"Encanto" wins PGA, "Tuca & Bertie" wins WGA, CMA helps KEPYR for Ukraine

March 21 2022

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) hosted the 33rd Annual Producers Guild Awards on the evening of Saturday, March 19 at Fairmont Century Plaza. The Best Animated Film Producer Award went to Yvett Merino, pga e Clark Spencer, pga for Encanto of Disney. Announced on March 14, the winner of the Outstanding Children's Program award was the Disney + special Muppets Haunted Mansion

The evening recognized influential film producers and entertainment icons with special awards, including George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy (Milestone Award); Rita Moreno (Stanley Kramer Prize); Mary Parent (David O. Selznick Achievement Award for Theatrical Films); Greg Berlanti (Norman Lear Award for Television); and Issa Rae (Visionary Award). Dan Lin was the first ever to receive the Vance Van Petten Entrepreneurial Spirit Award.

Tuca & Bertie "Planteau"

Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced the winners of the 2022 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding writing achievements for the film, television, new media, news, radio / audio and promotional categories at a joint, virtual ceremony on Sunday, March 20.

The episode "Planteau" by Tuca & Bertie, written by series creator Lisa Hanawalt, won the Animation Award. The Adult Swim series has beaten an otherwise all-FOX cartoon series of episodes of Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, and The Simpsons. See the full list of nominees and winners here.

The Children's Media Association (CMA) planned a special virtual panel in support of KEPYR's emergency fundraising efforts for Ukraine. Dubbed “Crafting HOPE in Times of Conflict and War,” the Zoom session will address how the industry can create meaningful projects that encourage open dialogue and change. All donations ($ 20 suggested) go to KEPYR to support UNICEF's work with young Ukrainian refugees.

Among the speakers Cinzia Angelini (writer / director of Mila), Grant Moran (founder of KEPYR) and Kathy Mullen (artistic director / co-founder, No Strings Productions). The session will take place on March 24 at 17pm. PST / 00pm EST.

At the APD, Turkish screenwriter and director Nazli Eda Noyan will introduce the concept for the film Sisters' Tale, which tells the story of a contemporary woman about universal family relationships and mental health. © the girl saw the sea goad.

The jury selected 35 projects from 15 countries to participate in this year's Animation Production Days (APD). The curated corporate platform will take place from 4 to 6 May as a hybrid event in which, in pre-programmed individual meetings, producers will present their selected projects to potential co-production and financing partners. APD is a joint venture between the Stuttgart International Animated Film Festival (ITFS) and FMX - Film & Media Exchange.

Five outstanding projects were selected from 20 proposals for the APD Talent Program, which offers emerging producers and creatives the opportunity to discuss their ideas with experienced industry experts, make contacts and find partners for their projects. Thanks to the APD's collaboration with the European training program Animation Sans Frontières, Emile Gignoux's Dark, Dark Woods project has qualified for participation in the Talent Program this year.

An overview of all selected projects is available at animationproductiondays.de/en/projects-2022.

GLAS will present a screening of the stop-motion film premiered at Berlinale The Wolf House (Chile) and Q&A with director Cristobal Leon at this year's online festival.

The GLAS 2022 independent animation festival in Berkeley, California, has announced key programming ahead of its 7th edition all online from April 6-10. The lineup includes five Competition short film collections, the Family Competition, the US Competition and two International Showcase sets. Find the complete program and film selections at festival.glasanimation.com. Highlights also include:

Justin Tomchuk's Surrealist animated film Interface
Screening and direction of La Casa Lobo (The Wolf House).
Talk + Q&A with the winning animator of Cesar Lucrèce Andrea
Retrospectives + questions and answers for Takeshi Murata and Tomek Popakul
Live webinar on how to get the concert and how to present your project

Cartoon Next revealed industry experts who will discuss the future of animation in Marseille, France, April 12-15. Register on cartoon-media.eu by March 25 to appear in the event catalog.

Speakers include: Japhet Asher (Polarity Reversal, UK), Jean-René Aucouturier (M6 / Gulli, France), Lucile Canault (France Télévisions, France), Pascal Charrue (Fortiche Production, France), Sophie Cheynet (CNC, France) , Arnaud Delord (Fortiche Production, France), Bernd Diemer (Improbable, Game Lab, Germany / UK), Luce Grosjean (Miyu, France), Patricia Hidalgo (BBC, UK), Suzanne Kelly (RTE, Ireland), Telidja Klai (VRT, Belgium), Jerome Mazandarani (Anime expert, EMEA), Luca Milano (Rai & EBU, Italy), Marina Narishkin (Millimages, France), Sébastien Onomo (Special Touch Studio, France), Katalin Radóczy (AMC Networks International CE, Eastern Europa), Maura Regan (President of Licensing International, USA), Orion Ross (Disney, EMEA), Andrea Ryder (Ameet, Denmark), Anna Shchur (Zeptolab, Spain), Celeste Surugue (Hachette, France) and Sebastian Wehner (Wonderz, Wolkenlenker, Germany).

Next month the Walt Disney Family Museum will feature a behind-the-scenes Zoom Webinar of Disney and Pixar's Turning Red, offering a glimpse into the studios' latest transformative film. Attendees include production designer Rona Liu, visual effects supervisor Danielle Feinberg and animation supervisors Patty Kihm e Aaron Hartline. The panel will be held on Wednesday 27 April at 17:30 pm. PT. Tickets cost $ 5 for Museum members, $ 8 for non-members, available here.

Character drawings by Stephen Silver

Calls for proposals, tickets, dates and more:

MOMOKIN opened applications for StopMoLab in Łódź, Poland: a nine-month intensive course with animation professionals. Deadline: March 27, 2022. stopmo.pl
Until the 3th April, New York Int'l Children's Film Festival features exclusive online programming, including two short film shows (Celebrating Black Stories and Hola NYICFF). nyicff.org
Celsys (Clip Studio Paint) has opened its own 31st International Illustration Competition, inviting to submit proposals from all over the world on the theme "Vacation". Artists can enter on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag # cspcontest31 by midnight GMT on 6th April to try to win the $ 2K USD first place prize. clipstudio.net/en/cspcontest31
Animation Skillnet (Ireland) will launch the online workshop Mindset, Caricature and Character Design with Stephen Silver Saturday 23 April at 15pm. (00-15; 18 €). animationskillnet.ie
The star of Encanto Jessica Darrow (Luisa) will hold an autograph and selfie session at Megacon of Orlando Florida from Saturday to Sunday 21 and 22 May. Passes are on sale now. megaconorlando.com
Save the date for 6th Annual WIA World Summit, which will take place live and in person in Annecy. The one-day symposium will address the theme of Gender Justice: A Global Call for Inclusion in Animation. STD: June 13, 2022.