Adel loves nothing better than watching films and analyzing how colour, lighting, style and movement have all been used to achieve the tone and emotion of a scene. “Whatever the medium, it is inspiring when an idea is well crafted with particular attention to detail.”

With over 20 years of experience in VFX and Animation, much of it in roles as Lighting Supervisor and Director of Photography, Adel has an exceptional eye for lighting and extensive experience collaborating across multiple departments at the heart of the creative process. In 2025, Adel embarked on the Skydance production Ray Gunn, directed by Brad Bird.

Adel’s previous credits include Avatar, Hotel Transylvania, The Addams Family, Space Jam: A New Legacy and Iwájù. A career highlight for him was working with director Mark Osborne on the animated fantasy adventure The Little Prince.

Amanda Strong is an Indigenous filmmaker, media artist and stop motion director currently based in Vancouver. She is the owner and director of Spotted Fawn Productions, an animation and media-based studio that creates short films, commercial projects, and workshops. Amanda’s work explores ideas of blood memory and Indigenous ideology. Her background in photography, illustration and media extends into her award-winning stop-motion animations. Her films Indigo and Mia' challenge conventional structures of storytelling in cinema and have screened internationally, most notably at Cannes, TIFF, VIFF, and OAIF. Amanda has received numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and the NFB, most recently the recipient of the Vancouver Mayors Arts Awards for Emerging Film.

Anastasiia Platoshyna is a Ukrainian-Canadian artist and lead based in Vancouver. She moved to Canada at 17 to pursue her dream of being an artist in animation.

After graduating from Sheridan College in 2018, Anastasiia started her career in the background department at Titmouse Animation. In a few years, she settled into a full-time character designer role. With over 8 years in the industry, her experience ranges from character design to art direction in both TV and feature. Before joining Netflix Animation Studios in 2023, Anastasiia designed characters for NIGHT OF THE ZOOPOCALYPSE at House of Cool.

Anastasiia’s latest work as a character art director is on the soon-to-be-released animated feature, STEPS.

Coming soon.

Coming soon.

Benoit Dubuc is LAIKA’s Head of CG Animation, supervising both Facial Animation and VFX Animation on LAIKA’s newest film, WILDWOOD. Benoit joined LAIKA in 2015 as Facial Animation Supervisor and received two Visual Effects Society awards for his work on the studio’s MISSING LINK. Prior to LAIKA, his VFX and animation credits include THE MARTIAN, SEVENTH SON, X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST and WRATH OF THE TITANS.

Brad Bird is an Academy Award–winning American film director, screenwriter, producer, and voice actor whose work has shaped some of the most successful and influential films. Known for his distinct creative voice, Bird combines emotional storytelling, humour, and large-scale action in films that connect with audiences around the world.

Bird is one of the few filmmakers to achieve major success across both animation and live action, from THE INCREDIBLES and RATATOUILLE to MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL.

Brian McLean has been part of LAIKA’s history since the very beginning. He was awarded a Scientific and Technology Oscar® plaque in 2016 for pioneering the use of 3D printers in stop-motion animated characters. In 2017, he was nominated for a Visual Effects Oscar® for his contributions to KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, only the second time the Academy has ever honoured an animated film in that category. In 2009, McLean won an Annie Award™ for Special Achievement in Animation for his work on CORALINE and, following the release of PARANORMAN, was named by Variety as one of 2012's "Animation Elite.”

Dallas is a CG Lighter and former Co-Captain of the Black BERG at LAIKA Studios. They began their journey into animation as a TD Intern in the Pixar Undergraduate Program. In 2023, they graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design and became a CG Lighting Intern at LAIKA. They are now a mid-level CG Lighter and have been working on WILDWOOD (2026) for the past 3 years.

Additionally, Dallas enjoys spending their free time volunteering to mentor up-and-coming undergraduate artists in animation and VFX.

Daniel Pozo is a Head of Character Animation at Sony Pictures Imageworks, most recently completing work on GOAT.

