Year: 2022

Jade Seaberry

Shorts Jury Member

Co-Creator and Publicist, DiverseToons

Frank Gladstone

Shorts Jury Member

Frank Gladstone has been working as a professional animator, producer, director, writer and teacher for more than 45 years.

Maureen Fan

Shorts Jury Member

CEO and Co-Founder of Baobab Studios

Christina Steinberg

Christina Steinberg is a producer at Sony Pictures Animation.

Chris Butler

Director, Screenwriter, Character Designer at LAIKA Studios

Julie Lockhart

Locksmith Animation Co-Founder & Head of Production

Joel Crawford

Director Joel Crawford is currently in production on Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. He most recently served as director of the DreamWorks Animation feature film The Croods: A New Age and as director of Trolls Holiday Special for NBC. Crawford joined DreamWorks Animation in 2006 and quickly became an integral story artist on Trolls, Joel Crawford

One Piece Film Red

Uta—the most beloved singer in the world whose voice has been described as “otherworldly”—is renowned for concealing her own identity when performing. Now, for the first time ever, she will reveal herself to the world at a live concert. With the Navy watching closely, the venue fills with Uta’s fans—including excited pirates and the Straw One Piece Film Red

Goro Taniguchi

Born 1966. Animation director and producer. After working as an episode director for “Eldoran Series” and “Gundam Series”, he made his debut as a director with “One Piece: Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzack!” in 1998. Since then, he has directed many original-based works and own productions, including “PLANETES”, “CODE GEASS”, “Jungle Emperor: The Brave Can Goro Taniguchi

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Q&A with Director Guillermo del Toro! Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro reinvents Carlo Collodi’s classic tale of the wooden marionette who is magically brought to life in order to mend the heart of a grieving woodcarver named Geppetto. This whimsical stop-motion film directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson follows the mischievous and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama

In Ayodhya, the royal palace of the Kosala kingdom in ancient India, four princes were born to three queens, each of whom grew to great stature. After being banished from the palace for fourteen years due to mysterious court activity, Prince Rama retreated to the forest with his beautiful wife Sita. While there, Rama vanquishes Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro reinvents Carlo Collodi’s classic tale of the wooden marionette who is magically brought to life in order to mend the heart of a grieving woodcarver named Geppetto. This whimsical stop-motion film directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson follows the mischievous and disobedient adventures of Pinocchio in his Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama

In Ayodhya, the royal palace of the Kosala kingdom in ancient India, four princes were born to three queens, each of whom grew to great stature. After being banished from the palace for fourteen years due to mysterious court activity, Prince Rama retreated to the forest with his beautiful wife Sita. While there, Rama vanquishes Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama

Inna Sahakyan

Inna Sahakyan has directed and produced feature-length documentaries, documentary series, and shorts, for over fifteen years.

Kotono Watanabe

Born in 1983, she joined MADHOUSE in 2007. She made her directorial debut with the TV series “BTOOOM!” in 2012 and has worked as a production member with MADHOUSE.

Benjamin Massoubre

Benjamin Massoubre discovered the richness and diversity of animated cinema in the halls of the Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival. This interest quickly became a passion, then a vocation.

Amandine Fredon

Amandine Fredon came to cinema through drawing. After studying art, she naturally turned to animation, working mainly at the Folimage studio based in Valence for about fifteen years.

Alê Abreu

Alê Abreu is a Brazilian film director, animator and screenwriter. In 2013, he released “The Boy and the World”, his second feature film.

Kajsa Næss

After 25 years as an innovative short animation director, Kajsa Næss is ready for her feature film debut with TITINA. Næss is known for her playful, humorous and humanistic films.

Marleen Slot

With Viking Film producer Marleen Slot thrives to be a nurturing home for talents from all across the world, telling stories for audiences to strongly identify with, by filmmakers with whom she is closely connected.

Mascha Halberstad

Director Mascha Halberstad (1973) attended the ArtEZ Art Academy in Arnhem. She made animations for several feature films, including TAKING CHANCES (Berlinale Generation 2012) and HOW TO SURVIVE…

loundraw

Celebrated for his detailed spatial designs, use of transparent, airy colors and attention to depth of field, loundraw began his career as an illustrator when he was a teenager, finding early success on online platforms.

