First Ever Native American Animation Panel Set for May 23rd

Published May 15, 2019

Sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company, and Cartoon Network

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.  The LA Skins Fest, a Native American film festival, in partnership with Comcast
NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company, and Cartoon Network, announced today they are holding the first ever Native American Animation Panel May 23rd, 2019 7:30pm at the Netflix Home Theater in Hollywood, California.

Panelists include Jason Caparaz, Vice President, Development for DreamWorks Animation Television, Jessica Julius, VP, Creative Development at the Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Nicole Rivera, Director of Development for Cartoon Network Original Series. The panel will be moderated by Native American actress Elizabeth Frances (The Son/AMC).

“We are excited to have a new component that will give much needed exposure to talented Native Americans in animation. We intend to grow and develop Native Americans interested in breaking into this field. We look forward to offering unique and career changing opportunities to brilliant and exceptional Native American artists,” announced Patricia Gomes (Purepecha), LA SKINS FEST Director of Programs.

The Native American Animation Panel is designed to offer information,  insight and perspective on the opportunities available within the animation industry. It  will also aim to increase awareness to generate more Native American involvement in the field of animation. The panel will offer the Native American community vital information necessary to start a path into film and television animation. The event will offer a Q&A for the attendees following the panel discussion and will close with a reception.

For more information please visit www.laskinsfest.com. There is no admission fee to attend the event but RSVP is required. Reservations will be available until May 16th, 2019.

The NATIVE AMERICAN ANIMATION PANEL is supported by Comcast NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company, and Cartoon Network. The panel will take place at the Netflix Home Theater located at 1455 N Van Ness Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028.

PANELISTS

Panel to include the following attendees:

JASON CAPARAZ, Vice-President, Development for DreamWorks Animation Television,
Jason Caparaz develops kids and family content for DreamWorks’ global and domestic
distributors including Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and Universal Kids. Since joining
DreamWorks in 2016, he’s developed multiple projects including the upcoming Fast &
Furious animated series, Gabby’s Dollhouse and Archibald’s Next Big Thing for
Netflix. Previously Jason worked at Nickelodeon where he oversaw several shows
including Yo Gabba Gabba!, Mutt & Stuff, Wallykazam!, Peter Rabbit and Dino Dan. As
Jason got his start in NY, he worked in production at NBC News, PBS, Blue’s Clues and
spent a couple of years in feature film publicity at Disney. Jason is a graduate of
Rutgers University and a proud New Jersey native. His first job out of college was in
the NBC Page Program where he wore the same exact polyester uniform as Kenneth
from 30 Rock.

JESSICA JULIUS – Jessica Julius is Vice President, Creative Development at Walt Disney Animation Studios. She has over 15 years experience in film development and production, most recently on Disney’s 2018 feature film release Ralph Breaks theInternet. She worked on Academy Award®- winning features Zootopia, Frozen and Big Hero 6, as well as Oscar®-nominated films Moana, Wreck-It Ralph, Winnie the Pooh, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, and Bolt. She is currently working with WDAS
directors, writers and artists to craft their projects for 2019 and beyond. Jessica is the author of multiple “The Art of…” books, including those for Ralph Breaks the Internet, Moana, Zootopia, and Big Hero 6, as well as several children’s picture books. She has served as a mentor and panelist for Women in Animation, Women In Film, Cinestory, and the Austin Screenwriting Conference. Prior to Disney, Jessica worked as a publicist for Oscar®-nominated films ranging from Finding Nemo to Seabiscuit. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in Film & Media Communications and Women’s Studies. Originally from Minneapolis, Jessica currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband.

NICOLE RIVERA – Nicole Rivera is Director of Development for Cartoon Network Original Series, where she works to identify and shepherd new animated series. Prior to joining the development team at Cartoon Network, Rivera was on the development teams at Universal Kids & Family Productions and DreamWorks Animation TV. She also worked for Cartoon Network from 2008-2015, first as part of the Content Acquisitions Team and then as Manager of Current Series, where she worked on shows including Steven Universe, Clarence and the reimagined The Powerpuff Girls. Previously, Rivera worked in production and development at Focus Features and served as the assistant to one of the producers on the 20th Century Fox Film, The Devil Wears Prada. Rivera holds a BA in Dramatic Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

MODERATOR

ELIZABETH FRANCES – Actress Elizabeth Frances, is best known for her on-camera
roles such as troubled girlfriend Angela Maryboy in Drunktown’s Finest, produced by
Robert Redford which premiered at Sundance Film Festival; rock star Bad Penny in the
Emmy®-nominated series Her Story; NBC’s Heartbeat; tough but lovable MMA fighter
Lilly Rowan on Netflix’s Love from producer Judd Apatow; and currently her role as the
young and headstrong Prairie Flower on AMC’s hit series The Son starring Pierce
Brosnan