Women and Animation Focus of Breaking the Glass Frame Oct. 5-7

This weekend, Oct. 5-7, CalArts helps present the first-ever Breaking the Glass Frame: Women & Animation Past, Present, Future symposium at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Organized by USC Animation & Digital Arts and co-hosted by CalArts, UCLA Animation Workshop and Women in Animation, the conference brings together artists, scholars, educators, industry experts and others to celebrate women’s historical and contemporary contributions to animation as well as examine the discrimination and bias women continue to encounter within the industry today.

Originally intended as an academic conference, organizers – including Maureen Furniss, director of CalArts’ Experimental Animation program – decided to broaden the event’s focus once the #MeToo movement began to dominate the headlines and expose issues of sexual harassment, discrimination and bias within the entertainment and animation industries, according to a recent interview with Cartoon Brew.

The event kicks off Friday with an evening of screenings of animation by CalArts, UCLA and USC students and alumni before a weekend of panels, presentations, screenings, a VR exhibition and networking events.

Conference activities will commence Saturday with a keynote presentation by Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Annie Award-winning writer, director and CalArts alum Brenda Chapman (Film/Video BFA 87), known for her work on Brave, Prince of Egypt, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.

Sunday afternoon, Maija Burnett, director of the CalArts Character Animation program, moderates a panel titled, “Teaching + Mentoring: Strategies for Positive Change in Academia.” The panel also features filmmaker, illustrator and CalArts faculty Soyeon Kim.

Though the conference is currently sold out for Saturday, tickets are still available for Friday and Sunday.