Dice Tsutsumi

Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi, originally from Japan, is a filmmaker and painter.

Robert Kondo

Robert Kondo is co-founder and president of Tonko House, a San Francisco bay area based studio focused on creating animated narrative content.

Sara K. Sampson

Sara K. Sampson is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker based in Oakland, CA. While at Pixar Animation Studios, Sara contributed to several features such as the Academy award-winning films COCO and INSIDE OUT.

New Gods: Yang Jian

As Yang Jian confronts the actions of his past, he must face a host of dangerous vigilantes seeking the same treasure with the power to alter the balance of their worlds. This latest entry in the New Gods universe from Light Chaser Animation (White Snake, New Gods: Nezha Reborn) features awe-inspiring action sequences set against New Gods: Yang Jian

Little Nicolas

Somewhere between Montmartre and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Jean-Jacques Sempé and René Goscinny lean over a large white sheet of paper and bring to life a mischievous and endearing boy, Little Nicolas. From schoolyard games and fights to summer camp prank and camaraderie, Nicolas lives a merry and enriching childhood. As the adventures of Nicolas and his friends Little Nicolas

Perlimps

The newest film from Academy Award nominated Ale Abreu. Claé and Bruô, secret agents from enemy Kingdoms of the Sun and the Moon, must overcome their differences and combine forces to find the Perlimps and infiltrate into a world controlled by Giants where war is imminent. Presented in collaboration with the Latino Film Institute, LALIFF, Perlimps

Titina

Ital­ian air­ship engi­neer Umber­to Nobile enjoys a qui­et life with his beloved dog Titi­na, who charmed him into res­cu­ing her from the streets of Rome. One day, Nor­we­gian explor­er super­star Roald Amund­sen con­tacts him and orders an air­ship to con­quer The North Pole. Nobile seizes the oppor­tu­ni­ty to go down in his­to­ry. He brings Titi­na Titina

Oink

When 9-year-old Babs receives a pig named Oink as a present from her grandfather, she convinces her parents to keep it under the condition that Oink follows a puppy training. But her parents are not the biggest threat to Oink because actually her grandfather is secretly taking part in the sausage competition organized by The Oink

Luck

From Apple Original Films and Skydance Animation comes the story of Sam Greenfield, the unluckiest person in the world! Suddenly finding herself in the never-before-seen Land of Luck, she must unite with the magical creatures there to turn her luck around. An Apple Films release. Director Peggy Holmes in-person.

Summer Ghost

A local urban legend claims that lighting fireworks at an abandoned airfield will call the “summer ghost,” a spirit that can answer any question. Three troubled teenagers – Tomoya, Aoi, and Ryo – do not know each other yet, but each has their own reasons to show up one day. When a sparkler is lit, Summer Ghost

Unicorn Wars

In Unicorn Wars, filmmaker Alberto Vázquez resorts to animated fantasy to ponder over the origin of evil. Two brothers – Azulín and Gordi – along with a group of new recruits without experience, are sent on a dangerous mission to save the Magic Forest from the unicorns that represent a threat for the security of Unicorn Wars

Turning Red

Young actress Rosalie Chiang lends her voice to Mei Lee, a 13-year-old who suddenly “poofs” into a giant red panda when she gets too excited (which is practically ALWAYS). Sandra Oh voices Mei Lee’s protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming, who is never far from her daughter—an unfortunate reality for the teenager. A Pixar Turning Red

My Father’s Dragon

The newest film from Oscar-nominated Nora Twomey and Cartoon Saloon, based on the Newbery-winning children’s book, this animated film follows a young boy who runs away to an island to rescue and befriend a young dragon. A Netflix release. Director Nora Twomey and screenwriter Meg LaFauve in-person.

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale

In a world filled with the oddball gods and monsters of Japanese mythology, one of the creature’s free-spirited daughters, Onari, is determined to follow in the footsteps of the mighty heroes of lore, but her unique powers are yet to be revealed. Does she have what it takes to protect her peaceful village from the Oni: Thunder God’s Tale

Aurora’s Sunrise

A teenage girl goes from genocide survivor to Hollywood star. Losing her family, escaping slavery, enduring trauma and Hollywood greed, Aurora travels a very long way to tell the world about her people’s tragedy. Her courage long forgotten, Aurora’s odyssey is revived through this unique testimony, archive footage, and the magic of animation.

