VIEW Conference is an annual CG, VFX and animation event in Turin, Italy, connecting artists with studios such as Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. Between the in-person editions, it runs free online panels for production professionals.
VIEW Conference has announced a free online panel featuring the directors of the films nominated for the 2026 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The one-hour virtual discussion takes place on Friday, February 27th, 2026, from 9:00 to 10:00am PST, which corresponds to 18:00 to 19:00 CET and 5:00pm UK time. Registration is free. Zoom details will be emailed to registered participants as the event approaches.
The event is free to attend. VIEW Conference welcomes donations of any amount to support future programming.
Pixar voices return
Madeline Sharafian began her career at Cartoon Network and later became a story artist at Pixar on Coco, Onward and Turning Red. She directed the short Burrow and co-directed Elio in 2025. Domee Shi joined Pixar as a storyboard artist after graduating from Sheridan College and directed the short Bao, winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. She later directed Turning Red and co-directed Elio.
Disney sequel territory
Byron Howard began his career at Walt Disney Animation Studios and later directed Bolt, Tangled and Zootopia, winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Zootopia. He most recently directed Zootopia 2 in 2025.
Sony Pictures Animation on stage
Maggie Kang studied at Sheridan College and worked as a story artist on multiple DreamWorks Animation features before moving into directing. She co-directed and co-wrote K-Pop Demon Hunters for Sony Pictures Animation. Chris Appelhans began as a concept artist and production designer on films including Coraline and The Princess and the Frog before directing Wish Dragon. He co-directed K-Pop Demon Hunters with Kang. The official biography describes K-Pop Demon Hunters as a global phenomenon upon release. This is a claim from the organisers and not independently verified at press time.
A Cannes and Annecy presence
Ugo Bienvenu is a French illustrator and director whose work spans short films, music videos and advertising. His first feature, Arco, was selected for Cannes and received the Annecy Crystal Award for Best Film.
Feature debuts from France
Maïlys Vallade is a director and storyboard artist who has worked on features including The Little Prince, Long Way North and I Lost My Body. Little Amélie marks her feature debut as director and screenwriter. Liane-Cho Han began as a key animator and later moved into storyboarding and animation direction on features such as The Illusionist and Calamity. Little Amélie is his first feature as director and screenwriter.
Industry access without a plane ticket
The panel is presented as a live Zoom session with audience Q and A. For production artists, it offers direct access to directors working across Pixar, Disney, Sony Pictures Animation and independent European features without travel costs.
