<h3>Where</h3>Online<h3>When</h3>March 24-26, 2022

Toronto Animation Film Festival

<h3>Where</h3>Online<h3>When</h3>March 24-27, 2021

<h3>Where</h3>Hot Docs Cinema | Toronto, Canada | 506 Bloor Street West<h3>When</h3>Monday April 25th

<h3>Where</h3>Online<h3>When</h3>November 11-13, 2021

Toronto Animation Industry Conference

<h3>Where</h3>Online<h3>When</h3>November 18-22, 2020﻿

<h3>Where</h3>Corus Quay, Toronto, Canada, 25 Dockside Dr.<h3>When</h3>Saturday to Sunday, November 2-3, 2019

Toronto Animation / VFX Job Fair

TAAFI News

It's the opening night of TAAFI's Industry Conference and what better way to kick things off than with a virtual reception! Dust off your tux, pantsuit or ballgown and strut your stuff on the red carpet for a selfie screen grab.Mix and mingle with fellow attendees, have a drink from your fridge, and watch TAAFI Programming Ace Thalia Lemon draw some emoji's live for our Discord Server. It will be a weird kind of awesome. See you there for a special hour of power before things kick off with Lindsey Olivares. <a href="https://spatial.chat/s/TAAFI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click this LINK to join the Reception in Spatial Chat.</a> You'll need to upload a photo of yourself, and use your camera and mic. <a href="https://spatial.chat/s/TAAFI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://spatial.chat/s/TAAFI</a>At 6pm we'll have a cheers to kick things off right with everyone in the space. So have your bubbly (a real one) handy. 🍻🥂Also if you just want to watch, check out our news page at 5:30pm to just livestream it. <a href="https://taafi.com/news" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://taafi.com/news</a>

Opening Night Reception

Barnabas Wornoff

New to the behind the scenes of TAAFI, Thalia is a 10 year industry veteran with a passionate enthusiasm for all things cartoon, and a resume that includes the Willoughby's, Addams Family 2, My Little Pony the Movie, and various TV productions.When this west coast transplant isn't storyboarding, you can find her live-streaming on Twitch <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/drawsforfun" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">(DrawsforFun)</a>, or trying to fix her terrible posture.

Thalia Lemon

Join our opening keynote talk by Lindsey Olivares, the production designer and lead character designer on Sony Pictures Animation's original animated comedy The Mitchells vs. The Machines, streaming now on Netflix. Lindsey will share some behind the scenes concept sketches and drawings that helped shape the visual look of one of the best films from the past few years. What's it like to both be the lead character designer and production designer? What is a production designer? Tune in to find out.

Join our opening keynote talk by Lindsey Olivares, the production designer and lead character designer on Sony Pictures Animation's original animated comedy The Mitchells vs. The Machines, streaming now on Netflix. Lindsey will share some behind the scenes concept sketches and drawings that helped shape the visual look of one of the best films from the past few years. What's it like to both be the lead character designer and production designer? What is a production designer? Tune in to find out.

Opening Keynote with Lindsey Olivares

Lindsey Olivares is the production designer and lead character designer on Sony Pictures Animation's original animated comedy The Mitchells vs. The Machines, streaming now on Netflix.Before joining Sony Pictures Animation, Olivares worked as a freelance visual development artist and illustrator with a focus on character design and caricature. Her freelance clients have included Disney Television Animation, DreamWorks Animation, Locksmith Animation, Nickelodeon, Google, Furry Puppet Studio, Titmouse, Hornet Inc, Psyop, Airbnb, Pinterest, and Facebook.&nbsp;Her film credits include DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, Penguins of Madagascar, and Trolls, as well as Sony Pictures Animation’s The Emoji Movie.

Lindsey Olivares

Pipeline

Animation Career EXCELerator's (ACE) mission is to de-mystify the process of creating original animated content and provide an opportunity for women and those who identify as women to hold the key creative and decision-making roles needed to make that content. ACE does this by providing targeted and focused mentoring, support, and training to mid- level career professionals as they develop and create their own intellectual property, and earn a key credit to help advance their careers.&nbsp;Join the executive producers and Team ACE 2 as they discuss the program’s impact to their career, ACE 3’s plans to expand across Canada with Netflix Canada, and the many ways artists and studios in Toronto can participate.

WIA Vancouver Presents: Widening our Lens; Advancing Women in Key Creative Roles

Born and raised in Brazil, Ana Gusson is a director and 2d animator. She has a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and was a production designer and assistant art director in film and advertising in South Brazil. Looking for new opportunities, she came to Canada to attend the classical animation program at Vancouver Film School, where she found, not only a new storytelling tool, but also a long, lost creative voice.&nbsp;At VFS, Ana successfully directed two short films - Serio and Mushrooming. Serio participated in over a dozen festivals around the world, including Fantoche in Switzerland. Since then, she has worked as an animator in productions like My Little Pony: The Movie, the second season of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Netflix’s Archibald’s Next Big Thing. Ana is currently part of the senior animation team at Atomic Cartoons in Vancouver, BC.&nbsp;Aside from her work as an animator, Ana dedicates time to creating her own animation projects and collaborates with other artists in projects that envision long-term social impact.

Ana Gusson

Cindey Chiang is a Taiwanese Canadian artist with a bachelor of fine arts in character animation from CalArts. Her journey in the animation industry so far has allowed her to contribute to a variety of projects- from animating on the Beatles Covers ad for Apple to working on both of The Angry Birds movies as a visual development artist. She was most recently a senior designer at Skybound Entertainment on Robert Kirkman’s Invincible animated series for Amazon and is currently a designer and art director (1 episode) of the upcoming Netflix Brown and Friends series at Kickstart Entertainment. Apart from drawing, Cindey enjoys arts and crafts, drinking coffee, and eating ice cream. She also likes animals and all things cute!

Cindey Chiang

Eva Pekárová is a Vancouver based music composer, filmmaker, and artist. She originates from Piešťany, Slovakia and her art is often informed by her heritage. As a young immigrant, writing music became her universal language. In grade 11 she won the Youth Composers Showcase and flew to New York to perform her original piano piece at the Lincoln Centre of Performing Arts. Eva holds a bachelors of fine art from Emily Carr University with a concentration on film and media. This gives her the unique insight of being a composer with practical and academic film experience. When she is not scoring or working on her own artistic endeavors Eva works as a book cover illustrator, fabricator for stop-motion films, as well as working and training dogs.&nbsp;

Eva Pekárová

Erica Miles has been drawn to the world of animation from a young age, and after seeing The Lion King on the big screen at the age of 6, knew she wanted to become an animator and help to bring stories to life. She has worked on a number of productions both in 2D and 3D across a wide range of animation styles. Most recently she animated on the award-winning Hilda for Netflix and 101 Dalmatian Street for Disney, and is currently a lead animator on Trolls: TrollsTopia for Dreamworks Television at Atomic Cartoons.Erica was selected as the animation director of the 2020/2021 ACE Program through WIA, and the short film Pivot that they created through the program is premiering at Spark this year.