Wendell & Wild

In the almost twenty years since his iconic feature film debut, Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) has brought to the screen the perversely macabre worlds of Tim Burton, Roald Dahl, and Neil Gaiman. For his newest film – his first since 2009’s Coraline – he joins forces with master of modern horror, Jordan Peele, Wendell & Wild

Titina

Q&A with Director Kajsa Næss Italian airship engineer Umberto Nobile lives a peaceful life in Rome with his beloved rescue dog, Titina. Umberto’s peaceful life is uprooted when the famed Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, befriends  and hires him to make an airship capable of embarking on the dangerous journey to the North Pole. With trusty Titina

Luck

Q&A with Peggy Holmes (Director), David Eisenmann (Producer), and Kiel Murray (Screenwriter) – moderated by Academy Award® winner Rich Moore (“Zootopia”) From Apple Original Films and Skydance Animation comes the story of Sam Greenfield, the unluckiest person in the world! Suddenly finding herself in the never-before-seen Land of Luck, she must unite with the magical Luck

Aurora’s Sunrise

Q&A with Director Inna Sahakyan At only 14 years old, Aurora lost everything during the horror of the Armenian genocide. Four years later, through luck and extraordinary courage, she escaped to New York, where her story became a media sensation. Starring as herself in Auction of Souls, an early Hollywood blockbuster, Aurora became the face Aurora’s Sunrise

Work-In-Progress: Strange World

Animation Is Film is proud to present this Behind-the-scenes, making-of presentation of Walt Disney’s 61st animated feature STRANGE WORLD. Academy Award-winning producer Roy Conli (Tangled, Big Hero 6) takes you on this exclusive, one-of-a-kind journey. This one hour presentation and Q&A is a rare opportunity to see exclusive footage from the new film with commentary Work-In-Progress: Strange World

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale

Q&A with Creator/Director Dice Tsutsumi, and Producers Robert Kondo, Sara K. Sampson, Kane Lee, and Momona Tamada (“Onari”). Animation Is Film is immensely proud to present the theatrical World Premiere of the 4-episode series on Netflix Anime from the visionary team at Tonko House. In a world filled with the oddball gods and monsters of Oni: Thunder God’s Tale

My Father’s Dragon

Q+A with Director Nora Twomey Co-founder of Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon, Oscar nominated Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner, AIF ’17) returns to Animation Is Film with this glorious adaptation of Ruth Stiles Gannett’s beloved children’s novel. After their family store is forced to close, Elmer (Jacob Tremblay) moves to the big city with his mother to start My Father’s Dragon

Turning Red

Q+A with Director Domee Shi and Producer Lindsey Collins Disney and Pixar’s “Turning Red” introduces Mei Lee (voice of Rosalie Chiang), a confident, dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. Her protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming (voice of Sandra Oh), is never far from her daughter—an Turning Red

Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom

The Gold Kingdom and the Water Kingdom had a long, troubled history filled with epic battles  before they decided to take the drastic steps of building a wall between the two lands. But 100 years later, they make good on an agreement in hopes of bringing stability to all. The rulers from each land had Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom

SHORTS #2: Student Showcase

FREE SCREENING A vibrant and diverse collection of student short films from some of the most highly regarded animation schools in the country. Midnight Garden (Sapphira Chen, CalArts) The Best Ham Sandwich According to a Fish” (Jessica Xu, CalArts) Homebody (Sophia Du, CalArts) Something Fishy (Christina Woo, CalArts) I Am a Fish (Joy Chung, CalArts) SHORTS #2: Student Showcase

Unicorn Wars

Q&A with Director Alberto Vázquez The Bears, engaged in an ongoing war with the Unicorns who they believe stole their ancestral land, are sent deep into the Magic Forest in search of a platoon that never returned from a previous mission. Deep behind “enemy” lines, the divide between two brothers, Tubby and Bluey, is exacerbated Unicorn Wars

