The Gotham Movie & Media Institute and Laika have unveiled the inaugural fellows for the Laika x Gotham Animation Accelerator, a brand new initiative supporting early to mid-career animation creators creating animated brief movie pitches.
The primary class of fellows contains Ben Ellebracht, Emily Ann Hoffman and Searit Kahsay Huluf. The six-month program gives mentorship, entry to Laika’s Portland studio, participation in Gotham Week programming and visibility by way of Filmmaker Journal.
Ellebracht, whose venture “Celestia” follows a mysterious lady raised alone in a forest who turns into obsessive about the moon, is understood for visible improvement work with studios together with Lucasfilm and DreamWorks TV, in addition to stop-motion work on Yo Gabba GabbaLand!.
Hoffman, an animator and filmmaker whose work has screened on the Sundance Movie Pageant, SXSW and Slamdance, joins the accelerator with “The Pond Prince,” a few former actuality courting present star frog battling life after fame.
Huluf, a former Pixar Animation Studios artist who labored on “Incredibles 2” and “Turning Red,” was chosen for “Fuzzy,” a narrative set in a world the place people rework into floating fuzzballs. Huluf beforehand directed the Pixar SparkShort “Self,” which earned a 2025 NAACP Picture Award nomination.
“The inaugural Laika x Gotham Animation Accelerator selected fellows stood out due to their remarkable visual creativity, deep respect for storytelling and genuine passion for animation as an artform,” stated Jeffrey Sharp, govt director of The Gotham Movie & Media Institute, in an announcement.
David Burke, Laika’s chief advertising and marketing and operations officer, added, “The future of animation will be shaped by artists with distinctive voices, ambitious ideas, and the courage to push the medium forward.”
The fellows can even obtain mentorship from animation creators Shawneé and Shawnelle Gibbs, Cami Kwan and Stephen P. Neary.
The accelerator marks the primary collaboration between The Gotham and Laika. The stop-motion studio, based in 2005, is behind Oscar-nominated animated options together with “Coraline,” “ParaNorman,” “The Boxtrolls,” “Kubo and the Two Strings” and “Missing Link.” Its subsequent characteristic, “Wildwood,” is slated for launch Oct. 23.
