It’s time to finally “humanize” the workplace, argued Oscar-nominated director Nora Twomey at Annecy. And women are leading the way.
During her “fireside chat” with Ramsey Naito at the Women in Animation World Summit, Twomey – co-founder and creative director at Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon – also underlined the importance of representation. “I hope it’s something we won’t lose and that we will still ask each other: ‘How are you doing?’,” she said, opening up about the positive example she got to experience at the very beginning of her career.
Teasing upcoming projects from their companies – from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” to another outing of “Paw Patrol” or, in case of Cartoon Saloon, Louise Bagnall’s “Julián” – they also urged the audience, often battling gender stereotypes and prejudice, to keep up the faith. “The hardest part has been about not crumbling and picking yourself up, and reflecting on your journey so that you can be stronger. Animation takes a really long time.