Learn and be inspired! One of the many highlights of SPARK ANIMATION are the Production Sessions. Presented by some of the industry’s top talent, this is your opportunity to go behind the scenes of some of the most innovative and exciting new projects of the year. Prepare to be wowed!

Join director and animation legend Glen Keane, producer Gennie Rim, and producer Peilin Chou for a behind-the-scenes look at the origins and making of the animated film event, Over the Moon. Presentation Participants: Director Glen Keane, Producer Peilin Chou, p.g.a., Producer Gennie Rim, p.g.a.

Journey to the Moon: The Making of "Over the Moon"

Join director Tomm Moore and art director Maria Pareja as the pair take us through the unique approach to the film's look and style and the explore the visual language of Wolfwalkers. The discussion is moderated by assistant director Mark Mullery. SPEAKER BIOS <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/468d38d06d6bf87bdf17a3db8e6d2623.jpg" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">MARIA PAREJAMaria Pareja is a Spanish born, Irish based Production Designer and Art Director. She studied Engineering for three years, realised that wasn't for her and transferred to an Animation Course at U-tad (Madrid, Spain) and hasn't looked back since! Maria moved to Kilkenny in 2018 to work for her dream studio, Cartoon Saloon, initially as a Scene Illustrator, before moving into Design, and from there into Production Design on Wolfwalkers. Currently she is art directing a project for GreenPeace. She has also Illustrated Children's Books for Spanish Publishers SM, as well as pursuing her own animated projects. Maria is a keen musician, passionate about plants and loves to doodle in her sketchbook for hours on the train. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/3f11a598d24b22bc7b8967604459bf86.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">TOMM MOOREOver the company’s history, Tomm has worked as Director, Art Director, Storyboarder, Animator and Illustrator on a range of projects from commercials to service work for feature films and TV series, as well as a number of short films projects. Tomm has directed 2 universally successful feature films. Both were nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Award®: The Secret of Kells in 2010 and the spiritual follow-up, Song of the Sea in 2015. Tomm also co-directed (with Ross Stewart) the “On Love” segment for The Prophet, a feature animation produced by Salma Hayek based on one of the best-selling books of all time. He has just finished working on his latest feature film Wolfwalkers which he co-directed with Ross Stewart. Tomm Moore received the Directors Guild of Ireland and America’s Finder’s Series Award in 2008 and European Director of the year at Cartoon Movie in 2009. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/e633f410811412d3c86a75cda189da03.jpg" width="127" style="max-width: 100%; display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">MARK MULLERYMark Mullery has worked in various roles in both broadcast and feature animation, including as an editor, as a supervisor of both compositing and animation, and as an episode director for broadcast. He has worked for Cartoon Saloon since 2013 when he began as an animator on Song of the Sea. Since then he has also served as technical director and composite supervisor on Netflix’ Puffin Rock, technical director on Nora Twomey's The Breadwinner, and most recently as assistant director on Tomm Moore and Ro

The Art Direction of "Wolfwalkers"

Join Wolfwalkers director Tomm Moore as he and the film's writer Will Collins discuss the process of taking their idea and developing it into the finished film. The discussion is moderated by assistant director Mark Mullery. SPEAKER BIOS <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/3f11a598d24b22bc7b8967604459bf86.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">TOMM MOOREOver the company’s history, Tomm has worked as Director, Art Director, Storyboarder, Animator and Illustrator on a range of projects from commercials to service work for feature films and TV series, as well as a number of short films projects. Tomm has directed 2 universally successful feature films. Both were nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Award®: The Secret of Kells in 2010 and the spiritual follow-up, Song of the Sea in 2015. Tomm also co-directed (with Ross Stewart) the “On Love” segment for The Prophet, a feature animation produced by Salma Hayek based on one of the best-selling books of all time. He has just finished working on his latest feature film Wolfwalkers which he co-directed with Ross Stewart. Tomm Moore received the Directors Guild of Ireland and America’s Finder’s Series Award in 2008 and European Director of the year at Cartoon Movie in 2009. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/e633f410811412d3c86a75cda189da03.jpg" width="127" style="max-width: 100%; display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">MARK MULLERYMark Mullery has worked in various roles in both broadcast and feature animation, including as an editor, as a supervisor of both compositing and animation, and as an episode director for broadcast. He has worked for Cartoon Saloon since 2013 when he began as an animator on Song of the Sea. Since then he has also served as technical director and composite supervisor on Netflix’ Puffin Rock, technical director on Nora Twomey's The Breadwinner, and most recently as assistant director on Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart’s feature film Wolfwalkers. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/e26898828b2638ac859b6c496d8d9aa2.jpg" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">WILL COLLINS Will Collins is a screenwriter whose credits include the Oscar-nominated Song of the Sea (Tomm Moore), its acclaimed follow-up Wolfwalkers (Tomm Moore &amp; Ross Stewart), My Brothers (Paul Fraser), the Netflix special Angela's Christmas. He has been nominated for a Daytime EMMY (Angela’s Christmas), an ANNIE AWARD (Song of the Sea), an EMILE AWARD (Angela’s Christmas), and two IFTA’s (Song of the Sea, My Brothers).