Erica Miles

Robyn Campbell is a Canadian writer residing in Vancouver, British Columbia. As a bisexual, female, millennial, Robyn creates characters and stories that are inclusive, diverse and encourage youth to be themselves, even when it’s difficult. Her first feature film script, The Best, was selected for Oaxaca International FilmFest, the commercials she has written have accumulated millions of views, and her short-animated film, Pivot, was produced with a female-lead team for Women in Animation's ACE program. All of these works contain strong female leads and themes of acceptance of one's self, body, and orientation.&nbsp;&nbsp;Robyn has bachelor's degrees in sociology and biology from the University of Saskatchewan, which she completed before moving to Vancouver to attend Vancouver Film School. Inspired by the limitless storytelling opportunities animation provides, she has three years of experience at Mainframe Studios, shepherding diverse and unique animated projects into creation, including reviewing, editing, and helping to write original IP.&nbsp;

Robyn Campbell

Rose-Ann Tisserand is co-founder of Flying Kraken Creative Studios, a boutique, Canadian-based studio that creates original animation content and specializes in award-winning animation design services. She has worked as a production executive for 22 years. She was supervising producer at Bardel Entertainment, a consulting producer with the NFB and is currently executive producer &amp; co-creator of a series in development with Silvergate Media. She also sits on the Spark Animation Leadership Board and the Executive Advisory Board of Women in Animation Vancouver. Rose-Ann is founder and co-executive producer of WIA Vancouver’s Animation Career EXCELerator program.

Rose-Ann Tisserand

Tracey is honoured to executive produce the ACE program with Women in Animation.&nbsp;She is an award-winning producer with 20 years of experience, producing over 120 hours of television in both live action &amp; animated film, television and digital media.&nbsp;She is currently COO &amp; head of production for Imagine Create Media, and was formerly the head of business affairs, associate vice president of production of Bardel Entertainment.&nbsp;Through her own company, Urban Safari Entertainment, she has just finished development on the animated feature, A Christmas Crisis, with Hollywood Suite, which she also wrote, and has produced The Adventures of Little Jake &amp; Many Skies for APTN, the award-winning Kids’ Cookhouse, and the web series PARKED.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Tracey Mack

After graduation from film school in Vienna, Austria, Tini worked as a location and production manager on various projects. Starting off with short films, then gaining more experience with TV movies and commercials, she then moved to Canada where she discovered the world of animation. She worked in the production department on CG and 2D, 2D Harmony with CG integration, TV shows and a 2D Harmony feature film. Currently she is working as an animation line producer at Atomic Cartoons.

Tini Wider

It's opening night of TAAFI Industry, and what better way to rub elbows with fellow attendees than by beating the pants off them in one of five (5) different games rooms in TAAFI's own boppin' Discord Server. Join Gamesmaster Quinn and your fellow TAAFI attendees for an evening of gaming fun. Classic games from Pictionary to animation based Trivia. We'll be running Jackbox, get ready for something Drawful, a broken-telephone of animation called Gartic Phone, or join the taboo room for a round of Cards Against Humanity. 😡There's no wrong choice, except not coming. That's clearly the wrong choice. See ya after the amazing WIA Panel in the <a href="https://discord.com/invite/f3kaVvNg6j" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">🎲TAAFI Discord.</a>

Opening Night Networking: Games Night! 

Joel and Spencer met during an epic hot-dog eating competition in Ottawa. After finishing in a tie, they developed a mutual respect for one another and decided to join forces.When these two weenie boys aren't on the clock, working on hit cartoons, you can find them kicking back with their many, many friends, sipping and sketching. Come join the fun on Thursday night in the <a href="https://discord.com/invite/f3kaVvNg6j" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TAAFI Discord Server</a>, as Joel and Spencer invite you to be friends with them and drink and draw the night away!

Joel & Spencer

TAAFI welcomes veterans and hobbyists alike to join us for three uninterrupted hours of audience prompted classical animation workshop, helmed by the incogitable James Baxter himself.What can you do when James Baxter says "let me do my thing for three hours, and I'll animate whatever the audience wants!" besides enthusiastically acquiesce?

James Baxter Live Animation Demo

James was born in 1967, in Bristol, and raised in Bishop’s Stortford, England. He started experimenting on little animation tests with a 8mm camera at age 16. James attended Cambridge College of Arts &amp; Technology for one year and West Surrey College of Arts &amp; Design for one year before leaving to work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit in London. James moved to California to work for the Walt Disney Company, where he worked as the supervising animator on classic characters like Belle in Beauty and the Beast and Rafiki in The Lion King. He then moved to DreamWorks SKG where he worked on Prince of Egypt, Spirit, Stallion of the Cimmeron and Shrek 2. From 2005 to 2008, James had his own studio, James Baxter Animation which produced several projects, including the hand drawn animation for the Disney feature film Enchanted, and the opening sequence of DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda. He returned to DreamWorks Animation to work on How to Train Your Dragon 1 and 2, and The Croods. James is now the director of character animation at Netflix.

James Baxter

Mike Hunter is the manager of creative culture at Jam Filled Studios. Previously working in production management on shows such as Bubble Guppies, Kingdom Force, The Polos and The Loud House.

Mike Hunter

Jam Filled

Dream of storyboarding for Bikini Bottom and it’s famous denizens? Artists from one of Nickelodeon’s most iconic titles will present how the show creates its boards and offer insights on how to better your own boarding!

Storyboarding Masterclass with SpongeBob Squarepants

Dave Cunningham is a supervising director on the show along with Sherm Cohen. He also works on Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, and The Patrick Star Show.

Dave Cunningham

Join everyone's favorite voice actor Christian Potenza as he walks you through what it takes to start your own career as a voice actor. What gear should you get? What do you need? Where should you start? Do Jack Nicholson impersonations really help a demo? All these questions and more will be answered. Plus he'll talk like Chris McLean from Total Drama Island a bunch.

Join everyone's favorite voice actor Christian Potenza as he walks you through what it takes to start your own career as a voice actor. What gear should you get? What do you need? Where should you start? Do Jack Nicholson impersonations really help a demo? All these questions and more will be answered. Plus he'll talk like Chris McLean from Total Drama Island a bunch.

Voice Acting Workshop

Christian Potenza has been around for the last 25 years. He’s been everything from a&nbsp;giant yellow tootbrush to rock-star on camera,&nbsp;But on the mic he’s best known as Jude Lizowski from 6Teen and Chris McLean from Total Drama…as well as several others. Christian has now taken his love of all things “VOICE” and Opened up a studio with his business partner Stephanie Yelovich (wicked opera lady) in Hamilton&nbsp;called ‘The Infinity Forge”!….it’s a creative media arts centre for everyone”.