His Imageworks credits also include SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA, VIVO, the Academy Award®-nominated OVER THE MOON, THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2, SMALLFOOT, THE EMOJI MOVIE, SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE, THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE, STORKS, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2, and the original HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA.

Pozo previously served in animation roles at Mikros Animation, Double Negative, Framestore, and Animal Logic. He worked on projects such as THE LITTLE PRINCE, LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE, and more.

He received a diploma in 3D animation from the Computer Graphics College Sydney.

Daniel Chong is the director of Disney•Pixar’s feature film HOPPERS, which was released in theatres on 6 March 2026. He is also the creator of the Emmy-nominated Cartoon Network series WE BARE BEARS, which ran for four seasons and led to a feature-length film and spin-off series.

Daniel joined Pixar Animation Studios in February 2009 as a story artist and has contributed to several shorts, specials, and feature films, including CARS TOONS, TOY STORY OF TERROR! — for which he won an Annie Award for Storyboarding — and the Academy Award®-winning feature INSIDE OUT. Prior to joining Pixar, he worked as a story artist for Walt Disney Feature Animation, Blue Sky, Nickelodeon, and Illumination.

Raised in Orange County, California, Daniel earned a BFA from Cal State Long Beach and also attended the California Institute of the Arts. He currently lives in Berkeley, California, USA.

David Conlon is LAIKA’s Lead Look Development Artist, focusing on complex materials and shading workflows, improving pipelines and tools while building teams where talented artists can do their best work and have a shared commitment to quality. David joined LAIKA in 2022 for our newest stop motion adventure, WILDWOOD.

David brings over 20 years of experience in look development, surfacing, lighting, and compositing for VFX and animated features. He enjoys developing materials and shading workflows, creating production solutions, and partnering with pipeline developers to turn artists’ needs into practical solutions.

Originally from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Denver Jackson is a self-taught animator and visual effects artist who got his start making films in high school before emigrating to Canada with his parents. As a filmmaker, he leans heavily on the fantastical while still being grounded by real-world characters and situations.

He works in both live-action and animated films, blending the conventions of both mediums to create his own unique style, and is known to write, direct, film, edit, and animate almost entirely on his own. The Wishing Jar (2016) has screened around the world, including at three Academy Award-qualifying festivals and won Best Animated Film at both San Diego Comic Con International Film Festival and Heartland Film Festival, while his first animated short film Cloudrise (2013) cut through the 400 hours of content uploaded every minute on Vimeo to become a prestigious Vimeo Staff Pick. He wrote, directed and animated three feature-length projects from a webseries (Esluna: The First Monolith) to two feature films (Esluna: The Crown of Babylon and Esluna: The Worlds Divide).

The Crown of Babylon premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival, while The Worlds Divide went on to screen at Annecy, Sitges and the Ottawa Animation Film Festival.

Coming soon.

Emilie Bach Nielsen graduated from The Animation Workshop in her home country of Denmark in 2019 and has been with Cartoon Saloon since then. She has worked in a range of different creative roles in Cartoon Saloon, including as Final Line Artist on the Oscar®-nominated feature film, WOLFWALKERS (2020), and on MY FATHER’S DRAGON (2022), first as a Location Designer and Scene Illustrator, and subsequently as Assistant Art Director.

Eric Cheung is an Animation Supervisor with over 22 years of experience in the industry. His approach is rooted in a focus on energy and expressive shape language, ensuring that every performance is both visually dynamic and emotionally sincere.

Most recently, Eric served as Animation Supervisor on the feature film RAY GUNN, directed by Brad Bird. Prior to this, he led the animation team through the unique “sketchbook” aesthetic of TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM, overseeing the translation of the film’s raw, adolescent energy into key sequences like the high-octane Splinter fight.

With a career spanning diverse styles and formats, Eric’s leadership experience includes supervising the animation for SURF’S UP 2: WAVEMANIA and OPEN SEASON: SCARED SILLY. His extensive list of credits also includes work on CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION, and ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH, as well as both THE ADDAMS FAMILY and THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2.