From Script to Screen: Writing "Wolfwalkers"

In her new project The Orchid and the Bee, interdisciplinary artist Frances Adair Mckenzie brings a keen sense of play to the realm of virtual reality by combining the tactile materiality of old-school stop-motion animation and stereoscopy with cutting-edge technology. The result is an expressionistic spiral ode to our evolutionary future and life's labyrinthine struggle for existence, as seen through a chain of genetic love affairs. In this exclusive presentation, Frances will offer&nbsp;insight into her artistic process – from initial research into co-evolution, to the construction of a rotating motorized set and stereo workflows for VR compositing in Nuke. <a href="https://youtu.be/GbJs0Sopkuk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Watch the film</a> SPEAKER BIO <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/c91cd944bb073f99f229ef2c785e6603.jpg" width="162" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">FRANCES ADAIR MCKENZIE Frances Adair Mckenzie is an interdisciplinary artist who has exhibited in Canada and Europe. Her work negotiates speculative investigations into concepts of materiality, staging and form, always in deference to process as the hands-on manipulation of real materials and objects, most often through the interface of digital technology and sculpture. Frances’s augmented reality book, "Glossed Over &amp; Tucked Up," was published in 2016 by Montreal’s Anteism Press. Her association with the Nation Film Board of Canada began with the 10th edition of Hothouse, when she created the surrealist animated short A Little Craving. Her most recent NFB project, The Orchid and the Bee, is a VR stop-motion animation that speaks to the interconnectedness of all living things. Frances lives and works in Montreal.

The Orchid & the Bee: Tactile Materiality, Stereoscopy & VR – An Artist Talk with Frances Adair Mckenzie

Exclusive presentation from director Frances Adair Mckenzie on the making of "The Orchid and the Bee"