Christian Potenza

Join this group of seasoned development executives for a panel discussion on what it takes to get something made these days. From how to pitch, to what to pitch, to where to pitch. What are people looking for? How long does the process take? Where better to get these answers than from some of the folks who help make the great cartoons in this frosty land.

Join this group of seasoned development executives for a panel discussion on what it takes to get something made these days.From how to pitch, to what to pitch, to where to pitch. What are people looking for? How long does the process take?Where better to get these answers than from some of the folks who help make the great cartoons in this frosty land.

Development Deep Dive

Gregory Little

Rachel Reade Marcus is the VP of creative development at Guru Studio where she leads the company’s development of new original IP. Her passion is creating innovative, quality animated content for all ages through nurturing and mentoring new talent, and fostering long-term creative partnerships. Rachel has played a pivotal role in growing the company’s roster of Originals, including co-creating the studio’s newest preschool series Pikwik Pack which airs on Disney Junior US, Hulu and Treehouse Canada, as well as serving as executive producer on the comedy adventure series Big Blue with CBC in Canada. Previous to her time at Guru Studio, Rachel worked at Nickelodeon developing new IP across their digital platforms.

Rachel Reade Marcus

Before joining the Atomic Cartoons team as a creative development executive, Rose served as coordinator of development at Nickelodeon Animation for five years. Throughout her time there, she helped develop a slate of 40+ television projects - including Star Trek, Rugrats, and SpongeBob. Prior to her time at Nickelodeon, Rose worked at NASA to develop and create video content for a variety of their social media platforms. Originally from Michigan, Rose earned her BA in Art from the University of Michigan. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog and partner, and she spends much of her free time painting oil portraits!

Rose Stacey

As Chief Content Officer at WildBrain, Stephanie Betts is responsible for overseeing WildBrain’s content slate, cultivating an artist-led culture of creative excellence at WildBrain Studios. Ms. Betts’ expertise lies in building and leading strong, creatively driven teams, and in producing series that kids around the world will love. Ms. Betts fosters an integrated approach across development, production and studio operations, drawing on her considerable experience and expertise in launching such notable WildBrain series as Snoopy in Space; The Snoopy Show; Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry in the Big City; Go, Dog. Go!; Chip &amp; Potato; Degrassi and many more. Prior to joining WildBrain, Ms. Betts worked as a producer and development executive at Breakthrough Films and Television, and previously at Atomic Cartoons.&nbsp;

Stephanie Betts

Atomic

Join writer, director, producer Phil Johnston as we delve into his writing process. How he got into writing cartoons, what are the nuts and bolts of his writing process, and what makes the movies he writes so damn good?!

Join writer, director, producer Phil Johnston as we delve into his writing process. How he got into writing cartoons, what are the nuts and bolts of his writing process, and what makes the movies he writes so damn good?!

Writing Zootopia & Wreck It Ralph with Phil Johnston

Phil Johnston is a filmmaker best known for his work on three of the biggest animated films of the 21st century — as a writer of the Academy Award-winning Zootopia and the Academy Award-nominated Wreck-It Ralph and writer &amp; director of Ralph Breaks the Internet, for which he was also nominated for an Oscar. Johnston got his start in independent film, garnering an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his Cedar Rapids script. His collaboration with Sacha Baron Cohen, Grimsby, received no awards or nominations, but it did have one of the most repulsive scenes in the history of comedy. So, at least there’s that. Johnston is currently writing and directing a yet to be announced limited series at Netflix.Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Johnston worked as a broadcast journalist, earning three Emmy Awards for his work. He holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.F.A. in film directing from Columbia University. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jill Cordes, their two kids, Fia and Emmett and a dog named Izzy.

Phil Johnston

In conversation with Vanessa Esteves &amp; Adrian Thatcher. Both talents really bring a unique perspective – Vanessa is a supervising producer and Adrian a director. They also created their own series, Super Wish, which is in production, and Vanessa’s screenplay Christopher and the Bug was a finalist for Hollyshorts. Their combined experience could be interesting for budding creators/writers’ and all you Industry folks!

Creators Conversations - Adrian and Vanessa

Adrian Thatcher is a Toronto based animated series director and has worked in animation for over 22 years at both, Walt Disney Television Animation and Nelvana. In 2010, Adrian won a Daytime Emmy Award for individual achievement in art direction in recognition of his work on the Nelvana series, Willa’s Wild Life. Adrian’s most recent directing credits include Ollie’s Pack, Bravest Warriors, Ranger Rob, and Oh No, It’s an Alien Invasion!.

Adrian Thatcher

A recent graduate of Centennial College’s Children’s Media Program, Quinn has spent many years volunteering at TAAFI and has joined as official STAAFI in 2021. He has a great love of animation and in particular the writing and production side of the industry while also keeping his visual arts skills strong. When he isn’t assisting the social media or organizing community game nights you can find him pondering life’s great questions or watching silly internet videos, y’know one of the two.

Quinn Doherty

Vanessa Esteves is a supervising creative producer, writer, content creator and showrunner with a passion for storytelling. Having over 17 years experience in the animation industry, Vanessa has worked in multiple genres with a strong focus on bridge-preschool and comedy. Vanessa has most recently overseen Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe, Max &amp; Ruby and Ranger Rob along with Nelvana’s own series of digital music videos, Toon Bops and is currently showrunning Super Wish, a comedy series that she co-created. When she’s not helping create animated content, she is often found watching it alongside the audience, her two young kids.

Vanessa Esteves

Nelvana 2021

Watch the two finalists of TAAFI's Big Pitch go head to head in front of three Industry judges. The winner takes it all in this exciting live pitching event (plus a cash prize!). If you want to have a shot, submit your pitch in the link on our Industry home page. Or email bigpitch@taafi.comThe Big Pitch is brought to you by WildBrain.

The Big Pitch presented by WildBrain

Ben leads creative initiatives for agencies, brands, media companies, entrepreneurs and educators, providing brand and content strategy, as well as hands-on creative production in animation, live-action, interactive web, apps, VR/AR, game development, events and interactive public activations, on projects throughout Canada, and internationally in the US, India, Singapore and China.&nbsp;As partner / executive producer, Friends &amp; Enemies, Ben works with his team of senior creatives and a broad network of multi-disciplinary production partners creating original and branded content experiences for brands, agencies and media clientele.&nbsp;Notable clients include: Google, VICE Studios, 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, CBC, Doc Channel, Teletoon, YTV, CTV, Discovery Channel, The History Channel, TVO Kids, Shaftesbury, and the National Film Board of Canada.Ben is also co-founder of the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI) and a former board member.

