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VIEW Conference presents a free virtual panel discussion with lead creatives of this year’s Oscar contenders for best animated feature on Wednesday, February 21st, 2024 at 9:30am-10:30am PST (18:30-19:30 CET). The panel will include:
- Director Peter Sohn from Elemental
- Directors Nick Bruno & Troy Quane from Nimona
- Director Joaquin Dos Santos from SpiderMan: Across the Spider-Verse
- Director Pablo Berger from Robot Dreams, and
- President of GKIDS Dave Jesteadt for The Boy and the Heron
Moderated by Ramin Zahed, Editor-in-chier, Animation Magazine
This event is FREE, but any amount you can offer as a donation helps VIEW Conference bring you high-quality events like this.
Zoom details will be emailed to registered participants closer to the day of the event.
Nick Bruno
Nick Bruno is an American film director and animator formerly with Blue Sky Studios, who is Directing his second film NIMONA based on the popular graphic novel of the same name by ND Stevenson. Bruno was born and raised in Mohegan Lake, NY, USA, where at an early age he learned he could combine his love for drawing and filmmaking by pursuing a career in animation. He studied illustration and the fine arts at UMass, Dartmouth and went on to receive his Masters at NYU studying computer animation. In 2005, Bruno joined Blue Sky Studios as a Junior Animator on the feature film ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN (2006). Most recently, Bruno Directed SPIES IN DISGUISE (2020) and has published his own graphic novel URBAN LEGENDZ (2019). Additional animation credits include work on THE PEANUTS MOVIE (2015), DR SEUSS’ HORTON HEARS A WHO (2008), ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS (2009), RIO (2011), EPIC (2013), ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT (2012), ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE (2016) as well as two short films - "Surviving Sid" (2008) and the Oscar®-nominated, “No Time for Nuts” (2006). Bruno resides in his hometown, with his wife Allison and their three children.
Troy Quane
Troy Quane is a Canadian film director and 27-year veteran of the animation industry. Following his feature film directing debut on SPIES IN DISGUISE (2019), he has just completed directing his second feature film NIMONA, based on the award-winning graphic novel of the same name by ND Stevenson. In 1995, having studied Classical Animation at Sheridan College in Oakville ON, he began his career as a traditional animator for Walt Disney Animation Canada. Troy continued as a Senior Animator on various top-end commercials and feature films until 2005, when he accepted the opportunity to work as Storyboard Supervisor on the critically acclaimed live-action Disney film ENCHANTED. Troy continued working in the story department for various studios which ultimately led him to direct the twenty-two-minute short film THE SMURFS: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2011) for SONY Pictures. Additional film credits include Fox Feature Animation’s TITAN A.E. (2000), Warner Bros. Feature Animation’s OSMOSIS JONES (2001), Universal’s CURIOUS GEORGE (2006), 9 (2009) for Focus Features, Aardman Animation’s ARTHUR CHRISTMAS (2011), SONY Pictures Animation’s HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA (2012) and Blue Sky Studios feature films THE PEANUTS MOVIE (2015), ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE (2016) and the Academy Award®-nominated film FERDINAND (2017). Troy currently resides with his family in Ridgefield, CT.
Peter Sohn
Peter Sohn is the director and writer of Elemental. He joined Pixar Animation Studios in September 2000 and has worked on Academy Award®-winning feature films including “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles” and “WALL•E.” Sohn made his directorial debut on the Pixar short “Partly Cloudy,” before going on to direct his first feature “The Good Dinosaur.” He was also an executive producer on “Luca,” which debuted on Disney+ in June 2021. In his role as a creative VP, Sohn is involved in key creative decision-making at the studio and consults on films in both development and production. In addition to his contributions as a filmmaker, Sohn has lent his voice talents to Pixar’s feature films. In “Ratatouille” he voiced the character of Emile, and in “Monsters University,” he is the voice of Scott “Squishy” Squibbles. Audiences can also hear Sohn in “Lightyearas Buzz’s dutiful robot companion cat, Sox. Prior to Pixar, Sohn worked at Warner Bros. with “Ratatouille” director Brad Bird on “The Iron Giant,” as well as at Disney TV. He grew up in New York and attended California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts). He lives in the Bay Area.
