LOS ANGELES — Mitú has partnered with Sony Pictures Animation to launch the Mitú /Sony Pictures Animation Accelerator program, an ongoing mentorship and fellowship program for digital content creators, filmmakers, writers and animators. Sony Pictures Animation is the latest partner to join Mitú’s Accelerator and will work with the company to develop a pipeline of highly-skilled Latino storytellers in the animation industry.
The eight-week Accelerator program will give promising Latino animators the opportunity to learn directly from Sony Pictures Animation’s experts, Mitú’s development team, and newly appointed Mitú CEO Herb Scannell, whose tenure at Nickelodeon was marked by iconic animation franchises that broke cultural and creative barriers, including Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants and Rugrats.
“Mitú’s mission is to champion Latino talent in all that we do,” says Scannell. “We’re disproportionately underrepresented in all areas of entertainment, both in creative roles and as business leaders. I'm thrilled that we’re partnering with Sony Pictures Animation to develop the next generation of Latino animators through our Accelerator program. Animation is close to my heart given my time at Nickelodeon, and I'm proud that we are mentoring young Latino talent to bring their creativity and characters to life.”
Program participants will present their animated shorts to Sony Pictures Animation and Mitú executives. Three creators will be chosen to have their projects premiered on Mitú’s platforms that reach 120 million people daily. The program, to be hosted at both Mitú and Sony Picture Animations’ studios, is slated to run from January 8, 2018 through March 2, 2018. Applicant submissions are now open (mituaccelerator.com) and will close on November 10th.