For the 20th edition of the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF), LatinX in Animation (LXiA) wanted to do something special. The three-year-old organization had hosted programs at the festival before, but this year called for more.
LXiA had great connections with animation studios and organizations, according to its Co-Founder and Co-Director, Bryan Dimas. As discussions circled the best way to use these, the festival’s Artistic Director, Diana Cadavid, suggested an entire day devoted to animation.
It made sense for LXiA to take such a signifant role. The organization began when Dimas was talking to a co-worker, Magdiela Hermida Duhamel, about their desire to connect with more Latinos at their studio. “We just felt there was this space in the industry where there was an opportunity to organically create this grassroots organization,” Dimas says. “A group to empower Latinx voices but also diverse voices.”
Before long the new organization was a signature program at the Latino Film Institute, which was co-founded by actor Edward James Olmos, who also co-founded the festival with several other Latino professionals in the animation industry. “It’s exciting to have someone who we look up to, who we know, who believed in what we were trying to do,” Dimas says. “And Rafael Agustín, who is the CEO of the Latino Film Institute. He really loved what we were trying to build.” Dimas is thankful for the opportunities LXiA has been given, to undertake initiatives and to lead a major event at this year’s festival. “We’re super humbled by LALIFF and the Film Institute for trusting us to do a lot of this programming. They let us run with it.”
The hybrid virtual/in-person Animation Day in fact takes place over the 5-day course of the festival (June 2-6), with a kick-off in-person premiere of the animated series, Woman in the Book, on Thursday, June 3, at 6 p.m. at TCL Chinese Theaters. As with many of the festival’s animation events, it features TAG members, including its Supervising Director, TAG President Jeanette Moreno King.
The Animated Shorts Program presented by Cartoon Cartoons showcases eight films representing the diaspora of Latinos from around the world, including Germany and Australia, and cafecito panel topics cover various crafts and discussions with staff at different studios. Portfolio reviews, conducted by Nickelodeon Animation Studio, received almost 500 submissions, and the Writing for Animation Master Class from Netflix accepted 40 writers, with a goal, says Dimas, of focusing on writers who have not been staffed or written for a TV series yet, “hopefully building a bridge and giving access to writers who might not have it.”
As well, there are conversations looking at the bigger picture, such as the talk between Camille Eden, VP of Recruiting and Talent Development at Nickelodeon Animation Studio, and Monique Henry Hudson, the co-founder of DiverseToons. Both women are Afro Latina and their cafecito will focus on intersectionality.
This is important, says Dimas, since “identity in the Latinx culture is very difficult to pinpoint because we’re not a race. There’s a lot of different races that fall within Latinx identity.”
Intersectionality is something Dimas emphasizes, noting the support Animation Day has received from other groups like Women in Animation and Rise Up Animation, along with its numerous sponsors, including The Animation Guild. “There are so many great organizations doing amazing work that we can all co-exist and help one another and uplift each other’s voices.”
All of the cafecitos are free and can be streamed live from anywhere in the world. To learn more about these panels and other Animation Day events, go to the LXiA website.
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