Ben McEvoy

Darin Bristow is a 27-year veteran of the animation industry and has lent his creative, technical and production skills to over 25 TV series and feature films. Darin has held such notable positions as design supervisor,&nbsp;art director, CG supervisor, VFX artist, and currently currently serves as Pipeline Studios' supervising producer and executive creative director,&nbsp;focusing on developing the studio's top brands, such as&nbsp;Nina's World, Sunny Day, the Emmy-nominated Elinor Wonders Why! and the recently released Fred Rogers Productions/PBS series, Alma's Way.&nbsp;

Darin Bristow

Dave Padbury joined the Guru development team seven years ago to help guide development on the Netflix Original series True and the Rainbow Kingdom. Since then, he has worked across several of Guru’s properties, including its newest preschool series Pikwik Pack which airs on Disney Junior US, Hulu and Treehouse in Canada, and the upcoming comedy adventure Big Blue. In his role as development executive, Dave focuses on finding and fostering new voices and perspectives to bring strong creator-driven stories to life.

Dave Padbury

Lorna Withrington, Vice President, Development–Animation, is a recognized leader in the creative development and acquisition of kids’ and family properties with franchise appeal for the global market. As a key member of WildBrain’s content team, she helps drive the strategic vision behind the company’s diverse, multi-genre slate of original animation, collaborating closely with creators, writers, artists and other production stakeholders to instill creative excellence in WildBrain’s shows. Ms. Withrington possesses wide-ranging experience on international co-productions and in the creation of 2D, CG and hybrid series. With a career spanning such properties as Paw Patrol, PJ Masks, Peppa Pig, Bob the Builder, Fireman Sam and Thomas &amp; Friends, Ms. Withrington has worked for some of the biggest brands in children’s content and brings this knowledge to finding and creating the next generation of children’s hits. Prior to WildBrain, Ms. Withrington held management roles in development, creative affairs, acquisitions and production with Spin Master, eOne Entertainment and HIT Entertainment / Mattel.

Lorna Withrington

WildBrain 

It's Friday night, who's ready to do some sketching and some chatting? Maybe meet a new BFF or catch up with some old ones? Pop into the beating 💖 of TAAFI, our Discord Server for some mingling and networking.Joel &amp; Spencer are BACK! And so are the dusty ol' TAAFI Drink &amp; Draw crew. Will Winty be there? Time will tell.Joining us Friday night is Gustavo Cosío - he's boarded on Maya and the Three with Jorge Gutiérrez, and Kid Cosmic to name a few, and Minh Pham, an artist extraordinaire with Guru Studio and the host of Guru Studio's Art Jam group!We'll be using Drawpile to make a virtual drawing together-apart.

Friday Night Networking: Drink & Draw!

Gustavo Cosío is a storyboard artist, born and raised in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. He has worked on over a dozen animated films in his country as well as a couple of animated TV series. In 2018, he joined Netflix Animation Studios to work on Jorge Gutierrez's new and totally amazing project Maya and the Three! Since then, he has continued to work on original animated series by Netflix like Kid Cosmic and We the People. Gustavo is currently working in an awesome sci-fi action comedy series and couldn't be happier.

Gustavo Cosío

Animator and artist extraordinaire Minh Pham has been with Guru Studio since 2014, bringing to life hit shows such as the global phenomenon PAW Patrol, Pikwik Pack which airs on Disney Junior and Hulu, and the soon-to-be released comedy adventure series Big Blue, coming to CBC Kids this December! Minh is also the host of Guru Studio's Art Jam group!

Minh Pham

Join the Martin Twins, Edgar and Sergio as they share some stories and secrets from The SPA Studios. You may know us from our work on films such as "Despicable Me", "Smallfoot", "Rio", or most recently "Klaus", Netflix's first original feature animated film, which was entirely conceived and produced at The SPA Studios, receiving 1 BAFTA and 7 Annie Awards, as well as being nominated by the 2020 Academy Awards for Best Animated Film, among many others.

Featured Studio: The SPA STUDIOS

Edgar Martins is a storyboard artist who helps develop animated film projects. He has worked on innumerous&nbsp;productions for about 15 years, and was the head of story on KLAUS feature film of The SPA Studios.He co-directed alongside his twin brother Sergio and Tom Delonge (artist behind Blink182 rock-band) the short film Poet Anderson: The Dreamwalker, winner of Best Animation prize at Toronto Short Film Fest.

Edgar Martins

Sergio Martins is an animation supervisor at The SPA Studios, the studio behind KLAUS. Sergio has over 15 years of animation experience, launching his career as a freelance animator for commercials, TV shows and music videos. He also had the opportunity to co-direct the animated short, Poet Anderson: The Dreamwalker, alongside his twin brother, Edgar Martins, and Blink-182 frontman Tom Delonge.

Sergio Martins

Learn the latest from the folks that are on the cutting edge of the animation industry. Whether it's Virtual Production and animation with&nbsp;Motion Capture,&nbsp;Animation for Virtual Reality theme park rides/experiences or Animation for Metaverse development we've got that and more!

Emerging Tech in Animation

Dan Fill is the president and co-founder of Dark Slope Studios - a metaverse and virtual production company that specializes in games and television production.In this role Dan spearheads the development of innovative projects ranging from fully immersive theme park rides and spectacles, to cutting edge television programs that combine world class animation, motion tracking and a real time game engine pipeline. Dark Slope develops original intellectual properties as well as service production.&nbsp;Recent partners clients include: NBC Peacock, Nickelodeon, WildBrain, Insight Productions, AT&amp;T, TVOntario, eOne’s Secret Location, Zero Latency, Hologate and Magic Leap.&nbsp;&nbsp;Prior to his current role, Dan was the&nbsp;head of multiplatform for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where he was named the top&nbsp;Digital Innovator by The Australian for his role in commissioning the country’s most popular video streaming service (iView). iView now accounts for over 900 million streams a year in Australia. Previous to ABC, Dan was the former vice president interactive of Decode Entertainment (now WildBrain). In this role, he built an award-winning internal studio producing games and immersive experiences for a global audience.Dan is a seasoned presenter having spoken at the Banff World Media Festival (Canada), MIPCOM ( France), XMedia Labs (Singapore),&nbsp;Xmedia Labs (Melbourne) and Xmedia (Sydney), Game Developers Conference (San Francisco and San Diego), Kidscreen (New York), Asia Animation Summit (Kuala Lumpur), Kidscreen (Miami) as well as TAAFI Animation Festival (Toronto).&nbsp;&nbsp;Dan is a co-founder of the production company Chocolate Liberation Front and a major shareholder of education and simulation company Lumeto.&nbsp;

Dan Fill

Grayden Laing is a St. Thomas based artist, animator, and filmmaker who has a passion for creating artwork that leads viewers to a more nuanced perception of the world around them. Grayden’s artwork is informed by the visual communication paradigms of social media as well as the iconoclastic works of early 20th century French artists.In the broadcast world, Grayden has done work for the W Network, Travel + Escape, CHCH, Vision TV, Investigation Discovery, and the History Channel. He was the director of photography and colourist for the History TV series War Story: Afgahnistan, which won a Canadian Screen Award for the Best History Documentary Program or Series. When the pandemic hit, Grayden switched from filming for War Story to being the lead digital artist pioneering a technique to colourize black and white WWII footage for War Story: Fight to the Finish, which was nominated in 2021 for Best History Documentary Program or Series.Grayden currently maintains an art studio in St. Thomas, ON, where he paints, teaches, works on film projects, and runs Establish Media.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Grayden Laing

For over 20 years Joe Raasch has been the coordinator of Seneca College's visual effects program and a visual effects artist.&nbsp;He has made training for Foundry, organized several Nuke user group meetings, served on the board for TAAFI and the Toronto chapter of the Visual Effects Society and most recently completed the Unreal Fellowship for Virtual Production.

