CAPE Selects Their Participants for their Inaugural CAPE Animation Directors Accelerator (CADA)

Los Angeles, CA – CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment), the leading film and television industry organization for Asian and Pacific Islanders, has found their inaugural class for their new program, the CAPE Animation Directors Accelerator (CADA) powered by Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). The CAPE Animation Directors Accelerator aims to equip animators on-the-cusp of leadership positions with the skills, mentorship, and professional network needed to break the ceiling in feature film and episodic animation.

For the inaugural year, the studio-agnostic program will take place virtually where the selected rising animation directors and leaders will hone both their artistic and leadership skills through a series of panels, workshops, and master classes from high-level executives, producers, and creatives in the animation industry. The Fellowship is co-chaired by Justinian Huang (VP, Creative, Sony Pictures Animation) and Michelle Wong (Producer, Vivo).

"Before we launched CADA, we had no idea how many candidates would apply because there's never been an initiative like this before. We were amazed to receive so many applicants, which proved the overdue need for this program,” said program Co-Chair Huang. “That put us in a position to make some difficult decisions as we selected the six members of our inaugural class. As a group, they are wonderfully diverse in background and talent, but what they share in common is a worthiness and readiness to join the creative leadership community of our industry."

Paired with high-level mentors from the animation industry, the 6 participants, who span from the United States, Canada and India, are as follows: (expanded bios below)

  • Alex Kwan (Episodic Director, Nickelodeon) | Mentored by Arthur Fong & Wira Winata (“Wish Dragon”)

  • Isha Mangalmurti (Freelance Storyboard Artist/2D Animation Director) | Mentored by Alyce Tzue (“Steps”)

  • Kenny Park (Head of Story, Netflix Animation) | Mentored by Yoriaki Mochizuki (“The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part”)

  • Mingjue “Helen” Chen (Visual Development Artist & Production Designer, Sony Pictures Animation) | Mentored by Galen Chu (“Ice Age 5: Collision Course”)

  • Vi-Dieu Nguyen (Head of Story, Netflix Animation) | Mentored by Henry Yu (“Surf’s Up 2: Wavemania”) 

  • Yunhao Zhang (Storyboard & 3D Artist, Disney Television Animation) | Mentored by Maggie Kang (“K-Pop: Demon Hunters”)

Speakers this year include Oscar-winning Director Domee Shi (Director-Writer, Pixar’s “Bao” and the upcoming “Turning Red”), Jaydeep Hasrajani (Creator, Netflix’s “Boons and Curses”), Osnat Shurer (Producer, “Moana”, “Raya and the Last Dragon”), Kurt Albrecht (Producer, “The Mitchells vs. The Machines”), Daniel Chong (Creator and Executive Producer, Cartoon Network’s “We Bare Bears”), Matt Braly (Creator and Executive Producer, Disney Channel’s “Amphibia”), Jude Weng (Director, Netflix's “Finding 'Ohana”), Jason McConnell (Director of Animation Development, Nickelodeon), Tim Yoon (Producer, “Maya and the Three”), John Aoshima (Co-Director, Netflix’s “Ultraman”), Janet Wu (Director of Original Animation and Family Features, Netflix) and more.

“I am thrilled about the inaugural class as they represent what is missing in animation: Diverse and authentic stories that are fresh and inspiring,” said Wong, CAPE’s Co-Chair alongside Huang. “They are all talented leaders, and I congratulate them for embarking on a journey to discover more about themselves. ”

“According to a recent Grand View Research report, the global 3D animation market alone is estimated to reach $39.96 billion by 2028, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 11.7% from 2021 to 2028,” noted Michelle K. Sugihara, CAPE’s Executive Director. “There is no better time to invest in API animation leaders than right now.”

The CAPE Animation Directors Accelerator joins other industry-renowned CAPE initiatives such as the CAPE New Writers Fellowship (which recently opened up for submissions) and the CAPE Leaders Fellowship. CAPE is also incubating several other initiatives, including ones for assistants and stand-up comedians, as well as the CAPE Database, a public-facing database for Asian and Pacific Islander talent, executives, reps, and more. 