A quiet evolution has been taking place at WildBrain Studios. In this roundtable discussion, some of WildBrain’s leading 2D and 3D animators will discuss the technology, workflows, tools, and industry trends that have contributed to a new age for the studio’s animation work. Projects like The Snoopy Show, Snoopy in Space, Johnny Test, Go, Dog. Go!, and Dorg Van Dango are building on the innovations of previous projects, and laying the groundwork for a new wave of advancement on premium-quality 2D and 3D productions just getting underway. Moderated by WildBrain Studios EVP &amp; GM Amir Nasrabadi, come hear from these leaders in animation: &nbsp;&nbsp;• Mélanie Daigle, Animation Director&nbsp;&nbsp;• Daniela Fischer, Animation Supervisor&nbsp;&nbsp;• Shawn Harper, Episode Director&nbsp;&nbsp;• Ryan MacNeil, Animation Director&nbsp;&nbsp;• Jon Mead, Animation Director&nbsp;&nbsp;• Matthew Shepherd, Creative Director, Animation SPEAKER BIOS <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/eed9f92130e6b483a8dd650757f136a4.jpg" width="152" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">AMIR NASRABADIExecutive Vice President and General Manager Amir Nasrabadi has over 20 years’ experience in production, operations, finance and strategy in the animation and visual effects industry, having held senior roles with some of the world’s top production companies and studios. At WildBrain’s Vancouver animation studio, Mr. Nasrabadi oversees all animation production, leading the Vancouver animation team in working closely with WildBrain’s creative, content and brands teams. Prior to WildBrain, Mr. Nasrabadi was EVP of Finance and Operations for Illumination, producers of such global hits as Despicable Me, Minions, The Grinch and Sing. Prior to Illumination, Mr. Nasrabadi was SVP of Production at Paramount Animation, and before Paramount, Mr. Nasrabadi worked for 15 years with The Walt Disney Studios, where he was VP Finance and Operations for DisneyToon Studios, and then in 2009, launched and ran Pixar Canada in Vancouver. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/8ab55b6a67ad3df16c4a10f2587c10ef.jpg" width="132" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">DANIELA FISCHERAnimation Supervisor Daniela Fischer is a Brazilian/Canadian artist work as an animator and storyboard artist.&nbsp;She has been part of several 2D animation productions, including Jake and the Neverland Pirates, My Little Pony: The Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Dorg Van Dango, Green Eggs and Ham, and multiple other series as well as TV advertisements. Currently Daniela is an animation supervisor on WildBrain’s new seasons of Johnny Test for Netflix. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/04be99dd7735b372d93c5f7b453cb42e.jpg" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">JON MEADAnimation Director A well regarded and coveted leader in the Vancouver industry, Jon Mead is classically trained animator and animation director with over 20 years of experience working on some of the most iconic projects in the field.&nbsp; Currently an animation director on WildBrain’s Go, Dog. Go!, Jon has animated beloved characters for Pixar, Rainmaker, Industrial Light &amp; Magic, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, as well as demonstrating strong, inspiring leadership as Animation Lead at Pixar Canada, and as Animation Director at Atomic Cartoons and WildBrain.&nbsp; Over the span of his career, Jon has worked on acclaimed, award-winning feature films including A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2 (on which he storyboarded as well as animated), Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, and Ratatouille, along with multiple short films for Toy Story and Cars, and even Disneyland rides. Prior to joining WildBrain, Jon lent his talents to Atomic Cartoons as animation director on Hello Ninja and the Daytime Emmy-winning series Beat Bugs. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/b304027330b63cb683709f0006666af9.jpg" width="160" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">MATTHEW SHEPHERDCreative Director, Animation&nbsp; Matthew Shepherd is the Creative Director of Animation for WildBrain Studios, bringing 18 years of animation experience that includes 2D and 3D projects in both TV and film. Matt’s leadership experience spans across a diverse collection of films, including roles as Supervising Animator for Sony Pictures Imageworks on Smurfs The Lost Village, Hotel Transylvania 3 and Connected, Lead Animator on The Lego Movie 2 with Animal Logic, and most recently contributing to Space Jam 2 as an Animation Lead with Industrial Light &amp; Magic. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/a784dd5fdc045a915e046cea5fc0b0ca.jpg" width="163" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">MÉLANIE DAIGLEAnimation Director Classically trained and with 10 years of digital 2D animation experience under her belt, Mélanie is a character animator with a passion for acting and an eye for design. Originally from a small Acadian village on the shores of New Brunswick's East coast, she moved to the Toronto area to study and graduated from Sheridan's classical animation program (Bachelor of Applied Arts - Animation.)&nbsp; Since then, she has provided quality character animation on a wide range of TV series, supervised animation on The My Little Pony Movie, and served as animation director on the Snoopy in Space shorts. Over the years, she's had the opportunity to dabble throughout the animation pipeline, from concept art and R+D work to producing complete animated promos. She’s currently finding her legs as a director and gets to draw all day long at WildBrain Studios. Mélanie is also a published children's book illustrator and a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/9ce10c66490e386cb1cb038d8308da78.jpg" width="123" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">RYAN MACNEILAnimation Director Ryan is a Nova Scotia-born Animation Director with fifteen years of industry experience working on projects for Disney, Dreamworks, Nickleodeon, and now Apple with The Snoopy Show. He was a 2016 Annie nominee for TV character animation and the 2017 Startoon winner. He lives in Vancouver with his wonderful wife and a passable cat.&nbsp; <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/10b43c20272d937dfe6bd4aa6ad42991.jpg" width="151" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">SHAWN HARPEREpisode Director Shawn Harper was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. It was there he studied animation at Algonquin College, and took his first animation job at Mercury Filmworks on the series Wayside. Shawn continued working in the Ottawa animation industry for almost three years, then moved to Vancouver to work at WildBrain (formally known as DHX) as a Layout Artist on Littlest Pet Shop. Since then, Shawn has held increasingly senior roles on award-winning series and global brands, such as being Lead Animator on the first season of Rick and Morty, Animation Supervisor on seasons one and two of the Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs series, and most recently Animation Supervisor on The Snoopy Show. Shawn now has the great pleasure of being Episodic Director on an exciting new project at WildBrain Studios.