Joe Raasch

Shishir 'S' Pande (Bachelor of Engineering, McMaster University, 2014) is the CEO of EXAR Studios and has a background in business strategy, marketing, and engineering. He has a track record of innovation and community focus proven by his past entrepreneurial successes and achievement of the London Inc. Top 20 Under 40 Award in 2020.EXAR Studios is a digital creative tech company whose mission is to develop extended reality (XR) technology that allows destinations all over the world to bring engaging cultural content to users on location.&nbsp;We deepen the experience of exploring the world by providing arts, history, and culture experiences to people who travel globally or locally. We work with local experts to create the most culturally authentic content we can while providing entertaining storytelling to the world.

Shishir 'S' Pande

Dark Slope

Welcome to the behind the scenes new Netflix's new show Centaurworld has taken the interweb by storm. Hang out with creator Megan Nicole Dong, and hometown hero and episode director Katie Shanahan while they spill the beans on one of the funniest, coolest, centaurest shows out there!

Welcome to Centaurworld

Katie Shanahan is a cartoonist and storyboard artist from Toronto, Canada. She currently lives in California working as an episode director at Netflix Animation. Her most recent credits include Centaurworld, and projects set in the Roald Dahl universe.

Katie Shanahan

Megan Nicole Dong is the creator of Centaurworld (and voice of Glendale). She's worked in feature film, adult, and kids/family series, and makes silly comics for social media.

Megan Nicole Dong

Are you looking to hone your craft as an animator?&nbsp;Wondering what separates anim-"meh"-tion from anim-azing performances? Join Guru Studio Animation Director, Andew Strimaitis for a special demonstration of his original animation workflow which many animators have found immensely helpful for developing a solid performance base. Come learn, ask questions, and see what it takes to become a successful animator at Guru Studio!<a href="https://senecacollege-ca.zoom.us/j/97797404690" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here to join!</a>

Animation Workflow Demo with Guru Studio Animation Director Andrew Strimaitis

Guru

Ready to put your animation knowledge to the test? Want to WIN a 1-year subscription to Harmony and/or Storyboard Pro?! Join Nelvana’s Emmy-Award Winning Head of Nelvana Operations and Technology, Ross Maudsley, this Saturday at 12:45pm EST for a FUN and not-to-be-missed Trivia event featuring AMAZING PRIZES courtesy of Toon Boom Animation, in celebration of Nelvana’s 50th Anniversary! <a href="https://kahoot.com/home/mobile-app/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Download the Kahoot! App</a> in advance for optimal experience!<a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88515917545" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here to join!</a>

Nelvana’s TOON’d Up Trivia in partnership with Toon Boom Animation

Want to learn more about <a href="https://www.jamfilled.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jam Filled Studios</a>? Who are these magical makers of motion mastery? Join some top senior talent on Saturday, November 13 @ 12:45pm EST for a TAAFI exclusive Jam Filled Jam-terrogation Q&amp;A! Find out what we’re working on, what kind of jobs are available and what it’s like to work for one of Canada’s top animation studios! Ask us anything!!<a href="https://boatrocker.zoom.us/j/92522885921?pwd=S1daa1lWbjlBc3QvY2tCcVJsdC9oUT09" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here to join!</a>

Jam Filled Jamterrogation AMA

Come learn more about @BrownBagFilms. We have some exciting opportunities on some fabulous new shows. We will have leads from our Animation, Design and Rigging team to discuss our projects. Join us on Saturday, November 13 @ 12:45pm EST for a TAAFI exclusive Brown Bag Films Q&amp;A! Learn about our shows, our positions and how we are growing over the next year! Find out what we’re working on, what kind of jobs are available and what it’s like to work for at a Global Animation Studios! We look forward to answering all your questions!!<a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82567568441?pwd=YkZRS1A5d2hiOHQxT3ZLTWFTSkYxQT09" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here to join!</a>

Come learn more about @BrownBagFilms! We have some exciting opportunities on some fabulous new shows. We will have leads from our Animation, Design and Rigging team to discuss our projects. Join us on Saturday, November 13 @ 12:45pm EST for a TAAFI exclusive Brown Bag Films Q&amp;A! Learn about our shows, our positions and how we are growing over the next year! Find out what we’re working on, what kind of jobs are available and what it’s like to work for at a Global Animation Studios! We look forward to answering all your questions!!<a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82567568441?pwd=YkZRS1A5d2hiOHQxT3ZLTWFTSkYxQT09" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here to join!</a>

Brown Bag Films Q&A

9 Bag Combo Logo

Join leaders in animation from Canada and the Commonwealth Caribbean state of Guyana to discuss the tools needed to build Guyana, South America as a creative and digital arts and animation hub. The panel will offer an opportunity for studios and creative groups in the Caribbean to understand the inner workings of animation production and studio building while preserving and demonstrating their rich cultural experiences for a global audience. It will also offer young Caribbean animators and studios to connect with Canadian experts to strengthen cross-cultural partnerships.

Building New Animation Ecosystems in Guyana

Dorielle Retemyer is an animator, writer and digital artist. Born in Guyana,&nbsp;Dorielle moved to Canada and is a Seneca College graduate in Arts and Animation. She worked on projects such as the animated episode of the hit sitcom One Day at a Time which aired on Pop TV. Dorielle also did work in animation production for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and other animation studios in Toronto. Together with the Guyana Animation Network she is actively involved in the development of the animation and digital arts in Guyana.