Driven by the belief that every frame should serve the narrative, Eric remains dedicated to helping teams create animation that resonates with audiences globally.

Fenner Rockliffe is a VFX supervisor, Director, and Co-Founder of Niche VFX. Originally from Whistler, BC, he began his filmmaking journey through action sports before refining his technical craft at the Think Tank Training Centre, where he later returned as an instructor.

With extensive experience as an artist and supervisor at studios like Wētā FX, Crafty Apes, and Corridor Digital, Fenner’s portfolio spans blockbuster feature films, high end streaming television, AAA game cinematics, and viral digital content.

Today, through Niche VFX, Fenner bridges premiere studio quality with an indie approach delivering high-end visual effects for leading studios and platforms including Netflix, A24, NEON, and HBO.

For Januel P. Mercado, the idea of working in the medium of animation, where storytelling is only limited by your imagination, was cemented when he first saw the classic 2D animated film, THE LITTLE MERMAID. Throughout his career, he has credited the influences of filmmaking titans such as Spielberg, Miyazaki, Tarantino, and Kurosawa for helping to shape his visual and storytelling sensibilities.

He just completed production on FORGOTTEN ISLAND, which marked his directorial debut. Mercado wrote and directed alongside long-time collaborator Joel Crawford. The film stars H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, and Lea Salonga. Universal Pictures will release the film in theatres on September 25, 2026.

Mercado served as a co-director on the Academy Award® and BAFTA-nominated film PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH, starring Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek Pinault from DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures. A hit with both critics and audiences, the film amassed nearly half a billion dollars at the global box office.

Mercado joined the story department of DreamWorks Animation in 2008 and has contributed his talents as a story artist on several iconic films, including Kung Fu Panda, Penguins of Madagascar, and Trolls. For the 2020 film The Croods: A New Age, Mercado stepped into a leadership role on the film and served as head of story, where he supervised a team of story artists.

Additional credits include Warner Animation's LEGO MOVIE franchise as well as a leadership position as supervising director at Nickelodeon Animation.

Mercado studied and graduated from the animation-illustration department at San Jose State University; through the years, SJSU has become a staple recruitment centre for some of the industry’s top upcoming artists. When he is not busy writing or drawing, Mercado spends his spare time honing his karaoke skills, listening to songs while reading lyrics. His favourite genre is 90’s R&B. Mercado is a member of ASIFA-Hollywood.

Jason Greenblum is a Visual Effects Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks, most recently supervising the animated feature GOAT and GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE.

During his tenure at Imageworks, he has contributed to numerous film projects, including ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA, THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER, JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, SMALLFOOT, THE MEG, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2, GHOSTBUSTERS, and OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, along with earlier projects such as GREEN LANTERN, DUE DATE, G-FORCE, BODY OF LIES, I AM LEGEND, SPIDER-MAN 3, GHOST RIDER, SUPERMAN RETURNS, and the Academy Award®-winning SPIDER-MAN 2.

Before joining Imageworks, Greenblum worked at Method Studios as a compositing supervisor on LET ME IN and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, and at Weta Digital as a compositing sequence lead on THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING and senior compositor on THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS. Earlier in his career, he held roles at Rhythm & Hues and Digital Domain, contributing to films including STUART LITTLE 2, MEN IN BLACK 2, HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, CATS & DOGS, STUART LITTLE, SUPERNOVA, and THE FIFTH ELEMENT.

Greenblum holds a BFA from the University of Georgia.

Jason Snyman is an Animation Supervisor who has honed his skills bringing dynamic sequences and creatures to life. Jason oversees a team of artists, responsible for delivering animation that creates compelling action-packed moments. Jason first joined Wētā FX to work on THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING, as a Texture Painter and Animator. He then went on to be Senior Animator on Peter Jackson’s KING KONG where he worked on previs and animated King Kong taking on the Vastatosaurus Rex, before moving on to James Cameron’s AVATAR to previs and animate Neytiri’s final explosive match against Quaritch. Most recently, Jason was Animation Supervisor on Season 2 and 3 of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON.

