SCAD to honor director and writer Chris Sanders with Icon of Animation Award

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA (Oct. 1, 2024) — Coming off an eighth year of the successful SCAD AnimationFest in Atlanta, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is proud to announce the six films selected for this year's Pixels and Pencils series, which highlights the directors behind the top animated films of the year. Presented in partnership with Variety, Pixels and Pencils showcases a broad array of artistic avenues and animation styles, culminating in the directors roundtable panel hosted by Clayton Davis, senior awards editor for Variety, on Monday, Oct. 28. Six directors will join the panel and Q&A sessions held after the screenings of their films:

• Flow (Sideshow/Janus Films) - Director Gints Zilbalodis 
• Inside Out 2 (Walt Disney/Pixar) - Director Kelsey Mann 
• Memoir of a Snail (IFC Films) - Director Adam Elliot 
• Piece By Piece (Focus Features) - Director Morgan Neville 
• Transformers One (Paramount Pictures) - Director Josh Cooley 
• The Wild Robot (Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Animation) - Writer/Director Chris Sanders

Last year's panel included Academy Award nominees Peter Sohn (Elemental), Nick Bruno and Troy Quane (Nimona), and Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, and Kemp Powers (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse).

Additionally, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival will present three-time Academy Award nominee Chris Sanders, the writer and director of DreamWorks Animation's The Wild Robot, with the Icon of Animation Award. Sanders worked as a story artist on Rescuers Down Under and received writing credits on Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Mulan. Sanders also wrote, storyboarded, and directed Lilo & Stitch with Dean DeBlois, earning his first Oscar nomination. He also voiced (and continues to voice) the titular character of Stitch. In 2006, Sanders left Disney to join the filmmaking team at DreamWorks Animation. As a character designer, Sanders contributed to the Shrek and Madagascar franchises, as well as Kung Fu Panda. He directed and wrote How to Train Your Dragon with Dean DeBlois, and directed and wrote The Croods with Kirk DeMicco. He recently directed The Call of the Wild, starring Harrison Ford. Sanders has been recognized by ASIFA-Hollywood numerous times throughout his career, winning four Annie Awards and earning four other nominations, among numerous accolades he has received around the world for his work.

This fall, SCAD is celebrating the 30th anniversary of DreamWorks Animation and its groundbreaking artistic achievements with a special screening of How to Train Your Dragon on Sunday, Oct. 27, with Sanders in attendance. The festival will also feature a panel Wednesday, Oct. 30, with SCAD alumni who have made creative contributions at DreamWorks Animation. The SCAD alumni include Jason Mayer (M.F.A., computer art, 2003), DreamWorks Animation head of effects and contributor to Kung Fu Panda 4 and The Wild Robot; , Emily Wimer (B.F.A., visual effects, 2018), a lead lighting artist and contributor to The Bad Guys, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and The Wild Robot; and Jinguang Huang (M.F.A., visual effects, 2017), a senior effects artist and contributor to Kung Fu Panda 4, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and The Wild Robot.

"SCAD is excited to recognize Chris Sanders with this year's Icon of Animation Award at the 2024 SCAD Savannah Film Festival," said Christina Routhier, executive director of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival. "Chris has profoundly shaped the world of animation with generational favorite films like Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon. Alongside a celebration of his upcoming project The Wild Robot, we are thrilled that Chris will also be joining us for the Pixels and Pencils: Top Animated Contenders Roundtable. Presented in partnership with Variety and Clayton Davis, this panel remains a rare opportunity for SCAD students and our audiences to learn directly from several of the industry's most visionary storytellers."

SCAD AnimationFest was hosted September 26-28 at SCADshow in Atlanta and featured sessions with top executives and creatives from Adult Swim, Bad Robot, Crafty Apes, DC Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Netflix, and Warner Bros. Animation, as well as showcased SCAD students and alumni whose creative work is at the forefront of animation, motion media design, and visual effects.

Variety will also hold its third annual 10 Artisans to Watch list on Oct. 23, recognizing the artists across cinematography, costume design, editing, hair/makeup, production design, sound editing/design, and visual effects.

Presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival is filled with cinematic creativity from award-winning professionals and emerging student filmmakers. Each year, more than 63,000 people attend the eight-day festival. A distinguished stop on the road to the Academy Awards, the annual festival kicks off with a gala opening night screening, while the rest of the week features scheduled competition films, premiere screenings, workshops, lectures, and panels. Other programming highlights at the festival include Amazon MGM Studios' LGBTQIA+ Shorts Competition and the Behind Her Lens series, which includes panels with influential female directors, producers, and artisans, who will discuss the importance of staying true to their vision and empowering the industry forward with profound stories. These events take place at SCAD's historic theaters and industry-leading studio spaces throughout the historic city of Savannah.

The full festival line-up will be announced Friday, Oct. 4. For additional information and tickets, visit filmfest.scad.edu.