Noted animator and storyboard artist will deliver the keynote, ‘Creativity and Storytelling in Animation, at upcoming free virtual event, set for July 24 in both English and Portugeuse.
VFXRIO LIVE launches its third digital edition of the year with a keynote by Ennio Torresan, co-director of Spirit Untamed, animator, artist, and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. The event takes place on July 24, is free to attend, and will be presented in both English and Portuguese; click here for more information.
Torresan, Jr. is an internationally recognized animation film director and storyboard artist whose work spans from mainstream Hollywood blockbusters to independent art films. Joining the more than 25 family films he’s worked on that have grossed more than $4.5 billion is his latest effort, DreamWorks Animation’s Spirit Untamed, which he co-directed. The film, out this past June 4, is the first post pandemic animated feature film released in theaters only, and is now available On Demand.
In his VFXRIO LIVE talk, “Creativity and Storytelling in Animation,” Torresan will discuss how new technologies have impacted animation over the last 30 years, as well as how Dreamworks produced Spirit Untamed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Torresan made his directing debut with the award-winning short film, El Macho, which led to a directing gig for Ralf Bakshi's HBO production Spicy City. He steered the underwater team of the television series SpongeBob Squarepants at Nickelodeon as writer and story-director.
In 2003, he received a Daytime Emmy Award in Outstanding Special Class Animated Program for Disney’s Teacher’s Pet. At Dreamworks, he developed and created storyboards on various animated feature films including Madagascar, Abominable, Boss Baby, Turbo, Kung Fu Panda, Bee Movie, and Megamind. He also directed the independent feature Until Sbornia Takes Us Apart, released in 2013.
Matteo Moriconi, director of VFXRIO, stated, “In a world with increasing dependency on technology and digital devices, Ennio Torresan shows us how storytelling and creativity are the foundation of the production process. Torresan's work has been recognized by the international Animamundi Animation Film Festival, showcasing a 20-year retrospective of his career in animation. He was also recognized in 2017 at the Annecy Animation Film Festival, where his short film El Macho was part of a special event honoring Brazilian animation. We are delighted to host him at VFXRIO.”
VFXRIO LIVE Program:
Keynote: Creativity and Storytelling in Animation
Saturday, July 24, 2021
13:20 (EST TIME): Intro
13:30 (EST TIME): Ennio Torresan at VFXRIO LIVE
14:15 (EST TIME): Fireside Chat with Ennio Torresan and Lucia Modesto
The event is sponsored by TV Globo and supported by Foundry and Intel. VFXRIO is associated with ACM SIGGRAPH.
Source: VFXRIO