At the age five, after being given a stack of computer paper by his grandmother so he could pass the time “doodling” while recovering in the hospital from a fall (resulting in the amputation of two toes!), Joel Crawford started to sketch... and he hasn’t stopped since!

Influenced as a young kid by the 1988 animated cyberpunk action film AKIRA by Katsuhiro Otomo, Crawford knew at an early age that he loved animation. Citing the works of Sergio Leone’s groundbreaking “Dollars Trilogy” along with the films of Akira Kurosawa, Crawford began to develop his own style of visual storytelling.

He just completed production on FORGOTTEN ISLAND, which he wrote and directed alongside long-time collaborator Januel Mercado. The film stars H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, and Lea Salonga. Universal Pictures will release the film in theatres on September 25, 2026.

Crawford was able to marry his passion for the spaghetti western with his love of absurdist comedy as director of the Academy Award®, BAFTA, and Golden Globe-nominated film PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH, starring Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek Pinault from DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures. A hit with both critics and audiences, the film amassed nearly half a billion dollars at the global box office.

He made his feature-film directorial debut with the DreamWorks Animation film THE CROODS: A NEW AGE. After serving as Head of Story for the smash musical adventure TROLLS in 2016, Crawford directed the TROLLS HOLIDAY SPECIAL for NBC.

Crawford joined DreamWorks Animation in 2006 and quickly became an integral part of the creative process, working as a story artist on TROLLS, SHREK FOREVER AFTER, RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, BEE MOVIE and all three KUNG FU PANDA films. Prior to joining DreamWorks, his story artist credits include THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER and ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIPWRECKED.

A native of Southern California (via Hawaii), Crawford attended The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). To make ends meet while in school, he worked as a caricature artist at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, before joining Nickelodeon. Crawford is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and ASIFA-Hollywood. In 2023, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in recognition of his contributions to the field of animation.

Justin is a dedicated Canadian production coordinator with a passion for animation. His journey in the animation industry began as an intern in human resources, and by 2020, he had been hired as a production coordinator. Throughout his career, Justin has collaborated closely with teams of talented artists across various stages of the animation pipeline. With unfaltering energy, as the wind in his sails, he hopes to support all artists who partake in the intricate process of crafting animated masterpieces.

Justin’s production experience includes projects like Chip and Potato and Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City. Currently serving as a production coordinator at Animal Logic, he helped coordinate artists in the production of the film Leo. Additionally, Justin contributes his time and skills as the Volunteer Coordinator for Spark CG, showcasing his commitment to the animation community.

Kathy Zielinski has worked in the animation industry for 43 years as an Animator/Supervisor on many animated feature films. She began her career at Disney Studio in 1981 straight out of California institute of the Arts and worked on many famous traditionally drawn animated films such as THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE, THE LITTLE MERMAID, ALADDIN, THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME and the CG feature FROZEN.

After over a decade of working at Disney Feature Animation, she began working for DreamWorks Animation Studios, where she animated on several traditional 2-D films and, in 2001, she was trained in 3D computer animation, working on many memorable films including KUNG FU PANDA, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and THE CROODS. Other skills related to her job included creating character concept designs, model sheets and sculpting maquettes of the characters she worked on.

For other studio projects over the years, she designed and animated “Hexxus” for FERNGULLY, THE LAST RAINFOREST, live-action 3D for the television shows THE FLASH, SUPER GIRL and LEGENDS OF TOMORROW and hand drawn animated segments for the hit TV shows EVIL and UMBRELLA ACADEMY. She then returned to hand-drawn animation for THE SIMPSONS and finished her professional career after 8 seasons on the show.

Kathy won both a Student Academy Award and a Focus Film Award for her CalArts student film GUESS WHO’S FOR DINNER, which is about a spinach monster who attacks a kid at dinner time.

Now in retirement, Kathy spends her time working on her own personal animated projects, writing and sculpting characters in ZBrush and cycle-touring the world.

