Netflix Canada & Women in Animation Vancouver Announce Shortlisted Candidates for Cohort 4 of the Animation Career EXCELerator Program
Vancouver, BC – Today, Women in Animation Vancouver (WIA Vancouver), a non-profit organization in the global animation industry, announced the short- listed candidates for the ACE Canada Program’s fourth iteration. The program is an immersive Animation Career EXCELelerator training program, 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 5 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 9 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 calibre of this years applicants is exemplary and it will be a challenge to select one candidate per role.”
The ACE Canada Program has become the go-to program for studios looking to hire key creative talent. 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, was an Official Selection Fantoche (Baden, Switzerland) and Variety predicted Pivot as a shortlist candidate for the 2024 Academy Awards.
Ostinato, the film from the ACE 3 cohort, will be screening during the Short Film Forum at the Annecy International Animation Festival on Thursday, June 13th, 3:00 pm 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 generous sponsors including Netflix Canada, Canada Media Fund, Creative BC, Telefilm Canada, Toon Boom Animation, Autodesk, and Atomic Cartoons.
The ACE CANADA Cohort 4 Shortlisted Applicants:
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)
MORE INFORMATION:
For more information about the ACE Program, please visit wiavan-ace.org
