HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA
JENNIFER KLUSKA
Jennifer Kluska is currently directing with Derek Drymon Sony Pictures Animation’s upcoming adventure comedy Hotel Transylvania 4. She previously served as a story artist on various Sony Pictures Animation films including Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013), Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015), Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017) and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018). Prior, Kluska worked as a story artist at DreamWorks Animation on Bee Movie (2007) and How to Train Your Dragon (2010). Her other credits include supervising producer and series director on the 2019 reboot DC Super Hero Girls for Warner Bros. Animation.
MICHELLE MURDOCCA
Michelle Murdocca is currently executive producing Sony Pictures Animation’s upcoming adventure comedy Hotel Transylvania 4. Murdocca served as producer on each previous installment of the franchise, including most recently Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation as well as Hotel Transylvania, Hotel Transylvania 2, and the spin-off shorts Puppy! And Goodnight Mr. Foot. She was the producer for Sony Pictures Animation’s first feature, Open Season, as well as lending her vocal talents to the film’s spunky skunk, Maria. Subsequently, she produced the division’s short film Midnight Bun Run and executive produced Open Season 2.
THE BOOK OF LIFE
SANDRA EQUIHUA
Sandra Equihua is an illustrator, painter, and animated character designer. She was born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico. In 1994, she founded the production company Mexopolis with husband and collaborator Jorge Gutierrez, with which she has produced their animation projects. Equihua won an Emmy Award for her character designs on El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, the highly-acclaimed animated television series she co-created with her long-time collaborator and husband, Jorge R. Gutierrez. She also won an Annie Award for her character designs on The Book of Life.
JACKIE KOEHLER
Originally from Calgary, AB, Canada, Jackie Koehler currently works at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Her animation career started in 2007 when she graduated from Emily Carr University and got her first gig on a television series in Vancouver, BC. Animation has been her passion since she was young. Her eight-year-old self would be very proud.
THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
MIKE BELZER
Mike Belzer started animating when he was 13 years old. As a professional animator, he has worked for such companies as Walt Disney Feature Animation, Warner Bros., Pixar and Valve. He got his start with stop motion animation working with icons like Gumby, Pillsbury Doughboy, Hershey’s Kisses and films like The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and James and the Giant Peach (1996). Years later he transitioned to computer animation creating feature films, commercials, video games and even virtual reality experiences. The only thing he loves more than animating, is spending time with his family.
KENDAL CRONKHITE SHAINDLIN
Kendal Cronkhite Shaindlin joined DreamWorks Animation as an art director and worked on the studio’s first computer animated film ANTZ (1998). Her production designer credits include Trolls (2016), Trolls World Tour (2020) and the three films in the Madagascar series. Prior to joining DreamWorks Animation, Cronkhite was the assistant art director on Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), art director on Disney’s James and the Giant Peach (1996) and worked as an editorial illustrator in Toronto and New York.
MODERATOR
RANDY HABERKAMP
As Senior Vice President of Preservation and Foundation Programming for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Randy Haberkamp has direct oversight of the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library, the Academy Film Archive and public programs. He received his Master’s in Motion Picture Production from UCLA and worked for the CBS Television Network for 14 years culminating as Director of Specials and Feature Films. He has worked as a freelance television producer and as a talent agent and is the founder of The Silent Society, a silent film preservation and appreciation group that has presented and preserved silent films in Los Angeles for over 30 years. He is originally from Ohio.