Dorielle Retemyer

Jubilanté Joanna Cutting is a Youth Leader in Guyana and the Commonwealth who is championing ICT, technology, animation and digital media skills-training and employment opportunities. As founder of the Guyana Animation Network (GAN) Inc, Jubilanté pioneers, facilitates and manages cross-cultural, skills-training and service delivery opportunities for children, youth and young adults. She consults experts, professionals and stakeholders within the Digital and Creative Technology Industries in Guyana, the Caribbean and international markets to remain relevant. Her organization's work has appeared before Her Majesty the Queen of England, Graça Machel, Kofi Annan and Mary Robinson.She is a trained lawyer with corporate, civil, commercial and criminal law experience. She uses research strategy to develop and create ecosystems through a cross sectional approach of the law, business and technology initiatives that empower youths and prepare them for the future ICT, technology, STEAM and creative economy. As an award-winning innovator and the CEO of a budding studio venture, GAN Studios, Jubilanté is committed to developing animation and digital arts solutions that will transform youths into innovators and entrepreneurs in their world.

Jubilanté Cutting

Martin A. R. Massiah is a business development consultant and innovative problem solver with almost eight years of diverse hands-on leadership experience. With his network at Massiah Capital, he has coordinated and produced 2D and 3D animated assets for the gold mining industry and the energy sector. His projects range from basic character model design to industrial process animation. Most recently he has hinted at developing either his first video game or manga influenced by his Caribbean heritage.&nbsp;

Martin Massiah

Mark Jones is the Chair of the School of Creative Arts and Animation at Seneca College in Toronto, a department with over 1300 students in programs such as interactive media, graphic design, documentary filmmaking, music and acting, animation, gaming, and visual effects. He has worked as producer for many award-winning animated short films, and is a founding board member of The Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI). In 2019, Mark was author of the study “The Ontario College Survey for Screen Industry Workforce Development” for the Heads of Media, Art, and Design. He holds an M.A. in Communication and Culture from Ryerson and York Universities.

Mark Jones

Robert Reid is the Animation Specialist, the Office of the Prime Minister in Jamaica. He works on a project funded by the World Bank aimed at positioning Jamaica to participate in the global animation industry. Under the project, he organizes the <a href="https://kingstoonfest.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.04); color: rgb(63, 81, 181);">KingstOOn Animation Festival</a>.&nbsp;Robert also organized several training initiatives to equip Jamaican educators and animators with the tools to allow better fit into the labour market. On the demand side, he is involved in the organization of Jamaican delegations to major markets where local studio executives and producers were able to market their products and services.

Robert Reid

Seneca College

Back by popular demand, Hanna Daigle is moderating the indie panel. With friends Zach Bellissimo, Tara Billinger and a few other tasty surprises. The gang will talk all things indie in the world. What's new, and where your eyes should be!

Indie Cartoons the Panel

Ashley Nichols is an American animator and director. Some of her animation credits include: TOO LOUD, Hazbin Hotel (Pilot), Ollie &amp; Scoops, and Lackadaisy. Ashley is the creator of the highly anticipated animated horror-comedy series Far-Fetched, as well as the creator of the popular podcast Hunicast.

Ashley Nichols

Dave Capdevielle is an American writer, director, musician &amp; voice actor. He is the co-creator of the highly anticipated animated horror comedy series Far-Fetched, as well as the co-writer of the hugely successful Hazbin Hotel pilot episode. He has lent both his writing &amp; voice to several independent animated productions, produced various live-action film &amp; music projects &amp; is the host of both his own podcast: Terribly Titled Talks &amp; horror VHS show: Creature Cassette.

Dave Capdevielle

Hannah Daigle is an animator, comic artist, and co-member of ScumHouse Studios. She's most notably the creator and showrunner of Satina, a web series about a half-human half-demon hellspawn and her human dad, but she and ScumHouse have a bunch of other cartoons in the works, too!

Hannah Daigle

Lopside AnimationTara Billinger and Zach Bellissimo are the creators of Long Gone Gulch, an independently produced, fully animated 20 minute pilot. Funded through Kickstarter, this was a true passion project that took five years and brought industry professionals and prolific freelancers together. They have since founded Lopside Animation and plan to create more original animated projects (like Dark Dark Dark) while working full time in the animation industry.&nbsp;Tara Billinger is currently the art director for the new Clone High series on HBOmax.&nbsp;She’s also worked as a character designer, writer and storyboard artist for Disney's Mickey Mouse shorts, The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse and also did designs for the Disneyworld ride Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.&nbsp;

Tara Billinger

Lopside AnimationTara Billinger and Zach Bellissimo are the creators of Long Gone Gulch, an independently produced, fully animated 20 minute pilot. Funded through Kickstarter, this was a true passion project that took five years and brought industry professionals and prolific freelancers together. They have since founded Lopside Animation and plan to create more original animated projects (like Dark Dark Dark) while working full time in the animation industry.&nbsp;Zach Bellissimo is currently a director on Victor and Valentino at Cartoon Network.&nbsp;He’s also worked as storyboard artist on Teen Titans Go, did character designs on Rick &amp; Morty and worked as an animator on Motorcity and Superjail.&nbsp;

Zach Bellissimo

With new streamers popping up everywhere competing for new content and animation thriving during lockdowns – how is Canada primed to succeed in the rapidly evolving world of Prime Time animation?

The Changing Landscape of Canadian Prime Time Animation

Jennifer Griffiths is an executive director at Big Jump Entertainment. Her scope of work encompasses production and development as well as studio operations. Her passions include marketing and most importantly, employee wellness. She plays an integral role in Big Jump’s Artists First Initiatives and is also thrilled to welcome hundreds of burgeoning new Artists to Big Jump Entertainments Co-op Program every year! Jen would like to recognize her magnificent creative teammates Allecia Robb (who’s tireless enthusiasm aids in improving the Co-op program at every turn!), and All the Artists and Leadership Team at Big Jump Entertainment, without whom, Jennifer would not be having such a wonderful time; and to whom she owes all her thanks and respect! Jennifer is an internationally recognized marketer. She was recently thrilled to project manage the animated special of One Day at a Time and produced the animated special of Black-ish, with Big jump Entertainment and Smiley Guy Studios.&nbsp;

Jennifer Griffiths 

Jennilee Murray is the producer on Netflix’s new adult animation, Inside Job.Before joining Jam Filled Entertainment, she wore many hats: illustrator, self-published author, actor, scriptwriter, dog collector and squirrel enthusiast.&nbsp;Jennilee is known for her work on DC's Superhero Girls shorts, CBC’s Kingdom Force, Mattel’s WellieWishers and most recently, Netflix’s Inside Job.

Jennilee Murray

Mike Valiquette: he/him, settler, middle-aged man-honky, optimist, director, producer, creative development exec, and designer who has won some awards, worked for many big fancy clients and teaches at Seneca College in Toronto. He maintains a small boutique studio, Go Lucky, and the long-running Canadian animation resource site, Cartoon North. Mike believes in raising up our fellow humans, evening the playing field, and that stories are important.

Mike Valiquette

Mike Barth has been part of the animation industry for over 15 years and is best known for directing Donald Sutherland’s Pirate’s Passage. In addition, he has&nbsp;animation directed many animated series such as Pinky Malinky, DC’s Superhero Girls (reboot), Final Space and Netflix’s newly released Inside Job.

