Alexandre Athané is a self-taught filmmaker and illustrator based in Paris. He writes, directs, and illustrates his own animated films, while also creating title sequences for cinema through his studio, THE SINGING PLANT COMPANY. His animated short film JUS D'ORANGE (2024) has earned recognition at numerous international film festivals, including the Spirit Award at the 27th Brooklyn Film Festival, the Jury Prize at the 25th Beverly Hills Film Festival, and the Visionary Award at the 2025 Tampa Animation Festival. Following this recognition, he is delighted to return to the Tampa Animation Festival as a member of the jury for its 2026 edition.
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Avery Eisenson is a Programmer for the Annapolis Film Festival and Director of Programming at the Washington West Film Festival in Reston, Virginia. She comes to programming with a strong foundation in film production: she co-produced the documentary ANOTHER BODY (SXSW Special Jury Award, Sundance Catalyst) and contributed to projects including THE CASE AGAINST ADNAN SYED (HBO), DOGS (Netflix) and EMPIRE OF EBONY. Avery holds a BA in Sociology from Dartmouth College.
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Benoit Berthe Siward is a film strategist and founder of The Animation Showcase, a strategy and consulting boutique dedicated to awards season campaigns in the motion picture industry. Specializing in animated shorts and features, he has led campaigns that have generated more than 40 Academy Award® nominations, including the awards strategies behind the Oscar®-winning films The Windshield Wiper (2022), War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko (2024) and In the Shadow of the Cypress (2025), and the Oscar-nominated features Flee, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Memoir of a Snail, Arco and Little Amélie. Benoit also created the first free, industry-only streaming platform designed to give film professionals worldwide access to the most notable animated shorts and feature films of the season.
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As someone who has always wanted to push the art of stop-motion forward, LAIKA's Head of Animation Brad Schiff has made a career of doing just that. Animation Supervisor for LAIKA's Wildwood as well as the Oscar®-nominated Missing Link, Kubo and the Two Strings, The Boxtrolls, and ParaNorman, Brad oversees LAIKA's world-class team of animators, who consistently push stop-motion performance beyond its perceived limits. In addition to all of LAIKA's films, Brad's feature credits include Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs, and Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. He earned an Oscar® nomination for Visual Effects and won a Visual Effects Society award for his work on Kubo and the Two Strings.
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Carlos Franklin is a Paris-based visual artist who focuses on documentary and archive-based forms. He combines new media, video, installation, and drawing, as well as engaging in protean performative projects. Franklin is interested in how artistic practice reveals historical and political discourses. He explores semiotics to study aesthetics and representation paradigms and their role in the construction of meaning and the restitution of testimony. His work has been exhibited at numerous festivals, museums, and art centres, including the Centre Georges Pompidou and Grand Palais in Paris, the Saatchi Gallery in London, the Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Roma (MACRO) and the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence.
Read full bio →Carlos Franklin Visual artist, video and filmmaker XR artist mistercarrot.org Paris, France Carlos Franklin is a visual artist who focuses on documentary and archive-based forms. He combines new media, video, installation, and drawing, as well as engaging in protean performative projects. Franklin is interested in how artistic practice reveals historical and political discourses. He explores semiotics to study aesthetics and representation paradigms and their role in the construction of meaning and the restitution of testimony. His work has been exhibited at numerous festivals, museums, and art centres, including the Centre Georges Pompidou and Grand Palais in Paris, the Saatchi Gallery in London, the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma – MACRO, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, among others.
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Carlos Smith is an audiovisual director and producer, founder of SMITH & SMITH and HIERRO ANIMACIÓN. He has been professionally dedicated to animation since 1993, alternating content for television, film and other platforms with short films and experimental pieces. He has extensive teaching experience: he has been a professor at the National University of Colombia, the Javeriana University and the University of the Andes, and for eight years was professor and academic coordinator of the Master in Animation at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. He is now academic director of the Digital Animation School of Veritas University in Costa Rica.
Read full bio →Carlos Smith Animator Chair of Animation School Veritas University San José, Costa Rica Carlos Smith is an audiovisual director and producer, founder of SMITH & SMITH and HIERRO ANIMACIÓN. He has been professionally dedicated to animation since 1993. In this field he has alternated the development of content for television, film and other platforms with the making of short films and experimental pieces. He has extensive experience in teaching. He has been a professor at the National University of Colombia, the Javeriana University, the University of the Andes and for eight years he was professor and academic coordinator of the Master in Animation at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. Now is the academic director of the DIgital Animation School of Veritas University in Costa Rica.