An animator and educator who works with various media, Larry started his career in stop motion and Claymation with Crocus Productions in Chicago and then the Will Vinton Studios in Portland, Oregon. At the Vinton studio for nearly a decade, Larry worked on stop-motion projects such as the California Raisins and Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker. During a seven-year stint as Commercial Animation Director at PDI/DreamWorks, Larry directed commercials for many top clients including Coca-Cola, Sega, Intel, Kraft, Target, Circle K, and Saturn. As an active member of the SIGGRAPH Conference Committee, Larry has chaired the 2018 Computer Animation Festival, the 2019 Creative Development Team, and the 2021 VR Theater. He has also chaired several SPARK ANIMATION conferences and has participated in SPARK FX.

From 2002 through 2008, Larry was Department Head of Animation and Visual Effects at the Vancouver Film School. Larry has also served as VP of Faculty and Development at VanArts as well as the Director of the Master of Digital Media Program at The Centre for Digital Media, Vancouver BC.

Louise Bagnall is a Director, Animator and Artist from Dublin, Ireland. Bagnall wrote and directed the universally successful short film LATE AFTERNOON at Cartoon Saloon, which was nominated for Best Animated Short at the Academy Award® in 2019. She has also directed several other shorts including CÚL AN TÍ, LOOSE ENDS and DONKEY. Bagnall has worked in various roles across her career, including as a Character Designer on PUFFIN ROCK and THE BREADWINNER, a Storyboard Artist on WOLFWALKERS and an Assistant Director on Nora Twomey’s feature film MY FATHER’S DRAGON. JULIÁN is Bagnall’s debut feature film.

Maria Gonzalez Sanchez is a Character Effects Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks, most recently supervising the animated features GOAT, where she was responsible for overseeing the cloth/skin/hair dynamics and grooms on the film, and IN YOUR DREAMS.

Previously, Maria served as a Lead Character Effects Technical Director and Character FX Technical Director at Imageworks. Her credits include: the Academy Award®-nominated SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA, and HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION.

Prior to Imageworks, Maria worked at Image Engine on live-action projects including: VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE, GAME OF THRONES, FANTASTIC BEASTS, and THE MANDALORIAN.

Maria received an MA in Digital Character Animation from Teesside University, where she graduated with distinction. She also earned a Bachelor's in Illustration and has a background as a CG generalist.

Coming soon.

Michel Gagné was born in Québec, Canada. He studied animation at Sheridan College School of Visual Arts in Ontario, Canada and in 1986 began a highly successful artistic career.

Renowned for his unique vision, Michel has lent his talent to several animation companies, such as Don Bluth Studios, Warner Bros., Disney, Pixar, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Sony, etc. His creative work can be seen in over two dozen feature films, including THE IRON GIANT, DEMOLITION MAN, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, OSMOSIS JONES, BRAVE, RATATOUILLE and the upcoming RAY GUNN. Aside from his studio work, Michel is a determined entrepreneur who has created work in a wide range of media, from live performances to gallery exhibits. With video game veteran Joe Olson, he created the critically acclaimed INSANELY TWISTED SHADOW PLANET, which was released in 2011 on X-Box and PC.

Michel has written and illustrated several books and comics, and has been published by DC Comics, Image Comics, Random House, Abrams, Fantagraphics, as well as Michel's own imprint, GAGNE International Press.

His work was awarded a BAFTA, an Annie Award, as well as multiple awards and nominations from the animation, video game and comics industries.

He lives with his beloved wife in the United States Pacific Northwest, where he is currently putting the finishing touches on his feature film directorial debut, THE SAGA OF REX.

Award-winning author, historian, filmmaker, educator, musician and more, Mindy Johnson’s creative accomplishments reflect the diversity of her talents and experience. A leading expert on women’s roles in animation and film history, Mindy writes and speaks on early cinema, animation, women’s history, and creativity.

