Nine mid- to high-level Canadian animation professionals who identify as women or non-binary have been selected to participate in the fourth edition of an Animation Career EXCELerator (ACE) Canada training program, run by Women in Animation’s Vancouver chapter.

This accelerator gives participants the opportunity to make a short animated film, as well as providing a series of soft-skills workshops to help them break into “key credit” creative and senior roles in the industry. ACE also encourages the creation of intellectual property and the telling of authentic stories.

Of the nine selected, seven hail from Vancouver: Producer Arlyn Bantog, director Patricia Atchison, art director Crystal Woo, storyboard supervisor Airin Budiman, animation director Katie Winchester, production manager Anastasia Walker and editor Bec Cranswick.

The remain two — writer Nattasha Shrestha and composer Michelle Lorimer — are from Toronto.

Since the program launched in 2021, ACE shorts have gotten exposure on the festival circuit and earned critical acclaim. Last year’s Ostinato — a film inspired by writer Sunita Balsara’s experience with tinnitus — was an official selection at Comic-Con’s 2024 Independent International Film Festival. And a second-edition ACE project called Pivot — a tween girl’s coming-of-age story from Ana Gusson — earned a 2024 Oscar qualification and has generated more than 1.4 million views on TikTok.

This year, the program shortlisted 45 applicants from a pool of more than 150. They attended workshops and received training in how to pitch projects from international film and TV consultant Jan Miller. Then a jury of more than 35 creative and studio industry professionals from across Canada selected this year’s finalists.

ACE Canada’s lead sponsor is Netflix. It is also supported by the Canada Media Fund, Creative BC and the Province of British Columbia, Telefilm Canada, Toon Boom Animation, Autodesk, Atomic Cartoons, 708 Sound Studio, Canadian Media Producers Association — BC Producer’s Branch, Mainframe Studios, Spark CG Society, Flying Kraken Creative Studios, Urban Safari Entertainment, SyncSketch, Producer Essentials, Pender PR, Research House and VIFF’s Amp Music in Media Summit.

This story originally appeared in Kidscreen

Pictured: top row left to right: Nattasha Shrestha, Arlyn Bantog, Patricia Atchison, Crystal Woo, Airin Budiman; bottom row left to right: Katie Winchester, Anastasia Walker, Michelle Lorimer, Bec Cranswick.

Image courtesy of ACE Canada