Mike Barth

Sheridan College

Directing is challenging enough in normal times, but how do you lead a creative team during the work-from-home times of the pandemic? What tips or tricks are they using? How do they keep crews motivated? How do they keep in touch with their team? What works and what didn't?

Directing is challenging enough in normal times, but how do you lead a creative team during the work-from-home times of the pandemic? What tips or tricks are they using? How do they keep crews motivated? How do they keep in touch with their team? What works and what didn't?

Directing During a Pandemic

Cory Bobiak is a Toronto-based director and artist with an extensive list of television, design and artistic achievements. Cory has worked in both children’s and adult television programs ranging from the Emmy award-winning Peg + Cat, to Comedy Central’s Ugly Americans. He has animated, designed and storyboarded on numerous series including Mucha Lucha, Jimmy Two Shoes, Rick &amp; Steve –The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World, Ugly Americans, Wibbly Pig, and Peep and the Big Wide World.&nbsp;Cory's directing credits include Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, Peg + Cat, and Ugly Americans. Cory is currently creative director at Brown Bag Films Toronto and is responsible for overseeing creative direction within the Toronto studio.Cory lives in Hamilton with his wife Sandra and their two children, Frankie and Rudy.

Cory Bobiak 

Lisa Whittick has spent the bulk of her 22 years in animation as a freelance storyboard artist, a position which has allowed her to work from home and raise her 3 kids without giving up the career she loves. She has always aspired to be a director, but directing seemed like an impossible goal given the in-studio hours required to do the job right. Not wanting to give up her family life so she could chase her goal, Lisa resigned herself to the fact that directing wasn't in the cards. But then along came Covid, the right project and people who were willing to give her a chance and everything changed.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Lisa Whittick

Yowza Animation

Join the writer and director of Maya and the Three for Netflix, Jorge R. Gutiérrez for a wild talk about his soon to be hit series. He'll show some behind the scenes work, bring in a few special guests from the Toronto studio that worked on it, and answer some questions from the audience. What could be a better way to wind down the festival?

Jorge R. Gutiérrez & Friends present: Maya and the Three

Carlie is the senior lighting and compositing lead on Maya and the Three.&nbsp;She has focused her career on telling stories with light and colour and strives to bring the beauty of film and the natural world to animation.

Carlie Lytwyn

Jorge R. Gutiérrez is a Mexican animator, painter, voice actor, writer, and director. Born in Mexico City and raised in Tijuana, Gutiérrez has completed various films, cartoons, illustrations, and paintings exploring his love with Mexican pop and folk culture. He was the director &amp; co-writer of the Guillermo Del Toro produced animated feature The Book of Life for Fox, which earned him a 2014 Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. He was also the writer &amp; director of the Emmy nominated Son of Jaguar VR short for Google. Along with his wife and muse, Sandra Equihua, they created the multiple Emmy Award–winning animated television series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera for Nickelodeon. Gutiérrez most recently wrote and directed his animated event limited series Maya and the Three for Netflix.

Jorge R. Gutiérrez

Richard is an art director and production designer with over 18 years of industry experience. Born and raised in Toronto, and a graduate of Sheridan College, Richard has a deep passion for all things creative. His most recent projects include art direction on the Netflix film NEXT GEN and as the supervising art director on the Netflix limited series Maya and the Three.

Richard Chen

Most recently the animation director on Maya and the Three, Rob is an experienced director, animation supervisor and animator.&nbsp;His directorial debut came with the animated short of his own creation, Ormie.&nbsp;Having won several prestigious festival awards, including TIFF’s Sprockets Kids Film Festival, the project earned him directing duties for multiple major toy brands.&nbsp;He is currently working on several projects in development.

Rob Silvestri

What better way to close out hopefully the last fully online animation conference than by joining in on the silliest live augmented cartoon improv hour with celebrity voice actors?!Sean Cullen, Chris McPherson, Sunday Muse and Christian Potenza go head to head to head to head in the silliest augmented improv hour this side of the pandemic. Suggestions from the audience, check. Weird snapchat filters on the voice actors turning them into cartoons or baboons, check. Let's laugh our asses off together, apart.We'll be viewing this show in <a href="https://spatial.chat/s/TAAFI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TAAFI's Spatial Chat</a>. Click the link to join. Have your mic and camera working to mix and mingle as we laugh the pencils right out of our hands. <a href="https://spatial.chat/s/TAAFI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://spatial.chat/s/TAAFI</a>

Augmented Voice Actor Improv Hour

Born in the tropical island paradise of Jamaica, but raised in the diverse melting pot of Ontario Canada.As a child Chris quickly became enthralled with saturday morning cartoons, with his eyes and ears locked on the tv screen. Those shows would spark with in him the desire to one day join the ranks of those Iconic voices that entertained a generation.With years of singing off key in a pentecostal church. He eventually developed an impressive vocal range that would lay the ground work for the many character voices he has created but also blessed with a voice bursting with soul.Chris has had the pleasure of working on Award winning film and other diverse projects. Ranging from Commercial, Narration, Animation, Corporate, ADR and more.With this unique work exposure. it has allowed him to bring a level of focus, drive and specific acting techniques to help breathe life into the projects of his clients.

Chris McPherson

Sunday Muse is a singer, celebrity voice over actress, author, holistic voice coach &amp;&nbsp;speaker. Some of her&nbsp;leading voice acting credits include: HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, SUPER WISH, SOPHIE, BAKUGAN, ABBEY HATCHER, TOTAL DRAMA ISLAND, JIMMY 2 SHOES, ARTHUR, ROLIE POLIE OLIE, CARE BEARS, ODD JOB JACK, JANE &amp; THE DRAGON, TIME WARP TRIO, CAILLOU, WILLA’S WILDLIFE and the list goes on.Stemming from a rich performance background in theatre, comedy, dance and mask work, Sunday guides and mentors many creatives on their path to success.&nbsp;She has been hired many times by producers of hit shows: Jim Henson’s THE DOOZERS,&nbsp;E-TALK DAILY &amp;&nbsp;DOT, to help guide and direct actors to perform their best work.&nbsp;Her students have gone on to book leading roles in major cartoons, such as: PINKALICIOUS, PAW PATROL, DORA, FAMILY GUY (FOX), FRANKLIN, ARTHUR, TOTAL DRAMA ISLAND, DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, CHUCK &amp; FRIENDS, BAKUGAN, CAT IN THE HAT, SUPER WHY.&nbsp;Her movement &amp; Voice-Over workshops have been featured in the Huffington Post.&nbsp;She has been a featured speaker and taught voice &amp; movement across North America at NYU, Mallorca Holistic Retreat, National Theatre School, Covenant House, Children’s Theatre Company NYC, JCC NYC, Randolph Academy, VO Atlanta, MAVO.&nbsp;She was nominated for a Voice Arts Award&nbsp;for Best Voiceover in an Animation Series&nbsp;through the Society of Voice Arts in L.A and is a proud recipient of the Mid Atlantic Voice Over Award.

