An independent Taiwan animation director whose works often explore the dark side of human nature and filled with horror and suspense.  Joe Hsieh has a background in Fine Arts of which he combined with his love of films to create a style all his own. Joe’s films have been screened and have received awards in Sundance, Animafest Zagreb, Venice, and Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Film Festival; and his work as Animation Director in the animation feature No 7 Cherry Lane has received Best Screenplay in the Venice Film Festival. 

Renee Zhan is a Chinese-American director and animator from Houston, Texas. In her films, Renee explores topics of female identity, nature, and sexuality – all things beautiful, ugly, and squishy. She is an alumnus of the Sarabande Foundation, BAFTA crew x BFI Network and Berlinale Talents and her short films have screened and won awards at festivals internationally including AFI Fest, Locarno, TIFF, Telluride, SXSW, an Annie Award nomination, BAFTA LA shortlist, and the Jury Prize for Best Animated Short at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. 

Imanol Ortiz López is a producer, director and screenwriter of several short films with more than 300 selections in national and international festivals. He is currently preparing his first feature film, “#thechallenge”, a found footage horror film, as well as other genre projects such as the horror thriller “Delivery”, the fantasy drama “Bramble” and the teen horror movie “Mommy Will Always Protect You”. In 2018 he published “Ajuar Funerario”, a horror comic adapted from the book by Fernando Iwasaki.

Vijesh Rajan is a Writer, Director, VFX Supervisor, and Motion Designer from Mumbai, known for his work on acclaimed projects like “Gangs of Wasseypur” and Netflix’s “Sacred Games”. His career transitioned from copywriting in Bahrain to founding Plexus, a studio renowned for award winning work in commercials, films, and TV series. Currently, he leads as Creative Producer at Plexus Motion Pictures and VFX Supervisor at Plexus Motion Studios, blending creativity with cutting-edge technology.

Yashoda Parthasarthy is a Writer, Director, Animator, and Motion Designer based in Mumbai, with a background in biotechnology and 3D animation filmmaking. Starting her career in several departments of filmmaking, she evolved into a prominent Director at Plexus, creating acclaimed title sequences for projects like “Ponniyan Selvan – 1” and Amazon’s “Farzi”. Currently, she leads Plexus Motion Pictures as Creative Producer and serves on the international jury panel for the Motion Design Awards.

Together, Vijesh and Yashoda are a powerhouse creative duo, currently pursuing their all-time dream of writing and creating content which is leading-edge and non-normative. Their goal is to use their expertise in VFX and their strong visual aesthetic to put Indian content on the global map with innovative stories that have a flair for the fantastical.

Kenichi Ugana made his debut in theaters in 2016, directing the first feature film in the Japanese “GAL” -themed movie “Ganguro Gal`s Riot”.  His series of short films, “Extraneous Matter,” has been screened at more than 75 film festivals in 20 countries and has won more than 11 top awards.”Extraneous Matter-Complete Edition”, has been screened at the Torino Film Festival, the Montreal Festival du nouveau cinéma, and the Etrange Festival. His short horror comedy, “Visitors,” was selected for over 32 film festivals including the Porto International Film Festival | Fantasporto and the Leeds International Film Festival and the Slamdance Film Festival and the LA Shorts International Film Festival and Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. NY Shorts International FilmFestival, where it won the top prize.