickelodeon series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera and the Netflix miniseries Maya and the Three. Both series won nine Emmy total. How studios attempted to steer his vision into entirely different directions and yet Gutierrez was able to steer them to success. Gutiérrez will also share, for the first time, many multiple failed series bibles and pilots. “Every good thing that’s ever happened to us was thanks to something bad happening before, so now I look forward to the bad stuff, because I know something good is coming after.” |
|
Session 3 WHAT IS IT WITH MEXICANS AND DEATH? Gutiérrez will detail the fourteen years in the making of The Book of Life. He will also share a little from his other feature projects including: The LEGO Movie Billion Brick Race, Space Punch (his kung-fu space western) and I, Chihuahua (currently at Netflix). The endless battle to be uniquely cultural specific, yet having universal appeal. You are not going to want to miss this one! |
|
Session 4 |
I, Chihuahua ©2023 Netflix. All rights reserved.
BIOGRAPHIES
Director // Independent
(Maya and the Three, The Book of Life, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera)
Emmy and Annie Award-winning Jorge R. Gutiérrez is a Mexican animator, painter, voice actor, writer and director. A CalArts Experimental Animation BFA and MFA graduate, Gutiérrez has completed various films, cartoons, and paintings exploring his love affair with Mexican pop and folk culture.
Gutiérrez was the Director and Co-Writer of the Guillermo del Toro produced animated feature The Book of Life, which earned him a 2014 Golden Globe Award nomination. Along with his wife and muse, Sandra Equihua, they created the multiple Emmy Award-winning animated series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera for Nickelodeon. Gutiérrez most recently created, wrote, and directed the event series Maya and the Three for Netflix which won 2 Annie Awards, and won 4 Emmys. Gutiérrez is currently writing and directing a Netflix-animated feature named I, Chihuahua with Gabriel ”Fluffy“ Iglesias.
Border Bang ©2018 Jorge R. Gutiérrez. All rights reserved.
Vancouver-born and raised, Keith Blackmore is a passionate supporter for all things animated in the Vancouver area. A producer for the SPARK ANIMATION Festival, Keith has presented, interviewed and moderated at many festivals and studios. Most recently, he was on the Film Jury for the 2022 Taiwan International Student Design Competition, the largest student design competition around the world. Keith is also the host of the monthly Vancouver Civic Theatres’ film series, Silent Movie Mondays, at the opulent and historic Orpheum Theatre.
Besides his work with the Spark CG Society, Keith continues to educate and inspire students at the Vancouver Film School, in his weekly History of Animation classes.
© 2024 · Spark CG Society