Joaquim Dos Santos
Joaquim Dos Santos is a director of Sony Pictures Animation's "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." Alongside his fellow directors, Justin K. Thompson and Kemp Powers, the trio helmed the highly-anticipated sequel to "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," which received the Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature in 2019.Previously, Dos Santos has directed, produced, and storyboarded on a variety of animated television shows such as Nickelodeon’s “The Legend of Korra” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” DreamWorks Animation’s “Voltron: Legendary Defender” and Warner Bros.’ “Justice League Unlimited” and “Teen Titans.” Dos Santos began his career 20 years ago at Sony Pictures Television in their TV department working on animated series like “Roughneck: The Starship Troopers Chronicles” and “Men in Black: The Series.” Dos Santos was born in Lisbon, Portugal. He moved to North Hollywood when he was four years old, but spent his summers back in Portugal which heavily influenced him as an artist. Dos Santos currently resides in Woodland Hills, California with his wife and son.
Pablo Berger
Pablo Berger is an acclaimed Spanish director thanks to one of the most renowned and original films in recent European cinema: the Spanish-French co- production “Blancanieves” (2012). Among other distinctions, it garnered 10 Goya Awards, an Ariel for Best Ibero-American Film, represented Spain for the 2013 Oscars and won a Silver Shell for Best Female Lead as well as the Special Jury Prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival. “Blancanieves” was also nominated for a 2014 César Award for Best Foreign Film and for the European Film Awards in the Best Film and Best Director categories, as well as winning the prize for Best European Costume Design. Pablo Berger is a Knight of the Arts and Letters of France and a member of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Berger began his directing career with the multi-award-winning cult short Mama (1988). He then got a Masters in Directing from New York University, where he directed the Emmy nominated short film “Truth and Beauty.” He lived in New York for a decade. His debut, the Spanish-Danish co-production “Torremolinos 73” (2003), won several national and international prizes, including the Gold Biznaga for Best Picture at the Malaga Film Festival, and was nominated for the Goya Awards in four categories. “Torremolinos 73” was also one of Spain’s biggest box office hits that year. In 2017 he wrote and directed “Abracadabra.” Again finalist for representing Spain at the Oscars and it garnered 8 Goya nominations. “Robot Dreams” is the first animation film and the third collaboration between Arcadia Motion Pictures and Pablo Berger.
Dave Jesteadt
David Jesteadt is President at GKIDS, a distributor of award-winning feature animation for both adult and family audiences. Since David joined company founder Eric Beckman to form GKIDS over 15 years ago, the company has charted a new path for foreign and independent animation in one of the world’s largest film markets. GKIDS has received a record thirteen Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations with The Secret of Kells in 2010, A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita in 2012, Ernest & Celestine in 2014, Song of the Sea and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya in 2015, When Marnie Was There and Boy and the World in 2016, My Life as a Zucchini in 2017, The Breadwinner in 2018, Mirai in 2019, Wolfwalkers in 2021 and The Boy and the Heron in 2024. GKIDS’ titles have received an additional six Golden Globe nominations, including a win for The Boy and the Heron for Best Animated Feature, along with numerous other prizes and awards for the company’s films. GKIDS also handles North American distribution for the acclaimed Studio Ghibli library of films, one of the world’s most coveted animation collections, including such titles as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke.
In addition to overseeing all distribution and marketing activities at the company, David is also an Executive Producer of Academy Award®-nominated films The Breadwinner and Wolfwalkers, and has co-produced the English language versions of many GKIDS films, such Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, which features the voices of Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh. David served on the jury of the inaugural Niigata International Animation Festival in Niigata, Japan, and is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.