The SCAD Savannah Film Festival announced programming for this year’s Pixels and Pencils, presented in partnership with Variety. The signature animation series highlights the directors behind the year’s most acclaimed animated features and culminates in the annual roundtable moderated by Variety’s chief awards editor, Clayton Davis. This year’s series will feature a record-breaking number of women directors and the first-ever animated short to participate in the roundtable discussion. The panel discussion will take place on Monday, Oct. 27.
The six selected films and their directors are:
- Arco (Neon), dir. Ugo Bienvenu
- Elio (Pixar), dir. Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian
- In Your Dreams (Netflix), dir. Alex Woo
- KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix), dir. Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang
- Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (GKids), dir. Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han Jin Kuang
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2—Lost in New Jersey (Paramount Pictures), dir. Kent Seki
The panel has become a key destination for animated contenders during awards season, with previous participants including Academy Award nominees Inside Out 2, Memoir of a Snail, The Wild Robot, and Flow, the eventual Oscar winner.
Presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), the SCAD Savannah Film Festival will run from Oct. 25 through Nov. 1. Festival passes for 2025 are available now. Individual event tickets go on sale Friday, Oct. 3.
