Women in Animation Offering 2020 Grads a Platform to Showcase Their Work

Women in Animation is providing an online platform for 2020 graduates to showcase their work for key industry executives after many of the typical avenues have been sidelined due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Women in Animation Class of 2020 Showcase will act as a conduit for thesis/final films created by graduate and undergraduate students from all over the world, making them available for recruiters, hiring managers, agents and studio executives to review.

In addition, a jury of industry professionals will choose three projects as Class of 2020 Best Films. Winners will be announced at the end of the showcase viewing period. They will receive opportunities to meet with the jurors online and to participate in live WIA Q&A sessions as part of the WIA’s virtual event series.

Jurors include animator, writer and director Craig Bartlett; Erika Dapkewicz, film editor at Sony Pictures Animation; Magdiela Hermida Duhamel, Founder of Latinx in Animation & Production Manager of “The Casagrandes” at Nickelodeon; Jay Francis, vice president, current series and diversity, Disney Television Animation; filmmaker Trisha Gum; John Kambites, producer at Cinesite; Sarah Landy, senior VP of production and development at Nickelodeon Preschool; Ramsey Naito, executive VP of production and development at Nickelodeon; filmmaker Mark Osborne; director and animator Joanna Quinn; filmmaker Wendy Rogers; Karen Toliver, executive vice president, creative, at Sony Pictures Animation; James Tucker, executive producer of DC Animated Series and DTV movies; and author, writer and designer Ronald Wimberly.

Submissions will be accepted beginning July 13 through July 24. The program is open to graduating students of all identified genders and is not limited to WIA members. Only short films or excerpts of five minutes or less will be accepted. For complete rules and eligibility guidelines, go to https://womeninanimation.org/wia-class-of-2020-showcase/.

“The Class of 2020 graduates have worked against all odds to accomplish what they set out to do. Some had to finish their graduate films in a shared bedroom with siblings, some had to drop everything and take care of their families, and others traveled home thousands of miles away far from their schools and classmates. The Class of 2020 graduated with a great sense of resilience along with the power to show the world how to truly move forward amidst trying circumstances,” said Hsiang Chin Moe, WIA’s chair of education, who has been spearheading the program. “WIA is proud to support and promote the work of these talented recent grads by presenting their amazing work to key animation decisionmakers with this program.”

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