Variety will honor Joel Crawford, the DreamWorks Animation filmmaker behind the Oscar-nominated “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and the upcoming “Forgotten Island,” with the Creative Impact in Animation Award at this year’s SCAD AnimationFest.
The honor will be presented Sept. 25 at SCADshow in Atlanta, where Crawford’s latest feature “Forgotten Island” will screen. The festival runs Sept. 23 through 25. Past recipients of the award include Chris Miller, director of “Smurfs”; Nick Park, director of “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”; and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson.
“SCAD is honored to partner with Variety in presenting the Creative Impact Award in Animation to Joel Crawford,” says Christina Routhier, senior executive director of SCAD theaters and festivals. “Joel’s work reflects a rare balance of technical mastery and heartfelt storytelling and we’re excited to screen his latest project ‘Forgotten Island.’ For our SCAD animation students, his career is a powerful example of how bold creative risks and a deeply personal point of view can shape the future of the medium. We are thrilled to celebrate his contributions to animation at SCAD AnimationFest.”
