Media and Entertainment
Cartoons Underground 2021
20 - 27 Nov
Online Content
Cartoons Underground Turns 10!
Celebrating a decade of animated stories from Southeast Asia! Get ready for an exciting, immersive and interactive experience in the Metaverse!
Travel with us across borders to beautifully imagined animated lands from Canada, Taiwan, Germany, Singapore and strap in for a mind-stretching ride and let yourself go!
Catch these films, workshops, panel discussions exclusively between 20 to 27 November only!
| Beyond Animation: What’s Next for Creative Graduates?
21 November 2021 | 2PM Hear from Animation graduates who have built their career as successful freelancers, studio heads, entrepreneurs! |
| Developing the Animation Industry: The Role of Education
23 November 2021 | 8PM A lively discussion on the challenges faced in developing new talent for the Animation industry in Singapore. |
| Future of Monetization in Animation Panel
25 November 2021 | 8PM The digital age has democratized the ways one can earn from animation. Hear from the experts who have done just that with streaming services, Crypto Art, NFTs more! |
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10th Anniversary Reunion Panel: Animating Tatsumi 27 November 2021 | 1PM @ *SCAPE Gallery, Level 5 Follow Yoshihiro Tatsumi, as he begins to work as a comics artist in post-war occupied Japan. |
Beyond Animation: What’s Next for Creative Graduates?
21 November 2021 | 2PM
Hear from Animation graduates who have built their career as successful freelancers, studio heads, entrepreneurs!
| Host | |
Athira Suresh |
Athira is a Singapore-based Creative Designer, currently in the AdTech playing field at MiQ Digital SEA. With a background in 3D Animation, Athira constantly engages herself with artsy non-profit events and creative festivals that help to promote local artists. On the side, she is a Brand Engagement Lead for Cartoons Underground, Southeast Asia’s largest Animation festival. Her passion for the craft has led her to start her own community and journaling brand at Luna’s Labyrinth. |
Jia Lee |
Jia Lee is a triple threat – a designer, illustrator, and animator. She is the co-founder of the Cannes-nominated animation studio, Finding Pictures. Finding Pictures is a Singaporean animation studio founded by filmmakers and designers, that is constantly exploring new ways to tell stories and communicate ideas. Its independent films have screened at the Cannes Film Festival and Annecy International Film Festival. Jia has collaborated with clients such as Apple, National Gallery Singapore, and Singapore Writer’s Festival. Recent projects include the key art and branding for the 2020 Singapore International Film Festival, and the key art for Busan-nominated feature film Tiong Bahru Social Club. She is currently writing and producing an animated tv series with Finding Pictures. |
| Speakers | |
Goh Wei Choon |
Wei Choon is a visual storyteller, illustrator and content creator. He is most known for being one of the two founders of The Woke Salaryman, a Singapore-based social media page that creates comics and articles about personal finance. The Woke Salaryman is focused on making personal finance more interesting and accessible for beginners and young people. Wei Choon is interested in talking about balancing money/career with passion/meaning. His current dream is to one day create a horror/comedy comic strip. |
Benjamin Ang |
Born and raised in Singapore, Motion Designer Benjamin Ang worked both in Singapore and Los Angeles, California, when he noticed a disparity of approaching work and the importance of culture, between the two motion design industries. Genesis was formed in 2015, to bridge the gap by infusing a positive blend of both cultures; the Asian hustle and the open playfulness of the other. Repeatedly told impossible due to the local social norms of overworking, over-competitiveness and hierarchies, which till this day, is his motivation to prove others wrong and that a balance is still possible if entrepreneurs embrace the persistence to try. Genesis is now 12 strong and humbled to be internationally recognised (ie, Webby Award Nominee, W3 Awards Best of Show, idN Magazine) and does work for international brands such as Facebook, McDonald’s, Disney, Riot Games, Razer, ASUS, MSI, etc. Benjamin pursues giving back to the design community by giving talks in regional design events (ie, Graphika Manila, Halography Vietnam), YouTube channels (ie, The Futur) and schools. He also curates high-quality work on the Motion Designers Community’s Facebook. He was honoured to be selected in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2020 (Media, Marketing & Advertising category) and featured on prestigious websites such as Entrepreneur and Vulcan Post. |
Sarah Cheok |
Sarah Cheok is an animation filmmaker who is passionate about all things animation. She loves designing and creating imaginary worlds while striving for more opportunities to learn and experiment with the art form. Sarah is a graduate of the BA (Hons) Animation Art programme at LASALLE College of the Arts. Her film The Growth has been showcased locally at Cartoons Underground and Digicon6, winning the Best Singapore Student Animation, and the Next Generation Award respectively. The Growth has also been screened at various international festivals including Indie-AniFest, International Animation Film Festival of Catalonia, and the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film. Sarah is an art director and creative lead at Finding Pictures. She has art directed Mediacorp productions including Michael Chiang’s Mixed Signals directed by Beatrice Chia-Richmond and animated TV series The Adventures of Luggy and Zippy, and is currently working on an animated tv series with Finding Pictures. |
