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One of the biggest highlights of the year for the animation community is the Annie Awards ceremony. The annual event, which was first established in 1972 by the beloved late voice actress June Foray, will take place at UCLA’s Royce Hall on Saturday, February 8. The 52nd edition of the Annie Awards promises to be another wonderful celebration of the art form, featuring some of the biggest names working in animated movies, TV shows and shorts (see the nominees here).
We had the chance to chat with ASIFA-Hollywood’s current executive director, Aubry Mintz, to find out more about what the event organizers have in store for us:
Animation Magazine: We know you’re super busy, so thanks for taking the time to give us this sneak peek. You have been active at ASIFA for many years, but this was your first year as exec director of the organization. How would you describe it?
I have been on the board of directors at ASIFA-Hollywood for almost 12 years and have learned so much from my fellow board members, and they continue to have engaging discussions that lead to policy and programs. ASIFA-Hollywood’s former exec director, Frank Gladstone, mentored me before I stepped into this position, and I took away so many positive lessons from him on how to lead and navigate this space. Leslie Ezeh, our director of operations, is one of the most organized people I have met and keeps us all in line every step of the way, which is great for my right-side-dominated brain: It makes us a great team! The board and the staff at ASIFA-H made this transition so very pleasant.
What do you enjoy most about the job?
The people! The community that cares so deeply about our art form. It is clear that most want animation to be taken seriously, and while that means something different to each person, at the heart of it all, I think people really love our art form and want to see it thrive. I love being a part of the conversation and being in a position to help turn ideas to actionable items with the board of directors.
![The creatives behind Netflix original 'Blue Eye Samurai' won six Annies at the 2024 edition. [photo c/o The Annie Awards]](https://www.animationmagazine.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Annie-Awards_Blue-Eye-Samurai.jpg)
What are the biggest challenges in 2025?
Well, currently it is the fires in California. It is horrific to watch so much of our community negatively affected. We are still learning about our colleagues who have been evacuated, and those who have lost their homes. We are pleased to report that we have just approved a fundraising initiative with an animation aid group that will have a substantial reach, and together we will work to achieve our goal of helping cover costs for those who have unfortunately lost so much. Animation is a strong, tight-knit community, and we will unite to support each other together. We also have an Animation Aid Foundation and give to animators in need when requests come by our desk, but I know we would love to do more. ASIFA-H has a goal to grow (both in staff and funding) so that we could assist more toward the needs of our community.
Honestly, budgetary issues hold us back from doing all the things we’d like to do. We do make some money from the Annie Awards, but they also cost a lot of money to run. There are so many great initiatives that we’d love to take on, and although ASIFA-H has over 3,000 members, we have a very small (but amazing) staff. Ideas that are generated in our board meetings are excellent and could help a lot of people, but the challenge is how to administer them in a strategic way that will effectively accomplish what we set out to do. Ultimately, we need more staff to do this, which means more fundraising.
A lot of people ask for more categories in the Annie Awards, and since the ceremony is already almost three hours long, we can’t conceivably add more categories, yet we know it is important to find more ways to honor artists who have gone unrecognized. With the right support, we could potentially execute big ideas (i.e., possibly a second ceremony) and really make a difference. The sky is the limit.
What do you love about the Annie nominations this year?
The other awards shows often have only one or two awards dedicated toward honoring animation and VFX, but as we all know, there are so many massive teams of talent in every production that are never recognized. With 32 nomination categories, the Annies is all about celebrating the incredible achievements through the year, and this allows us to highlight the range of talent from many departments — including both commercial and independent productions.
![Studio Ghibli publicist Jun’ichi Nishioka accepted 'The Boy and the Heron's Annie Awards for storyboards and character animation on behalf of Hayao Miyazaki and Takeshi Honda last year. [photo c/o The Annie Awards]](https://www.animationmagazine.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Annie-AWards-Boy-and-the-Heron-win.jpg)
Are there any special plans for this year’s awards that you can share with us?
We have a very exciting announcement that I can’t share until the night of the Annies — but I can tell you it’s something new that ASIFA-H is embarking on with an outside entity (through a generous donation) that will be of great interest to animation artists.
Otherwise, expect the best glitz and glamour that animation can offer with a stellar lineup of presenters and award winners. It will be as entertaining as always and, of course, a reunion of animation all-stars in the audience — as some people call it, the “Animation Prom!”

Are there any special plans for this year’s awards that you can share with us?
We have a very special program this year that will in part be in response to the devastation of the California fires. I am pleased to report that we have just approved a fundraising initiative that will have substantial reach into our community, and we will be announcing this at the Annie Awards! There was some talk of postponing the event, but ultimately we felt that more than ever people need to come together during this difficult time and use this opportunity to show how we can support those who have lost so much.

What is your take on the state of animation in 2025?
With the union negotiations, the rounds of layoffs and the slow ramp up of production, it has been such a tough year for many. Now add the California wildfires this last week — it seems so completely devastating. All I can say is now more than ever we need to support each other and create pathways for our members to thrive. One of my goals is to spread the word about all the important opportunities ASIFA-H provides outside of the Annie Awards. We work year-round to create initiatives to celebrate, honor, support and preserve our art form and its artists. We see ASIFA-Hollywood as the heart of the animation world, and our mission is to unite the global animation community to celebrate excellence, preserve animation history, foster education and promote innovation. As the industry faces many challenges this year, it is especially important that we give our members opportunities to come together and create community. It is crucial for animation artists to know that they are not alone and that ASIFA-Hollywood is there to help any way that we can. Here are some steps we have taken to help:
- If you are an animation student or faculty member, the Animation Educators Forum (AEF) has several events throughout the year for educators and students to discuss important topics, and we offer over $70,000 in scholarships and grants for students and faculty worldwide to apply to. animationeducatorsforum.org
- For the animation enthusiasts — our Animation Preservation Project identifies, restores and preserves films at risk of disappearing while raising awareness about the importance of preserving our art form’s history. asifa-hollywood.org/about-us/film-preservation
- For tech-conscious artists, we support the development of open-source software that brings free licensing to our members. asifa-hollywood.org/about-us/open-source-software
- And for those going through difficulties this year — our Animation Aid Foundation can provide financial assistance to help in a small way, if possible. asifa-hollywood.org/about-us/animation-aid-foundation
And we have more initiatives we are building, along with many screenings, networking events, mixers, Q&A’s and relevant discussions at conventions and festivals — ASIFA-Hollywood invites you all to join us and be a part of the conversation. This will be a great year because of the community that surrounds us, and we look forward to growing together.
The 52md Annie Awards will take place on Saturday, February 8 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. For more information, visit annieawards.org.