The fourth annual “Pixels and Pencils” directors roundtable brought together some of animation’s brightest talents at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival on Oct. 27, marking multiple historic firsts for the event that has become the go-to destination for animated Oscar contenders during awards season.
Variety Chief Awards Editor Clayton Davis moderated the discussion, which featured directors behind this year’s most acclaimed animated features: Ugo Bienvenu (“Arco”), Domee Shi (“Elio“), Alex Woo (“In Your Dreams”), Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang (“K-Pop Demon Hunters”), Maïlys Vallade (“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”) and Kent Seki (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey”).
The panel made history with a record-breaking number of women filmmakers and as the first to include both a returning director and an animated short. Shi became the first director to return to the panel for a second year, while Seki marked another milestone as the first short film director invited to participate.
Part of Variety’s longstanding partnership with SCAD and its awards season coverage, the “Pixels and Pencils” series has featured Oscar nominees and winners in previous years, including 2024’s “Inside Out 2,” “Memoir of a Snail,” “The Wild Robot” and eventual winner “Flow.”
The directors shared candid insights about their creative processes and the challenges of working in animation. For Shi, whose “Elio” marks her second appearance on the panel following “Turning Red” in 2022, the story was a way to connect with her younger self.
“We wanted to tell a story about being the weird kid who’s just trying to find where they belong,” she said. “For us, it was about finding your people — even if they’re alien creatures in space.”
Shi also explained the inspiration behind the film’s unconventional alien abduction scene: “Wouldn’t it be funny to have an abduction scene in a sci-fi movie where the character is whooping and cheering as they’re being taken up in a tractor beam? Because isn’t that how we all feel these days? Sometimes you’re like, I’m done with Earth, take me away.”
Several directors emphasized the collaborative nature of animation.
Kang and Appelhans discussed the collaborative process behind “KPop Demon Hunters,” celebrating the freedom to present Korean culture in a bold, fresh way. “Let’s make these characters real — ugly at times, silly, and real hot,” Kang said with a laugh. The duo’s natural chemistry and shared creative vision turned their partnership into a crowd favorite.
“Once we figured out we could attack a problem together and make it better, it became hard to work apart,” Appelhans added. “We just have the same exact taste, which is so crazy,” Kang said, noting how they wanted to make every decision together despite production pressures to divide responsibilities.
Throughout the afternoon, panelists opened up about the inspirations, anxieties and ambitions behind their work.
Bienvenu spoke of creating Neon’s “Arco” during the pandemic, inspired by a desire to imagine a better future. “Maybe the world is how it is because we only imagine it bad,” he said. “Let’s imagine things better.”
Vallade, director of the hand-drawn “Little Amélie” from GKids, spoke through an interpreter about embracing animation’s emotional power. “Yes, animation is a lot of suffering,” she said to laughs. “But it’s also about sharing love, dreams and emotion. We can maybe change the world — even a little.”
Woo described Netflix’s “In Your Dreams” as a deeply personal exploration of disappointment and resilience. “I grew up on stories that said if you want something badly enough, it will come true. But that’s not always the case,” he said. “I wanted to make a movie for kids that asks, ‘What happens when your dreams don’t come true?’”
Seki, whose “Chrome Alone 2” screened at SCAD earlier in the day, reflected on pushing through rejection. “I once had someone in power say to my face, ‘I don’t see you as a director,’” he said. “But you keep going. You have to have creative endurance and elasticity.”
In a surprise twist that delighted the sold-out audience, SCAD animation student Anthony DiMarco of Middletown, New Jersey, was invited on stage to co-host portions of the discussion after confidently declaring he would direct the first animated film to win the best picture Oscar.
In a powerful final segment, DiMarco asked each filmmaker to give him one piece of advice as a future director. Responses ranged from the philosophical — “Tell the truth,” said Woo — to the practical. “Don’t be afraid to be embarrassing,” advised Shi. Kang might have summed it up best: “Network up, down, sideways — and don’t be an asshole.”
DiMarco’s participation became a highlight of the event, with the student asking thoughtful questions about overcoming imposter syndrome and handling rejection. “This experience today has taught me that animation is about passion, perseverance — and having at least three, maybe four backup drives,” DiMarco quipped, reading from cue cards provided. “Animation is cinema. It’s a medium, not a genre.”
Seki also shared wisdom from director Jon Favreau: “Your job is to be a statesman. You have information that you have to give to everybody on the crew. Your job is to know when, where and how to give that information.”
The eight-day SCAD Savannah Film Festival, presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design, showcases cinematic creativity from award-winning professionals and emerging student filmmakers. Previous “Pixels and Pencils” panels have launched the Oscar campaigns of filmmakers including Peter Sohn (“Elemental”), the “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” directing team and Dean Fleischer Camp (“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”).
With more than 63,000 attendees annually, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival continues to be a thriving space for both emerging talent and established artists. “Pixels and Pencils” remains a marquee moment during the eight-day celebration — a space where art meets industry, and the next great animated feature might just be born.
As many of us believe, there will be an animated film win best picture. And maybe — just maybe — the person who directs it, was sitting in that room. And judging by DiMarco, and the eight extraordinary filmmakers dropped on their way out, they’re all ready to take that shot.