Jolene Tan |
Jolene Tan is an animator-illustrator who enjoys a cup of tea on both good and bad days. She is currently the animation lead of O+ at OGS, which has earned a Motionographer award among others. During her free time, she enjoys collaborating with local musicians like M1LDL1FE, illustrating various places and most of all, sleeping. |
Lingual Tan |
Lingual knew from a young age her passion lies within the film and media sector. Her industry experience spans from Artiste Management, Film Producing to Post Production. With a firm belief that Singapore has what it takes to gain a strong stakehold internationally, she constantly find ways to assist and market local talents throughout her career. Whether it be raising awareness to support local talents, or developing ideas to market our talents overseas, her goal is to ensure we all grow as an industry. Today, she is making an impact in the youth community fuelling their passion and aspirations, helping them develop their craft, and handshake them to the industry. Intrinsically-driven, her greatest satisfaction comes from bringing value to her work and in people’s lives. |
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Developing the Animation Industry: The Role of Education
23 November 2021 | 8PM
A lively discussion on the challenges faced in developing new talent for the Animation industry in Singapore.
| Host | |
Chris Shaw |
Chris Shaw is Head of the Puttnam School of Film & Animation which incorporates Film, Broadcast Media and Animation Diploma and BA(Hons) programmes. He started his animation career in 1987 with Walt Disney Animation on the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. In 1989, he joined the Animation Department on Steven Spielberg’s American Tail II. After contributing to several animated features, he continued his career as a freelance Animator on a variety of TV commercials with clients including BBC News, Paul McCartney, IBM, Reuters News Agency, Lego, Halls, Rice Krispies, Ribena, Barclays Bank and MTV. |
| Speakers | |
Dayne Cowan |
Dayne Cowan is the VP of Film at VHQ Media, responsible for overseeing the feature film divisions in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. He has over 25 years of experience in the film and television industry and has worked for many of the largest companies in the UK, Australia and Asia. During this time, he has worked closely with most of the major Hollywood, Chinese and Indian film studios. His film credits are extensive and include titles such as Batman Begins, Stranger Than Fiction, 10000 BC, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Paul, Battle Los Angeles, John Carter, and the Academy Award-winning film The Reader. Since moving to Asia, his Chinese film credits include Forever Young, The Legend of the Naga Pearls, Once Upon a Time and a creative collaboration on the film Wolf Totem with the French Director Jean Jacques Annaud. He is a current serving Board Member of the Visual Effects Society and has been involved for many years with its membership and outreach committees. |
Grace Toh |
Grace is an educator with 18 years of experience working in the higher education sector in the Interactive & Digital Media in Singapore. She is currently part of the faculties for Animation, Games Art & Design, and Visual Effects in the School of Design & Media in Nanyang Polytechnic, and is heavily involved in curriculum design for future learners. Her secondary role as an International Development & Competitions and Social Media & Communications manager, sees her leading her team towards creating new global opportunities for students, faculty, and alumni amidst this challenging climate. Apart from being an educator, she is also an advocate for Mindfulness and Positive Education Strategies, currently doing her Masters in Applied Positive Psychology. |
Joshua Tan |
Joshua Tan a 3D artist by training, having graduated from the school of Art, Design and Media in 2011 with the Lee Kuan Yew gold medal award. He has since then co-founded CraveFX, a full-fledged animation and post- production studio. Joshua oversees the company’s direction and provides creative direction for projects, from directing broadcast openers for MediaCorp to large scale multimedia experiences for the Singapore Bicentennial Exhibition. He also imparts his skills and experience to students as an adjunct lecturer at NTU. In his free time, he enjoys rock climbing and brewing a flat white. |
Phil Mitchell |
Responsible for the character animation component of our Diploma in Animation & 3D Arts, together with a team of full-time & adjunct lecturers. Involving academic development of teaching material, student mentoring & counselling, industry contacts and projects, team-lead for Diploma lecturers. Animation producer, creative animation & creative director, editor, CG Producer, and lead storyboard artist for the 2D animated feature film ʻTatsumiʼ, (written and directed by Eric Khoo). Infinite Frameworks Studios, Singapore and Indonesia. Director, also: co-writer, production designer, co-producer, initial pipeline development, and editor for independent CG movie made in South East Asia (“Sing to the Dawn”). One of the founders of Mainframe Entertainment Inc. I was involved in the CG production of over 300 episodes of television. One of the co-creators of ʻReBootʼ, the worldʼs first 100% computer-generated TV series. The Mill Post-Production Facility: Member of the Computer Graphics department at the worldʼs first all-digital facility house. |