WildBrain’s Animation Evolution

Director Joel Crawford and Production Designer Nate Wragg discuss&nbsp;the making of The Croods: A New Age and reminisce&nbsp;about&nbsp;the fun and passion that&nbsp;went into making the film, with a quick sneak peek at the visually stunning and thrilling "Joyride" sequence.&nbsp; SPEAKER BIOS <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/3dbdd78b02e45125fbf2560b253b401b.jpg" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;"> ﻿JOEL CRAWFORD Joel Crawford is currently serving as the Director of The Croods: A New Age. He also directed the Trolls Holiday Special, which aired on NBC.&nbsp; Joel joined DreamWorks Animation in 2006 and quickly became an integral Story Artist on Trolls, Shrek Ever After, Rise of the Guardians, Kung Fu Panda 1, 2 &amp; 3, and Bee Movie. He also served as a Story Artist on The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and Alvin &amp; the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.&nbsp; Joel is an alumni of The California Institute of the Arts. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/dd39f639875e1533e29d8e0e33bf1be5.jpg" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">NATE WRAGG Nate Wragg currently serves as the Production Designer for DreamWorks Animation's The Croods: A New Age.&nbsp;Prior to that he was the Production Designer on Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie.&nbsp;&nbsp;For over the past decade Wragg has worked in the animation industry as a Production Designer, Art Director, Character Designer and Visual Development Artist on many films including&nbsp;Ratatouille (2007), Toy Story 3 (2010), Puss in Boots (2011), and The Croods (2013) along with various shorts including Your Friend the Rat (2007), and Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll (2015).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Prior to his professional career, Wragg studied in the Character Animation Department at Cal Arts in Southern California.

Discussing The Croods: A New Age with Director Joel Crawford and Production Designer Nate Wragg

Director Walt Dohrn and Production Designer Kendal Cronkhite join to discuss the making of Trolls World Tour and the fabrics and textures involved in creating the vibrant, and colorful looks of the newly discovered other Trolls lands in the Trolls Kingdom. SPEAKER BIOS <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/3920c45a581f85970fc299d8e80e17f6.jpg" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;"> ﻿KENDAL CRONKHITE Kendal Cronkhite Shaindlin most recently served as the Production Designer on DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour.&nbsp;Prior to her designing the world where Poppy confronts the Bergen’s in Trolls, Kendal spent her time with the Zoosters in Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, and Madagascar: Europe’s Most Wanted. In her role as production designer, Kendal is responsible for designing the “look of the film” by managing the art/character departments and communicating with the other departments to assure the quality and continuity of the film.Kendal has worked in VR as the Production Designer on Oculus Story Studio’s, Henry and Fable Studios, Wolves in the Walls. Kendal joined DreamWorks as an art director in its pioneering days and worked on the studio’s first computer animated film, ANTZ.&nbsp;Prior to joining the company, Kendal was the assistant art director on Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and art director on Disney’s James and the Giant Peach, and worked as an editorial illustrator in Toronto and New York. Cronkhite received her BFA from the Art Center College of Design with a major in illustration. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/5759ce5c28282ed12dc0bdaf1287e917.jpg" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;">WALT DORHN Walt Dohrn most recently directed DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour. As one of DreamWorks Animations most trusted story experts, Dohrn previously served as co-director on the smash hit Trolls and as Head of Story on the hits Peabody and Sherman and Shrek Forever After. A multi-talented artist, Dohrn has on many occasions lent his voice to various characters in previous DreamWorks Animation films, most recently as “Cloud Guy” in Trolls.&nbsp;In Shrek Forever After made his debut as a voice performer in a leading role, bringing to life the conniving and hilarious villain Rumpelstiltskin. Perfecting the character’s performance came naturally to Dohrn, as he additionally served as Head of Story for the film.&nbsp;In that capacity, Dohrn was responsible for supervising the development of the film’s plot, working in close collaboration with director Mike Mitchell and supervising a team of story artists.&nbsp; Since joining DreamWorks Animation in 2002, Dohrn also contributed to the story of Rise of the Guardians, Shrek the Third, Madagascar, Shark Tale, and Shrek 2.&nbsp;In addition, Dohrn wrote the lyrics for the songs “Final Showdown” (Shrek the Third) and “Fairy Godmother Song” (Shrek 2).&nbsp; Prior to joining DreamWorks Animation, he worked as a storyboard artist and writer.&nbsp;His credits include the critically acclaimed audience favorites SpongeBob Squarepants and Dexter’s Laboratory.

Discussing Trolls World Tour with Director Walt Dohrn and Production Designer Kendal Cronkhite

Production Sessions

General Admission

Donate Today!

Donate

Gift Cards

These are all the passes tied to your account. Now, use our online schedule to reserve tickets. You can access your tickets via {{my_tickets_link|"My Tickets"}}{{buy_pass_link|Looking to buy more passes?}}

All-Access Pass 

Conference Pass

Festival Pass 

None available

The best way to experience this year's SPARK ANIMATION 2023 is with a full access pass! Fore more details click on the Festival Site link. You can purchase individual program tickets below.

Celebrate 15 years of the world's best animation SPARK ANIMATION! British Columbia's only Oscar®-accredited festival packs world-class films and talks into one grass-roots, volunteer run festival which is now available world-wide! We know animation. Share our passion with us!

Here's what's coming up soon. Can't make it? No sweat. All live streams will be available for on-demand viewing as well.