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Deirdre Brenner Creative Producer/Writer/Line Producer South Pasadena, CA, USA Deirdre Brenner grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, and headed straight for Los Angeles after graduating from Northwestern University. She’s worked in the animation industry for over twenty-five years, producing hundreds of hours of animated entertainment for studios such as The Walt Disney Company, Nickelodeon, and Six Point Harness. She was the Creative Producer on two CURIOUS GEORGE films for Universal Animation Studios and is currently a Producer on the popular adult animated series RICK AND MORTY. Deirdre resides in South Pasadena, California, with her cat, Benny.
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Dominic Carola is an award-winning director, lead animator, entrepreneur, and independent studio founder with over 30 years of experience in animation and film. A CalArts alumnus and veteran of Walt Disney Feature Animation, he helped bring iconic films to life including The Lion King, Mulan, Brother Bear, and served as Lead Animator on Lilo & Stitch. Following his tenure at Disney, Dominic founded Premise Entertainment, an artist-driven independent studio dedicated to developing high-quality, character-focused stories with positive, uplifting themes. As a studio head and director, he has led creative teams across feature films, shorts, themed entertainment, and commercial projects. His recent work includes the award-winning series pilot My Neighbor, now streaming on Angel Studios. Dominic remains passionate about visual storytelling, mentorship, and creating meaningful content that resonates across generations.
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James Leming Filmmaker Assistant Teaching Professor University of Tampa Tampa, FL, USA James Leming is an established independent filmmaker and educator who focuses largely on the world of underground and cult films. In his personal work, he has addressed hefty topics such as mental health, the human condition and existential crises through the lens of absurdist satire. Leming's expertise ranges from writing, directing, editing and film criticism with a premium placed on teaching young filmmakers how to express their unique individuality through the art of filmmaking. Leming's most recent film, #toxic_positivity, was shot in the virtual production studio on campus with an almost exclusively all-student crew. The film is currently on its festival run, already winning Leming a best director award and a best cast award from the Couch Film Festival. The film will also have its international premiere in the UK with the Lytham International Film Festival. Leming is currently at work drafting another film, which he aims to shoot with FMX students as an extra-curricular activity.
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Screenwriter Jeff Stockwell's credits include the Sundance film "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys," "Bridge to Terabithia" and "A Wrinkle in Time" for Disney, the Writers Guild Award-nominated "Wilder Days" for TNT, and "Ivy & Bean" for Netflix. Jeff has worked as a consulting writer at major animation companies, including Pixar, DreamWorks, Aardman and Blue Sky. He is a longtime mentor for programs sponsored by Film Independent, Global Media Makers, USC's American Film Showcase, and the Writers Guild of America.
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Jen Rudin Writer. Casting Director Adjunct Professor. Author:CONFESSIONS OF A CASTING DIRECTOR published by HarperCollins NYC, NY, USA jenrudin.com Photo Credit: Douglas Gorenstein JEN RUDIN is an award-winning casting director and author of Confessions of a Casting Director, published by HarperCollins. Jen began her career as a professional child actor in New York City. She spent seven years as casting director/executive at The Walt Disney Company, casting such beloved animated feature films as The Incredibles, Chicken Little, The Princess, and the Frog, and overseeing the Broadway casting and domestic tours for The Lion King, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid and High School Musical. Some recent casting credits include the Netflix animated series Arcane and Dead End: Paranormal Park. She also wrote and executive produced the short film Lucy in the Sky, starring Whoopi Goldberg, under her previous banner, Purple Glasses Productions, and cast the late Peter Bogdanovich’s final film, She’s Funny That Way. For more info, visit www.jenrudin.com and follow her on Instagram @rudinj.
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Jenna Levine Creative Development Assistant at Warner Bros. Animation & Cartoon Network Studios Animation | Live Action | Gaming, Los Angeles, CA, United States Jenna Levine is a junior creative executive and lover of all things animation from Boca Raton, Florida. After graduating from Northwestern University, Jenna has worked at Cartoon Network Studios & Warner Bros. Animation as a creative assistant, supporting project development from pitch to greenlight across TV and feature for all age demos and genres. Jenna is passionate about championing new voices and bringing stories that are innovative, bold, and meaningful to life.
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Judy Kriger Program Director + Professor University of Redlands School of Media : Culture : Design Animation + VFX Burbank, CA Judy Kriger is an independent filmmaker and animator and has been a professional CG artist for two decades. Her credits include: Cats and Dogs, Antz, South Park, Ren and Stimpy, and Doughboy, Kraft and Keebler commercials. She teaches senior thesis, introductory through advanced 3D animation and visual effects production courses. Her book, “Animated Realism: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Animated Documentary Genre,” was published by Focal Press, and she is currently working on a CG animated PSA and her second book focusing on lighting for CG animation. She is Program Director and Professor of Animation + VFX at the University of Redlands Los Angeles | Woodbury campus.
