Last night (May 4), the CalArts Character Animation Producers’ Show, presented by the School of Film/Video, returned in-person for the first time in three years at the David Geffen Theater at Academy Museum in Los Angeles. The screening featured a selection of 27 student films juried by the Character Animation faculty.
The show commenced with opening remarks from President Ravi Rajan, Provost Tracie Costantino, School of Film/Video Dean Abigail Severance, Character Animation Program Director Maija Burnett, and Associate Director Steve Brown, each of whom thanked the students for their resilience and commitment to filmmaking throughout the pandemic.
Following the remarks was the recognition of the evening’s guests of honor: Mike Rianda (Film/Video 11) and Jeff Rowe (Film/Video 11), directors and writers of the Academy Award-nominated sci-fi comedy The Mitchells vs. The Machines. The pair reminisced on their time at the Institute and offered encouragement to the students, regarding them as the vanguard of the animation industry.
Rianda and Rowe also announced the three student award winners:
Walter and Gracie Lantz Animation Prize: “Operago” by Rayna Buxton (watch above)
Vimeo Award: “Everything Must Go” by Alisha Liu
Peer’s Pick Award: “Detective Alice and the Inside Game” by Kyky Yang
The full screening program, following the award-winning films:
- “Midnight Garden” by Sapphira Chen
- “The Twins” by Michelle Tang
- “Grandma Rosi” by Maya McMahon
- “Aki” by Wanci Hua
- “Elif: Chapter 1” by Ladin Kazman
- “Night Cruise” by Claire Seckler
- “The Best Ham Sandwich According to a Fish” by Jessica Xu
- “Parfum Abricot” by Zoé Lacau
- “After the Rain” by Chelsea Li
- “mr. sun” by Christina Wu
- “C R O S S I N G” by Xai Yaj
- “GHENT ALTARPIECE” by Lewis Tarver
- “Lift You Up” by Kim McMahon
- “The Witch” by Katharine Doescher
- “Lost Souls” by Christina Giordano
- “homebody” by Sophia Du
- “TIGER.” by Lyly Hoang
- “Warm Welcome” by Anya Butler, X.K. Balashov, Janelle Feng, Mu’izza Nur Rahman, Michelle Cheng, Ken Kamau, Izabella Anguiano Jacobs, and Jasper Wang
- “The Vending Machine” by Sumin Cho
- “Something Fishy” by Christina Woo
- “Blast Off” by Kelly Wang
- “I Am A Fish” by Joy Chung
- “The Balcony” by Anya Martin
- “The Pretty Duckling” by Justine King
The Producers’ Show was the final event of the 2022 School of Film/Video Showcase, which presented special screenings by student films from each of the four programs—including the Character Animation Open Show, which took place on campus from April 22-23. Watch the 2022 Open Show works, among which are several of the films selected for Producers’ Show, on YouTube or Vimeo.