For more information, visit capeusa.org.

About CAPE

CAPE is the premier non-profit organization creating opportunities and driving change for Asian and Pacific Islander (API) success in Hollywood. We work to shift culture through storytelling to create a better world. For the past 30 years, we have fought for API representation in film and television, because what we watch on our screens should reflect the world in which we live and project a better one. CAPE advances representation for APIs in Hollywood through three main verticals: (1) nurturing and engaging creative talent and executive leadership; (2) providing cultural script consulting and talent referrals; and (3) championing projects for critical box office and streaming success. Follow @capeusa on Instagram and Twitter. Support tomorrow’s storytellers by donating to CAPE today!

About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. Sony Pictures Television operates dozens of wholly-owned or joint-venture production companies around the world. SPE’s Motion Picture Group production organizations include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, 3000 Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films, AFFIRM Films, Sony Pictures International Productions, and Sony Pictures Classics. For additional information, visit http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html

EXPANDED BIOS

  • Alex Kwan began as animation lead at Titmouse, before moving into storyboards and writing. She was almost immediately nominated for an Annie Award for her board work, and became the artist who could be trusted with the big and difficult emotional episodes. She is currently an episodic director on a TRANSFORMERS series at Nickelodeon. As her focus, she works on cultivating her pitch, “The Shallot Knight,” a story about growing through grief. On the weekends, she cooks Chinese comfort foods with her family and friends. 

  • Isha Mangalmurti is an independent 2D animation filmmaker and Illustrator based in Pune, India. Intrigued by the endless possibilities of the craft, Isha is constantly dabbling in a variety of different projects. Since graduating from NID, Ahmedabad in 2018, she has been working in various capacities, as a director, animator, background artist and a storyboard artist in the animation industry. Her latest projects include an animated music video for Studio Garena's Free Fire, a short film for LA Philharmonic, and illustrated children's books. Currently, Isha is working on developing an animated fiction mini-series for young adults. 

  • Kenny Park received a 2020 Emmy nomination for Best Direction of an Animated Series and won a 2019 Annie Award for his work on the Netflix original series CARMEN SANDIEGO, which he directed for its first two seasons. Park is currently Head of Story on a Netflix feature film called THE WITCH BOY. Educated at Capilano University in Vancouver and through Walt Disney’s Story Talent program in Los Angeles, Park has since worked as a character designer, storyboard artist, teacher, and director. His illustrations have been featured in The Washington Post, Wired, and The Boston Globe. 

  • Mingjue “Helen” Chen is a visual development artist and production designer currently based in Los Angeles. She graduated from Academy of Art University in 2010 and has been working in the animation industry since, with clients like Walt Disney Animation Studios, Warner Brothers studios, Paramount Animation, and Sony Pictures Animation. Notable projects include FRANKENWEENIE, WRECK-IT RALPH, BIG HERO 6, WISH DRAGON, and most recently, she was a production designer on RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON. Helen has also contributed work in publishing and comics, and has worked with DC Comics, Marvel, and Boom Studios. She is currently working on Sony Animation's development project, K-POP DEMON HUNTERS. 

  • Vi-Dieu Nguyen is a Head of Story at Netflix Animation. Born in Southern California to Vietnamese immigrants, he used drawings and movies as places of refuge. Vi knew he wanted to work in animation when he saw Star Wars and The Little Mermaid. To reach his dream, he went to CalArts and broke into the industry. Since then, Vi excelled as a story artist, working at such studios as DreamWorks, Sony, and LAIKA, with projects that include OVER THE GARDEN WALL, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, and the upcoming DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS. His latest project is a Wyclef Jean produced animated feature set in Haiti. 

  • Yunhao Zhang is a storyboard and 3D artist working at Disney Television Animation. He has worked on multiple TV shows and animated features in the US and China, including MONSTERS AT WORK, MARVEL’S MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR, WHITE SNAKE, and more. Before that, he worked at Blizzard Entertainment on Starcraft II. Yunhao was born in a small city in China. Growing up with anime and video games, he pursued his dream of animation and graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design. He hopes to keep continuing to expand his journey and create stories that inspire us all.

CAPE USA