Disney VP for Animation Orion Ross to deliver industry keynote at MAF 2023
Skwigly
Manchester Animation Festival today unveiled this year’s keynote speaker for its annual “Animation Nation Forum” (formerly Industry Day), alongside some further events added to the programme.
The animation keynote is Manchester Animation Festival’s yearly opportunity to hear in depth from an industry leader. This year’s speech will be delivered by Orion Ross, vice president, International Animation, Disney Branded Television at The Walt Disney Company.
As part of the Disney Branded Television group headed by Ayo Davis, Orion and his UK-based team develop and produce animated series for Disney’s global channels and platforms including Disney+. Reporting to Alyssa Sapire, senior vice president of series and strategy, Disney Junior, Disney Branded Television, and Meredith Roberts, executive vice president, Television Animation, Disney Branded Television, Orion’s team focuses on projects originating outside the USA and in partnership with independent studios and artists.
Recent and upcoming projects include the Disney+ Originals Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, Chip ’n’ Dale: Park Life, The Doomies, Magicampers, Dragon Striker and The Sunnyridge 3, as well as the global co-productions Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, PJ Masks Power Heroes, and Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes.
Orion Ross says: “I’m honoured to be invited to speak at the Animation Nation Forum, and look forward to sharing some case studies of how Disney is working in the UK now on global series and discussing the evolving opportunities for the UK’s rich and unique ecosystem of animation creators, writers, artists, studios and producers to play a leading role in making new global hits.”
Nominations for 2023’s Industry Excellence Awards have also been announced with Cartoon Saloon receiving 6 nominations for My Father’s Dragon (Netflix), Lupus Films receiving 3 nominations for Kensuke’s Kingdom (BFI), Hanna-Barberta receiving 2 nominations for The Heroic Adventures of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe (Cartoon Network) and Magic Light Pictures receiving 2 nominations for Pip and Posy (Sky) and The Smeds and the Smoos (BBC). The yearly Industry Excellence Awards, which recognise individuals working in industry in the fields of writing, storyboarding, character design and character animation, will take place during the already announced MAF 2023 Awards Ceremony. The full list of nominations can be found on the Manchester Animation Festival website.
In addition to the variety of sessions and panels announced so far, Manchester Animation Festival will also once again present the State of the Animation Nation roundtable discussion on Thursday 16th November at The Bridgewater Hall. A landmark session where industry leaders paint a contemporary picture of the animation industry by answering a wide range of hard hitting questions and reflect on the challenges and triumphs that the industry has been subject to and what may lay ahead. Joining this year’s panel will be: Lucy Murphy (Director of Kids Content, Sky), Emma Turner (Head of Film, Animation and Future Skills, ScreenSkills), Kate O’Connor (Executive Chair, Animation UK), Courtney Arumugam (Executive Producer, The LEGO Group) and Tom Judd (Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director, Animade).
Further to this, other panels throughout the week will include Short Insights: The Place of Animated Shorts in Industry, also on Thursday 16th November at The Bridgewater Hall. Panellists including Helen Brunsdon (Director, Animation UK and British Animation Awards), Samantha Moore (Animated Film Director), Becky Perryman (Senior Producer, Strange Beast) and Gary Thomas (Director and Co-Founder, Animate Projects) will shine a spotlight on the independent short film environment in the UK. Also confirmed for Manchester Animation Festival is In The Frame: AI and the Future of Animation Production (Thursday 16th November, The Bridgewater Hall) which will aim to present practical solutions to some of the issues facing the animation industry today. In the world of animation production, where A.I has the potential to do everything, this panel ponders if it should do everything, exploring practical ways which studios can take responsible steps to ensure the collective good and the artistic heart of animation is maintained.
In addition to the Manchester premiere of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget and the Making Of session already announced, festival goers will also have the opportunity to Meet the Puppets on Tuesday 14th November at HOME. Crafted by Aardman and screening on Netflix, this is your chance to see the cast of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget in person and pose your questions to Suzy Fagan Parr in this unique meet and greet opportunity.
Joining the plethora of sessions added will be a ‘MixMups’ Panel, hosted at HOME. The Channel 5 Milkshake! show is the broadcasters first animated pre-school series to feature disabled lead characters and be made by a team with lived experience of disability. Created by Rebecca Atkinson and produced by Manchester based Mackinnon and Saunders (Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, Bob the Builder, Fantastic Mr. Fox), the session will take a look behind the scenes of the making of the series with guest speakers Andy Burns (Director, Mackinnon and Saunders), Chris Bowden (Producer, Mackinnon and Saunders) and Karen Newell (Play Lead and Brand Guardian, Mixmups).
On Tuesday 14th November and taking place at HOME, Anttu Harlin (Co-Founder and CEO, Gigglebug Entertainment) will share insights from Gigglebug Entertainment’s studio toolkit for creating and producing animated kids comedy that is guaranteed to bring smiles to audiences. These tips will cover slapstick comedy, reaching different age groups and cultural considerations – lessons collated from over a decade of Anttu’s successes and failures.
Adding to Thursday’s line-up of events, there will be a Industry Light & Magic Masterclass with Alex Teoh (Senior Animator) hosted at HOME, and delving into the history of how Lost Ollie went from a successful children’s illustrated book to an emotional performance driven animated live action series on Netflix.
Manchester Animation Festival is presented with the support of the BFI (awarding funds from the National Lottery) and sponsored, partnered and supported by HOME, University of Salford, Blue Zoo, BBC Children’s & Education, XP-Pen and Leonardo Hotels.
Manchester Animation Festival will run from the 12th-17th November with both in-person and online sessions. Full programme information, further information and ticketing can be found atwww.manchesteranimationfestival.co.uk