A recipient of the prestigious ASIFA-Hollywood June Foray Award, given to individuals who've made a significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation. Mindy's honours also include the Academy Film Scholar Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences/Oscars.org, and the ASIFA-Hollywood AEF Grant for continued research and writing on the contributions of the earliest women within our collective animated past. With several forthcoming volumes underway, Mindy's groundbreaking discoveries continue to cast light on the invisible narrative of women’s presence within the first century of the motion picture industry. Her latest landmark breakthrough is the discovery of Bessie Mae Kelley and her surviving films believed to be the earliest surviving hand-drawn animation, animated and directed by a woman, forever busting the myth of women no longer present at the dawn of the animation industry.

A sought-after speaker, Mindy explores a wide range of subjects within her presentations and appearances at numerous studios, campuses, international festivals and conferences including: The Smithsonian Speakers Series, Ottawa International Animation Festival, NAFF Festival Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lucasfilm, DreamWorks, TCM Classic Film Festival, Film Forum-NYC, D23 Expo, ABC-Network Specials, San Diego Comi-Con, CTN Expo, World Animation Festival and more.

Mindy has produced record-breaking global campaigns, creative content, exhibitions and events for a growing list of clients, including The Walt Disney Company, AMPAS/Oscars.org, WNET/American Masters, Stage Nine Productions, The Walt Disney Family Museum, Spark CG Society, Film Forum-NYC, SiriusXM Radio, and Horipro Entertainment.

In addition to her continuing research, various literary efforts, and consulting, Mindy is also an award-winning playwright, songwriter, and contributing artist on several internationally acclaimed recordings and published compositions. Mindy teaches film and animation courses in the Los Angeles area, including a first-of-its-kind course on the history of women in animation, based on her continued ground-breaking research, at CalArts — California Institute of the Arts, in Los Angeles, and Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.

Nadine Westerbarkey is a Vancouver-based creative leader with more than 30 years of experience in film, television, and commercial animation. Originally from Munich, Germany, her career has taken her across Europe and Australia before bringing her to Canada. She has worked as an animation director, animator, story artist, and designer on projects for studios including Disney, DreamWorks, Universal, and Netflix.

She currently serves as Studio Creative Director at Atomic Cartoons in Vancouver, where she oversees the creative direction of projects in development and production while supporting creative teams and leadership across the studio.

Nadine is deeply committed to mentorship and to strengthening the animation community. She is a board member, mentor, and mentor connector with the Canada-wide ACE Program, helping foster the next generation of creative leaders.

In 2021, Nadine received a YWCA Metro Vancouver Women of Distinction Award in recognition of her work supporting emerging talent into leadership roles, championing authentic storytelling, and advancing diversity within the industry.

Nathan Greno is an animation film Director who grew up in the factory town of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Obsessed with visual storytelling from a young age, he spent his childhood drawing comic strips and comic books and imagining worlds and characters of his own. While attending the Columbus College of Art and Design, he was hired by Walt Disney Feature Animation during his junior year, beginning his career on MULAN (1998) before moving into the story department and becoming a storyboard artist. During his 20+ years at Disney, he served as co-director of the animated hit TANGLED (2010). Today he works at Skydance Animation, where he recently directed the animated feature SWAPPED after spending more than six years bringing the film to life. He believes animation is the ultimate team sport, built on the creativity and collaboration of artists working together to tell a story. Nathan lives in the hills of Los Angeles with his beautiful wife Colie and their dog Harry.

Pamela Post (Ggol’gm Hana’ack) is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, filmmaker and educator based in Vancouver in beautiful Coast Salish territory. She is Ts’msyen and German-Canadian, well-known as a longtime news reporter and documentarian with CBC News who is still a regular CBC documentary contributor and university journalism teacher. Pamela Post was named a Fellow of the SFU Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellowship for the Humanities in September 2026 to support her Indigenous multimedia storytelling.

