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.

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.

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.

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.

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 by 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 (2003) as a texture painter and animator. He then went on to be Senior Animator on Peter Jackson‘s King Kong (2005), where he prevised and animated King Kong taking on the Vastatosaurus Rex, before moving on to James Cameron's Avatar (2009) to previs and animate Neytiri's final explosive match against Quaritch.

Most recently, Jason was Animation Supervisor on Season 2 of House of the Dragon, where he joined Team Blacks legion, overseeing the animation for four of their dragons, including the nimble Seasmoke and the powerful Vermithor.

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.

Marina has been writing and discussing film for over 15 years, first on a personal blog, followed by a decade-long tenure on the now retired Row Three. In 2008, she joined the writing staff at Quiet Earth, becoming Editor-In-Chief in 2014, a role she still holds. Over the years, she has also produced and hosted a number of podcasts including Before the Dawn, a long-running podcast on the Twilight franchise, Girls on Pop, a podcast on film and popular entertainment from women’s perspective and After the Credits, bi-monthly film podcast with nearly 300 episodes.

Marina is a member of ACM and ACM SIGGRAPH, the Online Film Critics Society, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and the Visual Effects Society. She is the President of Spark CG Society and the Vancouver ACM SIGGRAPH chapter. She has also served on juries for several film festivals including DOXA, St. Louis International Film Festival, and the Whistler Film Festival. She joined the Spark CG Society in 2014.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.