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‘Wolfwalkers’ Creators to Discuss Apple TV Plus Animated Film at 2020 VIEW Conference

Cartoon Saloon co-founder and creative director Tomm Moore will take part in a presentation about his latest film, “Wolfwalkers,” during the 2020 VIEW Conference, along with his co-director, Ross Stewart, and other key artists.

“Wolfwalkers,” which generated lots of buzz during the Toronto Film Festival, where it had its world premiere, is the latest film from Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon. The studio’s “The Secret of Kells” and “Song of the Sea,” both directed by Moore, were nominated for Academy Awards for animated feature. “Wolfwalkers” will stream worldwide on Apple TV Plus later this year.

Joining Moore and Stewart for the 90-minute online talk will be assistant director Mark Mullery, character designer Sandra Andersen, art director Maria Pareja and animation supervisor Svend Rothmann Bonde.

“We are lucky to be able to enjoy the work of such wonderful storytellers as Cartoon Saloon,” said conference director Maria Elena Gutierrez. “Their exquisite films shine a light on forgotten folklore, making these old stories relevant once more, in a way that beautifully and meaningfully illuminates our modern lives.”

The hand-drawn “Wolfwalkers” follows a young 17th century hunter on the trail of Ireland’s last wolf pack as she befriends a shapeshifting werewolf. “We were inspired by these legends from our area, which to speak to the species extinction that’s still sadly relevant today,” said Moore of the film’s influences.

During the talk, Moore and his team will discuss the studio’s unique style. “We believe we offer something timeless by working with the hand-drawn traditions,” said Moore. “We can draw on the rich visual language of illustration in a way that CG cannot, and I hope the look of our movies won’t age like CG, which is constantly evolving towards realism.”

The ”Wolfwalkers” team joins an array of conference speakers in the fields of visual effects, animation, gaming, virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality.

Other speakers include Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull; Osnat Shurer, producer of Disney’s upcoming animated feature “Raya and the Last Dragon”; animation directors Jorge Gutierrez (Netflix’s upcoming “Maya and the Three,” “The Book of Life”) and Kris Pearn (Netflix’s “The Willoughbys”); Industrial Light & Magic’s Hal Hickel, who oversaw all the VFX animation on Disney Plus hit “The Mandalorian”; ILM creative director Dennis Muren; Rob Bredow, SVP, executive creative director and head of ILM; “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” co-director Peter Ramsey; “I Lost My Body” writer-director Jeremy Clapin; “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker” VFX supervisor Roger Guyett; Sharon Calahan, director of photography for Pixar’s “Onward”; Alison Mann, VP creative/strategy for Sony Pictures Animation; and computer science experts Paul Debevec and Donald Greenberg.

The weeklong VIEW Conference, which stands for Virtual Interactive Emerging World, offers talks, panels, networking opportunities and master classes. It is held every year in Turin, Italy. This year’s edition, which will feature both in-person and virtual events, is set for Oct. 18 to Oct. 23. The physical edition of the VIEW Conference will be held at the Officine Grandi Riparazioni in Turin.

Registration for the conference is open on the VIEW website.

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