CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment), a non-profit organization creating opportunities and driving success for Asian and Pacific Islanders in Hollywood for over 30 years, has announced the return of the CAPE Animation Directors Accelerator with Kevin Noel, SVP, creative, Sony Pictures Animation, taking the helm as program chair.
In collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment, the initiative identifies and equips the next generation of Asian and Pacific Islander animation professionals with the skills needed to become directors in feature film and episodic animation.
The Accelerator was co-founded by Justinian Huang (VP, creative, Sony Pictures Animation) and Michelle Wong (producer, K-Pop: Demon Hunters). Selected rising animation filmmakers in the program will hone both their artistic and leadership skills through a series of panels, workshops, and masterclasses from high-level executives, producers, and creatives in the animation industry, as well as receive one-on-one executive mentorship.
“With the global animation market size projected to surpass $600 billion by 2030, it’s astounding that we can count on roughly two hands the number of Asian American feature film animation directors (and zero Pacific Islanders),” said CAPE executive director Michelle K. Sugihara. “CAPE is excited to team up with Sony Pictures Entertainment once again to supercharge these creatives’ rise into the feature film director’s chair.”
Past program mentors and speakers include Maggie Kang (director, K-Pop: Demon Hunters), Arthur Fong (visual development artist, The Mitchells vs The Machines), Wira Winata, Galen Chu, Alyce Tzue, Henry Yu (director, Surf’s Up 2: Wavemania), Yori Mochizuki, Matt Braly (creator, Amphibia), John Aoshima (co-director, Ultraman), Daniel Chong (creator, We Bare Bears), Jay Hasrajani (creator, Boons and Curses), Domee Shi (director, Turning Red), Jude Weng (director, Finding ‘Ohana), Janet Wu (director, original animated film and family features, Netflix), Jason McConnell (director of development, movies & series, Nickelodeon Animation), Scott Sakamoto (creative development, Netflix), Jason Caparaz (VP, development, DreamWorks Animation TV), Larry Jonas (producer, Trollhunters), Kurt Albrecht (producer, The Mitchells vs The Machines), Tim Yoon (producer, Maya and the Three), and Osnat Shurer (producer, Moana).
Ideal candidates for the Accelerator will have five-plus years in the animation field and ambitions of being the creative lead for animation film or episodic projects. Prioritized levels of experience include head of story, episodic director, art director, CG director, technical director, VFX supervisor, editor, and production designer.
As part of the CAPE Animation Directors Accelerator, CAPE will also be holding a panel at Lightbox Expo in Pasadena on Saturday October 28 centering on comic book adaptation featuring Randall Park (director, Shortcomings), Karen Gaviola (director, The Boys) and Steve Maeda (co-showrunner, Netflix’s One Piece).
The CAPE Animation Directors Accelerator is part of other industry-renowned CAPE initiatives such as the CAPE New Writers Fellowship, CAPE Leaders Fellowship, Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge, and CAPE Emerging Executive Committee, as well as the soon-to-be-launched CAPE Database, a public-facing database for Asian and Pacific Islander talent, executives, reps, and more.