Simon Pike |
Starting as a classical 2D animator, Simon is a 25-year veteran of the animation industry. Currently Series Director at the award-winning CG studio, One Animation here in Singapore. For the last 5 years, he has been a key creative force behind the studio’s three-time Emmy Award-nominated Oddbods brand as well as Co-Director on the recent Netflix hit, Sharkdog. Honing his skills as a lead animator on UK BAFTA-winning shows such as Horrible Histories, The Secret Show, Grizzly Tales and Disney’s Jungle Junction he has a wealth of experience under his belt. Simon has also shared his passion as an animation mentor and lecturer on the BA(Hons) Animation course at the renowned Falmouth University UK and currently teaches part-time at LASALLE here in Singapore. |
Dr. Yanyun Chen |
Dr. Yanyun Chen (b. 1986, Singapore) is a visual artist and runs a drawing, new media and installation practice. Her works delve into the aesthetic, cultural and technological inheritances on one’s body, unravelling fictional and philosophical notions of embodiment, and are grounded in the physicality of human and botanical forms. She received the prestigious National Arts Council Young Artist Award (2020), Singapore’s highest award for young arts practitioners, aged 35 and below. Her works were also awarded the Prague International Indie Film Festival Q3 Best Animation Award (2020), ArtOutreach IMPART Visual Artist Award (2019), National Youth Film Awards Best Art Direction Award (2019), Singapore Art Museum President’s Young Talents People’s Choice Award (2018), Japan Media Arts Festival (2012) and Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medal Award (2009). Dr Chen graduated from the European Graduate School Philosophy, Art, and Critical Thought Doctor of Philosophy programme in 2018, its Communications Master of Arts programme in 2014, and Nanyang Technological University School of Art Design and Media Digital Animation programme in 2009. She is the Arts Practice Coordinator for the Division of Humanities at Yale-NUS College in Singapore. |
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Future of Monetization in Animation Panel
25 November 2021 | 8PM
The digital age has democratized the ways one can earn from animation. Hear from the experts who have done just that with streaming services, Crypto Art, NFTs more!
| Host | |
Vicky Chen |
Vicky Chen is the co-founder and festival director of Cartoons Underground, she is what Singaporeans would call a chili padi – a tiny, fiery pepper that packs a real punch. At just over five feet tall Vicky has lived and worked in 4 countries across Europe and Asia, crossed the arctic circle at 23, started an AI business, and contiues to champion an award-winning female empowerment non-profit organisation, SheSays Singapore. In her day job, Vicky works in adtech acrosss several APAC markets. As a big fan of animation and cartoons, Vicky saw the gap in the industry that had an unbalanced focus toward animated films outside of Asia. At 21 years old, she partnered with Patrick Smith and founded Cartoons Underground, to bring short animated films from all around the world to Asia, and to showcase young emerging talents from SEA to the rest of the world! |
| Speakers | |
Chi Sim |
Chi Sim is the founder and CEO of Omens Studios, a CG animation studio based in Singapore with offices in UK and Malaysia. As an Executive Producer, he works with different creative talents in the development of long and short-form content, and is also responsible for the financing, production and commercialisation of media content. |
Patrick Smith |
Patrick Smith is known for his metaphorical hand drawn short films, as well as his experimental stop motion films. His formative years were spent as a storyboard artist for Walt Disney, and animation director for MTV. Smith is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and a fellow of the New York Foundation of the Arts. His 2019 Oscar qualifying film “Pour 585” has been viewed over 125 million times, placing it as one of the 15 most watched independent animated shorts in history. Currently Smith lives in Montauk New York, and makes short films full time. |
George Gally – RadarBoy |
Radarboy3000 is a creative coder, data and generative artist from South Africa, now living in Singapore. His work is inspired by computational art, and the aesthetics of the dance music scene. Stripped of excess details, his monochromatic minimalist art attempts to find meaning and beauty in collaboration with the machine. He is also the founder of the world’s largest Crypto Art Event, Crypto Art Week Asia, and of the generative NFT collectible, The Mad Hatter’s Club, one of the biggest projects on the Tezos blockcha. |
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10th Anniversary Reunion Panel: Animating Tatsumi
27 November 2021 | 1PM @ *SCAPE Gallery, Level 5
Follow Yoshihiro Tatsumi, as he begins to work as a comics artist in post-war occupied Japan.
