Sheridan students and alumni nominated for Annie Awards

The animation talents of Sheridan College’s students and grads have been affirmed yet again, with alumni and current students earning nominations for the 47^th Annual Annie Awards.

The awards, which recognize excellence in animation in the screen industries, will be handed out by the International Film Society (ASIFA – Hollywood) at a gala in Los Angeles, California on Jan. 25, 2020.

This year, animation students will have a strong showing. The Fox & The Pigeon, created by third-year students, was nominated for Best Student Film. The film is a story of self-empowerment that arises out of an argument between Fox and a curious Pigeon with the narrator trying to control the narrative.

“It’s incredibly special to be able to celebrate students and alumni who have earned Annie nominations this year,” says Angela Stukator, Associate Dean of Animation and Game Design at Sheridan. “It confirms that the skills our animators hone during their time at Sheridan are second to none, and they stand the test of time.”

Seven Sheridan alumni have been nominated across nine different categories. Notably, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, written and directed by Dean DeBlois (Animation ’90), is in the running for Best Picture. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World picked up six Annie Award nominations in total, with DeBlois also nominated in the category of Best Writing – Feature.

Nominated students and alumni are:

• Natan Moura (Bachelor of Animation ’13) is part of the teams that are nominated in two different categories: Best FX for TV/Media for My Moon and Best Character Animation – Video Game for Sinclair Snake: Museum Mischief.
• Dimitre Berberov (Graphic Design ’01) and his team have been nominated for Best FX for a Feature for Frozen 2.
• In the category of Best Writing – Feature, two-time Annie Award winner Dean DeBlois (Animation ’90) has been nominated for How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. The film, directed and written by DeBlois, is also up for Best Feature.
• Woman World author Aminder Dhaliwal (Bachelor of Animation ’11) has been nominated in the category of Best Writing – TV/Media for her work on Pinky Malinky.
• Riccardo Durante (Animation ’90) is up for Best Storyboarding – TV/Media for Snoopy in Space.
• In the category of Best Production Design – Feature, Trevor Dalmer (Animation ’09) and his team have been nominated for their work on Missing Link.
• Chris Mitchell (Computer Animation ’96) has been nominated in two categories for his work on The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle: Best Production Design – TV/Media and Best Character Design – TV/Media
• The Fox & the Pigeon, a film produced by third-year Animation students, is up for Best Student Film. The team includes Michelle Chua (director), Aileen Dewhurst, Sharon Gabriella, Viktor Ivanovski, Sang Lee, Tyler Pacana, Kevin Sung, Morgan Thompson, Steven Wang, Matthew Walton and Chelsea Van Tol.

Sheridan alumni worked on all five films nominated in the category of Best Feature, including Frozen 2, How To Train Your Dragon: Hidden World, Klaus, Missing Link and Toy Story 4.

In addition, grads worked on three of the films nominated in the categories of Best TV/Media – Preschool and Best TV/Media – Children. Alumni also worked on BoJack Horseman, nominated for Best TV/Media – General Audience.