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.

https://www.viewconference.it/

The post Oscar animation directors go live online first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

The VIEW Conference 2025 will run from 12 to 17 October 2025 in Turin’s OGR complex. According to the official programme page, the 26th edition will host more than 150 speakers across animation, VFX, games, immersive media, AI and real-time workflows. The event’s structure is broad and tiered: daily keynotes, talks, panels, workshops, masterclasses, and portfolio reviews. This year’s focus leans strongly towards production methods and applied technology — not only creative storytelling.

Who’s Speaking

Confirmed guests include an unusually high number of feature-film directors, VFX supervisors, and production executives. Among them:

• Doug Chiang (Lucasfilm) – VIEW Visionary 2025
• Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian (Pixar, Elio)
• Pierre Perifel and Matt Baer (The Bad Guys 2, DreamWorks)
• Alessandro Carloni (The Cat in the Hat, Warner Bros.)
• Pablo Helman (Wicked: For Good)
• Daniele Bigi (Fantastic Four: First Steps)
• Phil Tippett, Ramsey Naito, Fiona Walkinshaw, Kevin Baillie, and Jonas Kluger among the studio and production heads.

This blend of creative, technical, and executive profiles shows VIEW’s ongoing intent to bridge artistry and engineering.

Topics and Technical Weight

From the published schedule, several themes dominate: AI in production, virtual production, real-time rendering, story development, and cross-media workflows linking cinema and interactive stuff. The inclusion of “Premiere Talks” indicates that audiences will see first-look content from upcoming features.

Workshops and masterclasses promise practical sessions on shading, lighting, compositing, and storytelling. Portfolio reviews and recruitment tracks add a talent-development dimension — useful for artists and supervisors seeking connections beyond presentations. As always, new techniques should be verified before deployment in production environments; not every previewed pipeline will fit every studio setup.

Ticket Prices

Ticketing for VIEW 2025 follows a two-tier model. The Light Ticket costs € 186.55 and includes access to talks, panels and keynotes. The All Access / Full Ticket, covering all workshops and masterclasses, is listed at € 387.84. Prices may vary depending on regional VAT and booking conditions. Official registration runs through Eventbrite and the VIEW site.

A Day in Turin

Even the most production-driven delegate should plan at least one extra day in Turin itself. The city remains one of Italy’s most elegant and friendly. A few tipps: the Egyptian Museum. It is the second largest collection in the world after Cairo (Even bigger then the British Museum, with all the things the Brits didn’t think to steal). And a few actual “Books of the dead” (Picture Below. The person at the end is 1.70m, for size comparison. You can mumble everything in front of it, none of the mummies came alive. Maybe you have better luck.

Turin rewards slow exploration — a morning walk through Piazza Castello or an evening espresso at Caffè Torino may reset your neural networks more effectively than any AI panel. While you are around, you should know about “Gianduiotto” – The stuff that Nutella is a poor imitation of. The small confections are to be found everywhere. Do NOT leave turin without trying some! (You’ll thank me later)

And yes, eat the tramezzini di Brah (“brah” sandwiches. “Brah” is a town a little way off. As a German, “Brah Wurst” is the height of sophsticated culinary humor, but the things are damn tasty as well. ).

Summary

VIEW 2025 presents one of its most ambitious schedules yet: 150+ speakers, extensive workshops, and a technical focus that connects real-time, animation, and AI production. The pricing remains accessible relative to comparable global events, and Turin offers enough culture, architecture, and food to justify staying longer.

The post VIEW 2025: Program, Prices & Turin Tips first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.