Sunday Muse

Expect the unexpected with Seán Cullen, a nimble master of improvisation and accomplished impressionist who delights in the absurd. For two-and-a-half decades, Cullen has dominated the Canadian comedy scene as an award-winning comedian, actor, author and screenwriter.Just last year, Sean returned to Just for Laughs festival in Montreal with is own hour long show! Additionally, after ten years, Sean traveled back to Melbourne Australia for a successful FIVE STAR reviewed performance at The Melbourne Comedy Festival. Not only that, Sean won a Canadian Screen Award for his voice work on Almost Naked Animals! It has a huge year for Sean, and he's excited for more to come.Sean Cullen is regularly broadcast on TVs across the globe. In live action, Sean is a series regular and star panelist on Match Game (The Comedy Network), and has guest starred or appeared in Spun Out (CTV), Murdoch Mysteries, What Would Sal Do (Super Channel), The Stanley Dynamic, Odd Squad (TVO Kids), and was featured on the Just For Laughs: All Access (The Comedy Network), The Halifax Comedy Festival (CBC), and the Winnipeg Comedy Festival ( CBC) television specials.In animation, Sean's leant his voice and contributed stories to the children's animated series Rocket Monkeys as Gus (Teletoon) and to Almost Naked Animals playing Narwhal and Piggy (YTV/Cartoon Network/CITV UK) - the series was selected as one of People Magazine's top children's shows and earned him a Gemini-nomination for Best Writing in a Children's or Youth Program or Series. Sean also regularly voices Shelbourne, Tim, and Old Rick in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Inspector Gadget (Teletoon), Knuckleheads (CBC/Teletoon), and Winston Steinburger (Teletoon), among others.• ACTRA Award Nomination (2019) Outstanding Performance – Voice (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) •• ACTRA Award WINNER (2011) Outstanding Performance – Voice (Jimmy Two-Shoes) ••• Canadian Screen Award WINNER (2014) – Best Performance in an Animated Program (Almost Naked Animals) •••• Gemini Award for Performance in a Variety Series - Just for Laughs Episode 1 - Canadian Comedy Award winner for Best Male Performance

Seán Cullen

Chill out after the craziest comedy show in TAAFI's own Spatial Chat. Our multi-room hangout is way better and funner than a musty old zoom call. Mingle, mix, and chat with fellow attendees in a casual, cartoony virtual space.This after hours event will be hosted in part by Stephanie Yelovich, and we might continue the improv fun right here with Christian, Sean, Sunday and Chris... unless they hated it. Then we're alone with our sadness as usual. This is all happening in <a href="https://spatial.chat/s/TAAFI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TAAFI's Spatial Chat</a>. Click the link to join. Have your mic and camera working to mix, mingle and avoid covid. <a href="https://spatial.chat/s/TAAFI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://spatial.chat/s/TAAFI</a>

Chill out after the craziest comedy show in TAAFI's own Spatial Chat. Our multi-room hangout is way better and funner than a musty old zoom call. Mingle, mix, and chat with fellow attendees in a casual, cartoony virtual space.This after hours event will be hosted in part by Stephanie Yelovich, and we might continue the improv fun right here with Christian, Sean, Sunday and Chris... unless they hated it. Then we're alone with our sadness as usual.This is all happening in <a href="https://spatial.chat/s/TAAFI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TAAFI's Spatial Chat</a>. Click the link to join. Have your mic and camera working to mix, mingle and avoid covid. <a href="https://spatial.chat/s/TAAFI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://spatial.chat/s/TAAFI</a>

Virtual Comedy Club Mixer

Stephanie Yelovich is a dynamic and multi-faceted perfomer having begun her career in theatre and opera and is currently making a natural transition into the world of voice, film and tv.Since the age of 8 she has performed in theatres and opera houses all over Canada and Europe but now spends most of her time in front of the camera, experimenting with sounds in her studio as well as in the booth!With a special passion for singing, sound, music and voice work, Stephanie is in the process of creating and producing an album of experimental vocal music. She also teaches voice work and helps her clients and students to find and express their true voice and find vocal freedom. Stephanie is the co-owner of The Infinity Forge in Hamilton, ON: a creative media arts and recording studio for everyone.Stephanie acted in and co-produced the short film Beat Nick, directed and shot by Michael Penny, that won 1st place in the 2019 Hamilton Film Festival Competition and also voiced the epic boss-lady Trixie Clementine in The Adventures of the Starship Coconut Podcast (Frequency Podcasts). She also had the privilege of lending her voice to two Seneca College Final Animation projects-Half of the Way and Long After Us (2021).&nbsp;From the ages of 8-18, Stephanie trained in acting, dance, and voice at the Theatre Aquarius Performing Arts Programme and later became an instructor there for over 10 years. She then continued on to teach for Zamprogna Arts and now teaches The Art of the Self Tape and voice work regularly in her studio and on zoom. Stephanie is classically trained in voice and holds a BMus in Voice Performance and an Opera Diploma from Wilfrid Laurier University.With many concepts and projects on the horizon, and with the expansion of the studio, she is looking forward to sharing her natural gifts and talents with the rest of the world.

TAAFI News

Toronto Animation Film Festival

Toronto Animation Industry Conference

Toronto Animation / VFX Job Fair

And dozens more speakers!

Adrian Thatcher

Ana Gusson

Ashley Nichols

Ben McEvoy

Christian Potenza

Cindey Chiang

Chris McPherson

Cory Bobiak

Carlie Lytwyn

Dan Fill

Darin Bristow

Dave Cunningham

Dorielle Retemyer

Dave Padbury

Dave Capdevielle

Eva Pekárová

Edgar Martins

Erica Miles

Gustavo Cosío

Grayden Laing

Gregory Little

Hannah Daigle

Jennifer Griffiths

Jubilanté Cutting

Jennilee Murray

Joe Raasch

Jorge R. Gutiérrez

James Baxter

Joel & Spencer

Kris Pearn

Katie Shanahan

Lindsey Olivares

Lorna Withrington

Lisa Whittick

Mike Hunter

Mike Valiquette

Martin Massiah

Mark Jones

Mike Barth

Megan Nicole Dong

Minh Pham

Nneka Myers

Phil Johnston

Robyn Campbell

Rose-Ann Tisserand

Richard Chen

Rob Silvestri

Robert Reid

Rachel Reade Marcus

Rose Stacey

Stephanie Betts

Sunday Muse

Sergio Martins

Shishir 'S' Pande

Stephanie Yelovich

Seán Cullen

Tracey Mack

Tara Billinger

Tini Wider

Vanessa Esteves

Zach Bellissimo

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