‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ director Kyle Balda leads a diverse speaker lineup as the storytelling retreat comes to Kaga, Japan, September 20-23, inviting attendees to dive into innovative story creation across various mediums and platforms.
Next month, September 20-23, THU JAPAN will bring together creative and influential storytellers in Kaga, Japan, to dive into the art of creating innovative stories across various platforms in various mediums.
Short for "Trojan Horse Was a Unicorn," THU is reputed for its influential and immersive events dedicated to creativity and entrepreneurship in the digital entertainment industry. With a focus on animation, games, film, journalism, and “beyond,” the event aims to inspire, educate, and bring about innovation through shared experiences with a series of talks, workshops, and conversations of a “true disruptive nature.”
The program features a lineup of speakers (named “Senseis”) with diverse backgrounds and talent showcasing a wide array of perspectives – participants announced to date include:
Kyle Balda – The 30-year industry veteran and BAFTA-nominated feature animation director has worked with Illumination Entertainment and Pixar Animation Studios with credits including animator on A Bug's Life and Monsters Inc.; director of animation on Toy Story 2; co-director on The Lorax; and director on Minions, Despicable Me 3, and Minions: The Rise of Gru.
Sadayuki Murai – Screenwriter and Professor at the Faculty of Anime and Manga Art, Kaishi Professional University, and winner of the 6th Fuji Television Young Scenario Award - Murai’s representative works include screenplays for the films Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress (directed by Satoshi Kon), and Steamboy and Mushi-Shi (directed by Katsuhiro Otomo).
Amy Aniobi – The award-winning writer/director/producer is best known for her work on the NAACP-award-winning and Emmy-nominated HBO comedy series Insecure. She founded the production company SuperSpecial, and the industry talent incubator, TRIBE. Aniobi wrote for Silicon Valley and The Michael J. Fox Show. She also served as showrunner for Season 1 of the HBO comedy special, 2 Dope Queens.
Cláudia Cristovão - Head of Google Brand Studio & Social Lab APAC, Cristovão has worked as a writer, brand developer, and creative director for Nike; Google; Honda; Adidas; MINI; and AMEX and at agencies such as W+K; Sid Lee; and AKQA. Her projects include music videos; installations; digital experiences; social media campaigns; and business transformations.
Rafael Tonon - A journalist and food writer Tonon’s work is featured in international media entities such as Munchies (Vice); Slate; The Washington Post; CN Traveler; and Atlas Obscura. He also collaborates with Fine Dining Lovers and Eater, a large gastronomy portal in the USA.
"We are really excited to be able to bring together such an enormous pool of talent all to one place, the city of Kaga, where you can breathe culture anywhere you go,” said André Lourenço, CEO and Co-Founder of THU. “The conditions are perfect to make THU JAPAN the most important laboratory in the art of storytelling. Every art form tells a story, and outlets keep changing, as do people, so creatives need to keep up and learn from each other in order to connect. We’re not just hosting an event but preparing for innovation."
THU JAPAN welcomes attendees from all backgrounds and skill levels – additional information and tickets are available here.
Source: THU Japan
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
