CalArtians Nominated for First-Ever Children’s & Family Emmy Awards

Nominations for the inaugural Children’s & Family Emmy Awards were recently announced, featuring CalArts alums and faculty among the contenders. These new awards are an initiative from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences to recognize the growth and contributions of programming for children and families. The awards will take place on Dec. 10 and 11 at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles.

CalArts alums and faculty from the School of Film/Video garnered multiple nominations across categories. 

Creator and writer Elizabeth Ito (Film/Video BFA 04) is nominated for both Outstanding Animated Series and Outstanding Writing for an Animated Program for Netflix’s City of Ghosts. Ito has worked in a variety of roles for Cartoon Network, Epitaph Records, and now Apple TV. A 2022 Peabody Award winner, City of Ghosts is an animated documentary series about a group of kids from Boyle Heights who search for ghosts throughout Los Angeles in hopes of recording their adventures. The show also picked up nominations for Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for a Preschool Animated Program.

Jorge Gutierrez (Film/Video MFA 00) picked up two nominations for Netflix’s Maya and the Three: Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and Outstanding Writing for an Animated Program. With multiple prior Emmy and Annie Award wins, Gutierrez created this show about a warrior princess who follows an ancient prophecy to try to save humanity from the wrath of the gods. The show is also nominated for Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for an Animated Program. 

Director McKenna Harris (Film/Video BFA 17) is nominated for Outstanding Short Form Program for Disney’s “Ciao, Alberto,” a short film that also picked up a nomination for Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for an Animated Program. Having previously worked on Raya and the Last Dragon, Luca, and Ralph Breaks the Internet, Harris’ new work follows Alberto in his journey to impress his mentor, the tattooed, one-armed fisherman Massimo.

Storyboard artist Alex Avagimian (Film/Video BFA 19) and visual development artist Isaac Orloff (current School of Film/Video adjunct faculty) have been nominated for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program on Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans. Also nominated for Outstanding Sound Mixing And Sound Editing For An Animated Program, this next film in the Trollhunters series chronicles the conflict between the Guardians of Arcadia and the nefarious Arcane Order, who have awoken the primordial Titans. Avagimian has multiple credits working with Marvel, Dreamworks, and Netflix, and Orloff has collaborated with Dreamworks, Disney, Marvel, Netflix, and Paramount.

Creator and writer Matt Braly (Film/Video BFA 10) is nominated for Outstanding Writing for an Animated Program for Disney’s Amphibia. With numerous credits under his belt including Gravity Falls and Steven Universe, Braly’s new series follows Anne Boonchuy as a music box transports her to a world of frogs, toads, giant insects, and true friendship. Amphibia is also nominated for Outstanding Voice Directing for an Animated Series. 

Supervision director and former School of Film/Video faculty Tim Rauch has also been nominated for Outstanding Short Form Program for Netflix’s We the People, produced by Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Kenya Barris. A Peabody Award-winning creator of StoryCorps: The Animated Series, Rauch’s latest series uses upbeat songs and illustrations to guide everyday people through the basics of rights and citizenship. 

Qadriyyah Shamsid-Deen (Film/Video MFA 10, Theater MFA 09) is among the producers nominated for Netflix’s Waffles + Mochi in the category Outstanding Preschool Series. The hybrid food and travel series stars two puppets who learn about food and nutrition from a local grocer played by former first lady Michelle Obama (one of the series’ executive producers). Shamsid-Deen formerly served as a creative executive at the Obama’s Netflix-based Higher Ground Productions, which also produced We the People.

A full list of nominations is available at the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Tune in to the live award presentation on the Emmys website on Sunday, Dec. 11 (the Creative Arts categories will be presented on Saturday, Dec. 10).

—Ishika Muchhal