Summer Ghost

Q&A with Director loundraw A local urban legend claims that lighting fireworks at an abandoned airfield will call the “summer ghost,” a spirit that can answer any question. Three troubled teenagers – Tomoya, Aoi, and Ryo – do not know each other yet, but each has their own reasons to show up one day. When Summer Ghost

Oink

Q&A with Director Mascha Halberstad Nine year old Babs lives a fairly content life in her idyllic Dutch town, but it’s turned a bit upside down when her wild-card American Grandfather shows up and camps out in the back of the family home. To Babs’s delight–and her vegetarian, cautious parents’s horror–he gives Babs a pet Oink

Wendell & Wild

Q&A with director Henry Selick, and Character Designer Pablo Lobato In the almost twenty years since his iconic feature film debut, Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) has brought to the screen the perversely macabre worlds of Tim Burton, Roald Dahl, and Neil Gaiman. For his newest film – his first since 2009’s Coraline – Wendell & Wild

Perlimps

NOTE: The Q&A with Perlimps’s director, Alê Abreu, has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict. We apologize for the inconvenience.   One of two films in this year’s lineup set in enchanted forests (the other being the tonally opposite UNICORN WARS), Alê Abreu’s colorful, hand-drawn panorama is among the most visually stunning films of Perlimps

Little Nicolas

In-person Q+A with director Benjamin Massoubre! Over long cafe chats and bistro dinners in Paris, writer René Goscinny and artist Jean-Jacques Sempé solidified their warm friendship. The two shared more than meals, though, as they created the iconic French character of Little Nicolas, a mischievous school boy whose antics have captivated audiences for decades. Little Little Nicolas

SHORTS #3: Annecy / Women in Animation

Returning for its 4th consecutive year, this jewel of the Animation Is Film program highlights a collection of female-directed short films. Programmed in partnership with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Women in Animation. FILMS: THE GARBAGE MAN (O Homem Do Lixo) / dir. Laura Goncalves / Portugal THE FLYING SAILOR / dirs. Amanda SHORTS #3: Annecy / Women in Animation

New Gods: Yang Jian

Thirteen years after Yang Jian (known to some as Erlang Shen) imprisoned his sister beneath a mountain, the once powerful god now scrapes by as a penniless bounty hunter. When a mysterious woman hires him for a new job, Yang Jian soon finds himself chasing down a familiar figure. He must stop Chenxiang, his long-lost New Gods: Yang Jian

SHORTS #1

FREE SCREENING The Animation Is Film Festival kicks off its fifth edition with this dizzying collection of some of the year’s best animated shorts from around the world.

Lindsey Collins

Lindsey Collins joined Pixar Animation Studios in May 1997. Collins’ film credits include “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2” and the Academy Award®-winning “Finding Nemo,” and “Ratatouille.”

Ellen Goldsmith-Vein

Ellen Goldsmith-Vein is the Founder and CEO of The Gotham Group, the only major management/production company in Hollywood owned solely by a woman.

Henry Selick, p.g.a.

Henry Selick is the director, writer, production designer and producer whose films have defined a generation of animated storytelling.

Domee Shi

Shi graduated from the animation program at Sheridan College where she was fueled by her love of anime/manga, Disney, and Asian cinema influences that can be seen in her work to this day.

Bill Desowitz

Bill Desowitz, the Crafts & Animation Editor at IndieWire, specializes in below-the-line and animation coverage, with an emphasis on Oscar and Emmy Awards season reporting/analysis.

Ramin Zahed

Ramin Zahed is an LA-based author and journalist who specializes in animation, visual effects, pop culture and indie films.

Ji Zhao

Has studied at the Communication University of China and UCLA. The editor and post-production supervisor of Little Door Gods, Tea Pets, Cats and Peachtopia.

Nora Twomey

As a co-founder and Creative Director at Cartoon Saloon, Nora Twomey oversees the development of the company’s slate of productions.

Alberto Vázquez

Alberto Vázquez is an animation director, illustrator and cartoonist. He has written and directed short animation such as Birdboy, Ramiro, sucia rata, Unicorn Blood and Decorado.

Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge is Variety’s Chief International Film Critic.

Charles Solomon

An internationally respected critic and historian of animation.