In collaboration with the award-winning Métis filmmaker Amanda Strong and her stop-motion animation studio, Spotted Fawn Productions, Pamela is screenwriter & co-director of (Haboolm Ksinaałgat) SOUL CATCHER, a Ts’msyen short stop-motion animated film, starring the acclaimed Tantoo Cardinal, a film inspired by one of the many stories her Ts’msyen father told her of growing up on the Skeena River in the early 20th century. Pamela has a new story project in development, based on her Ts’msyen aunt’s compelling diaries written from her bed in a TB sanatorium.

Pep Lluís Lladó has spent over a decade shaping the look and movement of characters as a Supervising Animator at Sony Pictures Imageworks. His work can be seen in GOAT, the Academy Award®-winning K-POP DEMON HUNTERS, IN YOUR DREAMS, THE SEA BEAST, VIVO, THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, and HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION. On many of these projects, he guided teams as both animator and supervisor, helping to define the expressive performances and bold visual style for which the studio is known.

Prior to Imageworks, Pep Lluís contributed his animation expertise at Framestore, Axis Animation, BRB Internacional, and EDDADesign, working on projects such as PADDINGTON, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, GRAVITY, and ROBOCOP, and also contributed character animation for high-end video game cinematics.

Born in France in the 1980s and now based in Canada, he began his career working with video game studios in Paris. After five years in the games industry, he moved to Montreal in 2012 to pursue a career in animation, initially as a visual development artist and later as an Art Director.

Since then, he has contributed to a wide range of animated films and projects, working in design and art direction and collaborating with studios including Netflix, Warner Bros. and Ubisoft.

Rebecca Jane Lin is a look development and lighting artist at Sony Pictures Imageworks, specializing in feature animation. Her work focuses on defining the visual style of characters and environments through shading, materials, lighting and compositing that support both story and design. She served as Look Development Lead on SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE and most recently, Look of Picture Lead on the animated feature GOAT, collaborating closely with creative and technical teams to deliver visually distinctive, story-driven worlds.

Coming soon.

Siggi Thorhannesson continues his leadership role at Walt Disney Animation Studios with his latest assignment as Head of Animation on the upcoming animated short, LILO & SCRATCH. He joined Disney Animation’s Vancouver location in 2023, where his credits have included ZOOTOPIA 2, MOANA 2 and the acclaimed short VERSA (as supervising animator).

Born and raised in Reykjavik, Iceland, Siggi was exposed to a variety of animation styles (ranging from Disney and Western animation to Eastern European experimental work) at an early age and decided he wanted to be an animator around age 10. Seeing Disney Animation features like ALADDIN and THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE fueled his ambitions. At age 17, an influential teacher encouraged him to pursue his dreams, and he began making and scanning his own hand-drawn animated film at home — placing his drawings into PowerPoint and using a space bar to advance each frame. His father was a software engineer, and he grew up in a computer-literate household. Combining his computer skills with a desire to create art led him to make a short film of his own called LE MIME. His sister submitted it to a festival in Norway, where it won first prize.

After completing studies in graphic design and illustration at the Iceland Academy of Arts in 2006, Siggi and his wife (whom he met at university) began collaborating on freelance projects for Icelandic ad agencies (poster designs, animated film credits, etc.). This led to an entry-level animating position at a local studio called CAOZ, where he worked on the 2011 feature, THOR: LEGEND OF THE MAGICAL HAMMER. After that, Siggi decided to “punch up” his game by taking a course in Maya, and by going back to the basic principles of animation with online studies through Animation Mentor (and specifically with mentors David Tart and Sean Sexton).

Moving to London in 2013 with his wife and three-year-old daughter, Siggi went to work at Framestore, where he helped to animate Groot and Rocket for Marvel Studios’ “Guardians of the Galaxy.” The following year, the family relocated to Vancouver, where he joined Sony Pictures Animation as an animator on HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 (2015), followed by a stint on THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE (2016). He went on to serve as supervising animator on the 2018 Warner Bros. release, SMALLFOOT, and had animating credits on several additional Sony animated features (for Netflix), OVER THE MOON (2020; as supervising animator), VIVO (2021), and the 2023 theatrical release, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE” (as supervising animator).

Coming soon.