Today, WIA (Women in Animation | womeninanimation.org) announced the five delegates selected for the 2024 cohort for Stories x Women, a program aimed at increasing diversity of voices in animation globally. Stories x Women’s concrete goal is to support access to international opportunities for women animators from emerging national film and audio-visual animation communities of Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America who want to tell their authentic stories. The Walt Disney Company and UNESCO are sponsoring the program.
These talented creatives will benefit from a series of mentoring sessions led by internationally acclaimed animation experts, as well as 1:1 coaching sessions that will prepare them to pitch their projects in the upcoming 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market (MIFA), including as part of the MIFA Pitching Sessions. The teams will be conducting their pitches on Tuesday, June 11 from 10:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. CEST in the Impérial Palace in the Haendel Room.
More than 140 applications were submitted — the largest pool to date — from 30 different countries with the following breakdown:
- 11 African countries
- 10 Latin American countries
- 9 Asia-Pacific countries
This first call of Stories x Women was open to up to two team members, which had to include at least one woman leading the project (i.e., producer, director, or screenwriter). The selected delegations are (listed in alphabetical order by project):
- AIMÓ (AIMO) – Brazil. A project led by Fernanda Alves Salgado (with Giuliana Danza)
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The Human and the Android – Indonesia. A project led by Theresa Cornelia
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Jaé Natal! (S’up Xmas) – Brazil. A project led by Camila Padhila (with Roger Keesse)
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Karetabla – Argentina. A project led by Maria Rosario Carlino (with Carlos Zerpa)
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OARONA – South Africa. A project led by Thandiwe Mlauli (with Angel Pitre)
“As Stories x Women enters its third year, we are extremely proud to see how it’s helped spotlight the talented animation creatives of underrepresented gender identities from Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America,” said Marge Dean, WIA President. “I am grateful for the continued support from Disney and am thrilled to welcome UNESCO as a new partner in supporting animation in developing industries. Collaboration is key to achieving gender parity in animation.”
Dean’s sentiments of collaboration and support of women-creators are echoed by UNESCO and Disney:
“UNESCO believes that investing in women creators is a catalyst for cultural diversity, equality, and sustainable societies. This is why our collaboration with WIA and The Walt Disney Company resonates with our mandate, to accompany the development of inclusive cultural creative industries in the Global South,” said Ernesto Ottone R., UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture
“Supporting women in animation is essential to Disney’s commitment to empowering the next generation of storytellers,” said Meredith Roberts, executive vice president of Television Animation at Disney Branded Television. “This support helps ensure that a multitude of voices, cultures, and perspectives are represented in animation, fostering richer narratives that resonate with global audiences.”
The Stories X Women announcement follows last week’s reveal of the short-listed candidates for the ACE Canada Program’s fourth iteration. The program is an immersive Animation Career EXCELelerator training program, organized by WIA Vancouver for animation professionals who identify as women and non-binary, supported by Netflix Canada as the premiere sponsor.
ACE was created to support the advancement of mid-level animation professionals into key creative and senior roles; to create opportunities for new and diverse voices to tell their authentic stories. The program provides participants a key credit in the creation of their own animated short film, as well as mentorship and training to ensure their success.
“The Animation Career EXCELerator has played a pivotal role in the career development of its participants,” said Danielle Woodrow, Director, Content – Canada at Netflix. “We are looking forward to seeing who is selected for this upcoming edition of the program and where it will take them next on their journeys in the animation industry.”
A jury of industry professionals have shortlisted the top five candidates for each position in the program which includes: Writer, Director, Producer, Art Director, Storyboard Supervisor, Animation Director, Composer and Editor, as well as the new role this year, Production Manager. The 44 candidates will receive a series of workshops and training to further prepare them for their roles. Between June and August 2024, they will present to a final jury who will select the nine participants that will make up the 4th ACE cohort.
The final selected participants will be announced in September, and they will go on to create a short film with training and mentorship provided throughout the production process. The final film will be released in the Fall of 2025.
“This cohort’s application pool of almost 150 non-binary and female applicants showcases the wealth of animation talent and diversity across Canada,” says Founder and Co-Executive Producer of the ACE Canada Program, Rose-Ann Tisserand. “The caliber of this years applicants is exemplary and it will be a challenge to select one candidate per role.”
ACE Canada Cohort 4 Shortlist
WRITER
- Caitlin Langelier (Toronto, ON)
- Goun Lee (Toronto, ON)
- Haley Chung (Vancouver / New York, NY)
- Nattasha Shrestha (Toronto, ON)
- Patricia Atchison (Vancouver, BC)
DIRECTOR
- Airin Budiman (Toronto, ON)
- Patricia Atchison (Vancouver, BC)
- Rebecca Champagne (Ottawa, ON)
- River Minho Kim (Vancouver, BC)
- Seema Virdi (Toronto, ON)
PRODUCER
- Andrea Mayo (Vancouver, BC)
- Arlyn Bantog (Vancouver, BC)
- Carly Sacks (Toronto, ON)
- Cristina Tanase (Vancouver, BC)
- Mackenzie Wong (Toronto, ON)
ART DIRECTOR
- Crystal Woo (Vancouver, BC)
- June Lo (Vancouver, BC)
- Maria Mercer (Kelowna, BC)
- Sara Barackzay (Vancouver, BC)
- Svetlana Gayvoronskaya (Toronto, ON)
ANIMATION DIRECTOR
- Cynthia Brenes (Oakville, ON)
- Katie Winchester (Vancouver, BC)
- Reem ElShaer (Vancouver, BC)
- Siequalynnda McNeil-Bobb (Vancouver, BC)
- Vanessa Foermer (Vancouver, BC)
STORYBOARD SUPERVISOR
- Airin Budiman (Toronto, ON)
- Chloe Lemay (Vancouver, BC)
- Gabriela Elizabeth Tavora (Vancouver, BC)
- Joy Zhou (Toronto, ON)
- Seema Virdi (Toronto, ON)
EDITOR
- Andrea Beca (Vancouver, BC)
- Annie Ingham (Vancouver, BC)
- Carol Song (Vancouver, BC)
- Gabi Bednar (Vancouver, BC)
- Winnie Lai (Penticton, BC)
COMPOSER
- Ally Fiola (Halifax, NS)
- Chihiro Nagamatsu (Toronto, ON)
- Eimear MacCarrick (Vancouver, BC)
- Michelle Lorimer (Toronto ON)
- Sorah Eun (Vancouver, BC)
PRODUCTION MANAGER
- Anastasia Walker (Vancouver, BC)
- Frances Nyark-Mensah (Toronto, ON)
- Molison Farmer (Toronto, ON)
- Quinn Hardie (Vancouver, BC)
Past ACE candidates have gone on to work in potions and on projects including: series director on The Barbie Band! music videos and screenwriter for the animated series LEGO Friends. ACE has presented films at Bentonville Film Festival, CTN, Annecy, Spark and OIAF. Short film Pivot won Best Animation Winner at 55th WorldFest Houston 2022 and was an Official Selection Fantoche (Baden, Switzerland).
Ostinato, the film from the ACE 3 cohort, will be screening during the Short Film Forum at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on Thursday, June 13 at 3 p.m., accompanied by a special conversation with the ACE 3 team moderated by Tisserand at MIFA Market Screening, Imperial Palace-Berlioz.
ACE Canada is made possible with the support of sponsors including Netflix Canada, Canada Media Fund, Creative BC, Telefilm Canada, Toon Boom Animation, Autodesk and Atomic Cartoons.