| Host | |
Jerrold Chong |
Director/animator Jerrold Chong graduated with a BFA in Animation at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). His films have screened at numerous international film festivals, including Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, Busan International Film Festival, Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival in Bristol, Animatricks Animation Festival in Helsinki, Short Shorts Film Festival in Tokyo and Bucheon International Animation Festival in Korea. Most recently he co-directed the official NDP 2021 Music Video “The Road Ahead” which has garnered over a million views on Youtube. He also wrote and co-directed the animated short film, Piece of Meat, which premiered at the 2019 Cannes Director’s Fortnight |
| Speakers | |
Eric Khoo |
Eric Khoo put Singapore onto the International film map in 1995. With his debut feature Mee Pok Man (1995) followed by 12 Storeys (1997), he was the first Singaporean to have his films invited to major festivals. Be with Me opened the Directors’ Fortnight (2005) and My Magic was selected to compete at the Festival de Cannes (2008). He helms Zhao Wei Films and besides his filmmaking achievements, he has produced award-winning films including 15 (2003) and Sandcastle (2010). In 2010, an Eric Khoo retrospective was held at the Pompidou Centre in Paris. The following year, his first animated feature, Tatsumi, was invited at Un Certain Regard and made its North American premiere at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). In 2015, he presented two films inspired by Singapore’s history: In the Room and Cinema, which is part of 7 Letters, an anthology by 7 local film directors. |
Fong Cheng |
Tan Fong Cheng cut her teeth in the industry producing television commercials since 1995. She has worked with all manner of clients, from MNCs to governmental bodies. In 2001, she decided to concentrate on movies and came on board Zhao Wei Films. Since then, she has produced many of the company’s most noteworthy TV series as well as films including Khoo’s Be With Me and No Day Off, as well as Royston Tan’s 15 and 881. A crowning achievement for her was producing Eric Khoo’s My Magic, which was invited to compete in the prestigious Main Competition of the 61st Cannes Film Festival. Fong Cheng also produced Eric Khoo’s first animation feature film, Tatsumi, which was invited to the 64th Cannes Film Festival and made its North American premiere at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). A stalwart in the Singapore film industry, she produced Eric Khoo’s In The Room (40th Toronto International Festival, 20th Busan International Film Festival) and Boo Junfeng’s Apprentice. Most recently, in 2018, she produced co-produced Eric Khoo’s Ramen Teh. |
Masato Yamamoto |
Masato Yamamoto is President Director at FUJIFILM Indonesia, now resides in Jakarta.
Joined FUJIFILM after graduating from Keio University Graduate School. Since then, he pursued a career in the FUJIFILM Group for nearly 20 years with a major role and contribution in international market development of the imaging business. |
Phil Mitchell |
Responsible for the character animation component of our Diploma in Animation & 3D Arts, together with a team of full-time & adjunct lecturers. Involving academic development of teaching material, student mentoring & counselling, industry contacts and projects, team-lead for Diploma lecturers. Animation producer, creative animation & creative director, editor, CG Producer, and lead storyboard artist for the 2D animated feature film ʻTatsumiʼ, (written and directed by Eric Khoo). Infinite Frameworks Studios, Singapore and Indonesia. Director, also: co-writer, production designer, co-producer, initial pipeline development, and editor for independent CG movie made in South East Asia (“Sing to the Dawn”). One of the founders of Mainframe Entertainment Inc. I was involved in the CG production of over 300 episodes of television. One of the co-creators of ʻReBootʼ, the worldʼs first 100% computer-generated TV series. The Mill Post-Production Facility: Member of the Computer Graphics department at the worldʼs first all-digital facility house. |
Kazz Sato |
Born in Shizuoka, Japan, Kazz Sato graduated from the School of Audio Engineering in Singapore and became the resident Sound Director in Muse. Kazz manages all aspects of audio development in his company and has worked on TV and radio commercials, TV programmes and more. He has done collaborations with many Singapore-based directors like Djinn, Sam Loh, Royston Tan, Gilbert Chan, Eric Khoo and many others. |
Christine Sham |
Christine Sham is a film and TV composer, keyboardist, music arranger, producer and educator based in Singapore. A Berklee College of Music degree graduate majoring in Professional Music (performance and arranging). She toured across the globe with some of the biggest Chinese Pop stars including A*mei, Stefanie Sun, F.I.R, Eric Moo, Angela Zhang and David Tao. Her breakthrough film scoring in 2005, “Be With Me” by Singapore director Eric Khoo led her to score even more movies from Khoo such as In the Room, Tatsumi, Ramen Teh and more. |
