Newly-launched festival hosts the U.S. premiere of The Weinstein Company’s ‘Leap,’ along with a presentation from animation director Ted Ty of L’Atelier Animation.
ATLANTA, GA -- SCADFILM’s inaugural SCAD AnimationFest, presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design, brought together leading experts and the next generation of talent from the animation industry.
Held August 9 & 10 at SCAD’s state-of-the-art theater SCADshow in the heart of Midtown Atlanta, the newly-launched festival served as the U.S. premiere of the forthcoming animated feature film, Leap, from The Weinstein Company.
L’Atelier Animation’s Ted Ty, the animation director for Leap, was one of a spectacular lineup of industry panelists that included participants from Blue Sky Studios, Twentieth Century Fox Animation, Primal Screen, Original Force, and many others.
“A quarter century ago animation was synonymous with children’s movies and Saturday morning cartoons. Today, animation finds its way into every frame of our lives, from interactive advertisements to AR video games to Academy Award-winning films,” said SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace ahead of the event. “Animation is everywhere -- just ask the 2,100+ SCAD animation alumni working at studios worldwide. SCAD AnimationFest presents the future of this ubiquitous art form, right in the heart of Atlanta, for all to see.”
In addition to presenting the U.S. premiere of Leap, SCAD AnimationFest featured a number of panel discussions and special screenings, including the hand-drawn animated feature film Ethel and Ernest, based on the award-winning graphic novel by Raymond Briggs, depicting the life and times of two ordinary Londoners living through extraordinary events with vocal talent by Brenda Blethyn and Jim Broadbent.
Panel discussions illuminated the dynamic facets of the animation industry including character development, small studio animation as well as the growth of Atlanta-based production houses. Guests included:
- Ted Ty, animation director, L’Atelier Animation, Inc.
- Andrea Miloro, senior vice president of production, Twentieth Century Fox Animation
- Karen Toliver, senior vice president of production, Twentieth Century Fox Animation
- Tom Cardone, production designer, Blue Sky Studios
- Ashley Kohler, president and executive producer, Awesome, Inc.
- Doug Grimmett, founder and CEO, Primal Screen
- Adult Swim writers Alan Steadman and Jim Fortier
- SCAD alumnus Jeff MacDonald (M.A., animation, 2013), CEO and animator, Tiny Monsters Studios.
The preeminent authority in digital media with the only university-run casting office in the country, SCAD is helping to drive the multibillion-dollar film and television industry in Georgia, now the number-one filming location in the world, according to FilmL.A. Of the nearly 17,500 SCAD alumni from entertainment and digital media disciplines, more than 2,800 work in the Georgia film industry.
Source: Savannah College of Art and Design