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Kailyn Bondoni Assistant to SVP Warner Bros. Discovery Los Angeles, CA, United States Kailyn Bondoni is a member of the jury for the Tampa Animation Festival 2025. She works as assistant to SVP in the Adult Animation division.
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Karma Masselli Director at Shorts Movie Theater, Brooklyn, NY, USA https://www.karmamasselli.com/ Karma Masselli is a Brooklyn-based producer, director, and theater creator known for her work in independent media, specifically short films and experimental theater. She is actively involved in the New York City arts scene, producing independent theater and, as of 2023, developing "Shorts Movie Theater" to showcase short films.
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Kristian Zahariev is an animation director and animator from Bulgaria, born in 1999. He holds a BA in Animation (2022) and an MA in Animation Directing (2024) from NATFA "Krastyo Sarafov." His graduation short GARLIC SOUP, which he wrote, directed and animated, has had more than 30 selections at international animation and film festivals and won 7 awards, including the Critics' Choice of the Union of Bulgarian Artists at WFAF Varna 2024, Best Comedy at the 2025 Tampa Animation Festival, a Special Diploma from the student jury at the 44th VGIK International Student Festival, a Special Mention for Best Student Film at Golden Kouker 2025, and a Special Mention for animation at the FilmEU film festival. His debut short NEPHILA has just started its festival journey and has already won Best Debut and Best Bulgarian Film at WFAF Varna 2026. He has animated on several short films, and is currently a PhD candidate in NATFA's cinema faculty and a teacher in animation workshops for kids.
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Luis Grané is a Los Angeles-based visual artist, born in Argentina, known for his animation, storytelling, digital media and design work. He worked as Supervising Director for animated series at Netflix in both the Family/Preschool and Adult divisions, including the multi-awarded, critically acclaimed City of Ghosts and Carol and the End of the World. He is an Emmy Award winner for Best Directing in an Animated Series and an Emmy nominee for Best Writing. Grané has worked in the entertainment industry as an animator and designer for studios including Sony, DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Disney, Pixar, Aardman and LAIKA, on films such as Ratatouille, The Matrix, The Boxtrolls, Hotel Transylvania, Spirit and Spider-Man 2. He did the production design and projection mapping for Alice in Wonderland for the Grand Rapids Ballet in 2017, which toured with ballet companies across the U.S., including the San Antonio Ballet's 2023 performance at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. His art videos and installations have been shown in museums and festivals around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and the Queens Museum in New York. He was an artist in residence at Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS) in 2016, where he produced the art video Pachinko. He is a visiting professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts.
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Marco Franzolim is an advertising professional, educator, and the founder, CEO, and Creative Director of MonkeyBusiness—one of Brazil's pioneering creative studios specializing in presentations, videos, and animations, with a track record spanning over 17 years. A recognized authority on corporate storytelling and visual communication, he has transformed how more than 2,000 companies present their ideas through creative, audiovisual means, delivering around 7,000 projects across more than 12 countries. Passionate about creativity, corporate communication, cinema, and marketing innovation, Marco developed a unique, groundbreaking method—integrating planning, argumentation, scriptwriting, and motion design—to turn corporate presentations into truly creative and effective communication pieces; this method became the foundation of MonkeyBusiness, a company that revolutionized the market. A dedicated researcher and scholar, Marco explores how creativity and strategy can work in tandem to drive real business impact. He is also a speaker and columnist with over 1,000 published articles covering creativity, communication, motion design, and audiovisual media.
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Max Catu Digital Producer Paris, France
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Megan O’Neill Senior Associate Shorts Programmer Tribeca Film Festival, NYC, NY, USA Megan is currently a consultant to film festivals, including the Tribeca Film Festival, where she is the Associate Shorts Programmer/Animation. She originated and curates an animated program with Whoopi Goldberg that has premiered two Academy Award-winning shorts – Kobe Bryant’s DEAR BASKETBALL and Pixar’s BAO. Megan has 25 years experience acquiring, developing, producing and distributing short-form content. As the head of AtomFilms Studio, she worked with emerging artists and animators on original web productions. She has acquired and/or developed content with Academy Award nominees PES, Jason Reitman, Adam Elliot, Lisa Cholodenko and Bill Plympton, as well as commissioning animation series from Aardman Animation and the JibJab Brothers. She co-founded one of the first US short film distribution companies, Forefront Films, and negotiated the sale of the company to AtomFilms.
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Patti White is the Co-Founder and Festival Director of the Annapolis Film Festival and Co-Founder and Principal at FILMSTERS, a production and development company operating in Annapolis, Maryland, and Los Angeles. Her credits have appeared on CBS, ABC, Lifetime, Discovery, Turner and others. She is known for producing and directing feature-length documentaries, and for producing the docu-reality series ABC's Extreme Makeover as Producer and Senior Producer.
Read full bio →Patti White Founder/Director Annapolis Film Festival Patti White is the Co-Founder and Principal at FILMSTERS, a production and development company, operating in Annapolis, Maryland and Los Angeles. White’s credits have appeared on CBS, ABC, Lifetime, Discovery, Turner, and others, and is known for producing and directing feature-length documentaries and producing a docu-reality series -ABC’s Extreme Makeover as a Producer & Senior Producer. She is also the Co-Founder and Festival Director of the Annapolis Film Festival.
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Sheila Sofian Professor of Cinematic Arts, USC, Los Angeles, CA, USA Sheila M. Sofian has produced, directed, and animated seven independent animated films. Sofian has received grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, Rockefeller Media Arts Fellowship, and the Pew Fellowships in the Arts, among others. Her award-winning films have been exhibited internationally. Awards include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the CineToro Film Festival in Colombia, Best Animated Film and Grand Jury Prize, New Orleans Film Festival, Best Animated Film, Humboldt International Short Film Festival, Best Animated Film, Ojai Film Festival, First Prize, World Animation Celebration, First prize, Animation, Central Florida Film & Video Festival, a CINE Golden Eagle Award, Grand Prize, International Festival of Non-Professional Cinema, France, a Student Academy Award, and Best of Show Award, New England Film Festival. In addition, Sofian’s films have exhibited internationally, including MoMA, Annecy Animation Festival, the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Hiroshima International Animation Festival, Zagreb Animation Festival, and CaixaForum in Barcelona, Spain. Her films are distributed educationally and in streaming markets. Collections include Harvard University, the California Institute of the Arts, and the Walker Arts Center, among others.
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Shoko Takegasa Festival Director Asian Shorts Film Festival After working in finance, she joined the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA). In 2016 she became the programming manager and has participated in screenings and markets at international film festivals to promote the festival as well as the Japanese short films. She has also been involved in public relations for the SSFF & ASIA, including radio appearances and contributing articles about the festival to film magazines. From February 2021, she began working as Festival Director at SSFF & ASIA. She also worked for the Tribeca Film Festival as a short film screener, and participated in several festivals including Teheran International Short Film Festival, an Oscar qualified film festival as a member of the jury.
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Suzy Fagan Parr is a stop motion Director and Animator based in Bristol. She has been a core member of the animation team at Aardman for many years having started as a student on their first Model Animation course designed to train up animators for Chicken Run. Since then she has worked on all but one of their features and was an Additional Director on Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget in 2023. She has been an Episode Director on two series of the hugely popular Shaun the Sheep series as well as Animation Directing on various series and short form. In 2025 she completed her first independent director project under her company name Tea and Cake Productions.
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Tim Searfoss is an international award-winning director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and animator with over 20 years of experience in the film industry. His work spans feature films, documentaries, short films and animations. He is a board member of The Christine Ortoll Charity, a non-profit working to inspire hope about mental health and substance use disorders, and founder of Fire Pillar Entertainment which focuses on creating stories that inspire.
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Vanessa Esteves is an accomplished writer, director, executive producer, and content creator who has creatively overseen a wide range of projects across all genres. Recently, she co-created and acted as showrunner for the animated series Super Wish and wrote and co-directed the short film Christopher & the Bug. Her leadership and creative vision have helped shape numerous successful children's programs in the world of animation and family entertainment.
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Yunah Chung Originals Development Content Acquisitions Astoria Film Festival Board Member NYC, NY, USA Of Texas provenance and a bicoastal upbringing in California and New Jersey, Yunah Chung is a Korean American creative executive. After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts as a film & TV major, she cut her teeth at CAA followed by MTV where she witnessed words on a page turn into pixels on a screen as a scripted series development and current programming assistant. Her lifelong love of Korean cinema naturally led her to blogging about it online over at Dramabeans.com where a global community of K-drama fans continue to engage in thoughtful and enthusiastic discourse. In early 2017, Yunah was selected for an inaugural comedy screenwriting fellowship from Whoop Inc. (Whoopi Goldberg’s production company) and Mana Contemporary. Unable to shake her interest in global cinema, she also developed series and analyzed scripts at Infinite Studios (local producer of Crazy Rich Asians) while completing her dual international MBA degrees in Singapore (Nanyang Technological University) and Tokyo (Waseda University). She wrapped a 3-year stint as a Development Executive at 9 Story Media Group in New York where she developed kids & family animated and live action content. Currently, Yunah is the VP, Content and Executive Producer at SAMANSA, a Tokyo-based SVOD platform for high quality short films from all around the world; she oversees content acquisitions and originals.
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