Artist Bio: Lily Berg is a 2D animator with a BFA in Animation from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. They create short films that draw from personal experiences, but are relatable to many people.

Artist Bio: https://www.mcad.edu/academic-programs/graduate/master-fine-arts/people/recent-mentors/michelle-brost

Artist Bio: Khalid Ali is a Minneapolis-based filmmaker and educator. Originally trained as a commercial filmmaker in Los Angeles, Khalid developed an interest in documentary film when he began traveling to China with his older brother. Intrigued by the ability of his camera to bridge cultural differences, his experiences there evolved into a series of documentaries about Chinese urban culture, particularly on the margins of society. Since returning home Khalid has applied the same approach to filmmaking in his native Baltimore. Whether in China or the US, his films follow people toiling in humble jobs but who aspire to greatness. Together, their stories show how work can define or defy one’s identity.

Artist Bio: Emily Peck is a Melbourne based multi-visual artist. Her passion for art started at a young age which aided her cartoony, colourful, and somewhat realistic art style. She has a deep interest in themes following nature when it comes to illustration and animation which is portrayed through her characters and ideas for her films.

Artist Bio: https://www.instagram.com/merit_thursday_art

Artist Bio: Soyeon Kim is a Korean born filmmaker, illustrator, and educator.  While studying painting at college she developed an interest in moving images, which led her to the world of animation and media arts. She moved to the United States to pursue further studies in filmmaking and received an M.F.A in Animation from the California Institute of the Arts in 2001. She combines her backgrounds in both painting and filmmaking to explore themes, breaking down realism into minimal abstract shapes, patterns, textures, and colors to build unique visual worlds filled with metaphor and symbolism.

Artist Bio:John Akre is an animator and educator who lives in Louisville, KY, USA.

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Artist Bio: ADAM GEIGER is an award-winning producer, editor, and animator for non-fiction film and television.

Artist Bio: https://www.einausanimation.com/

Synopsis: The Tower of Babel was built to unify understanding, but it became a symbol of human fragmentation and conjecture. Even if we live in a common language today, our souls are lost in the ruins of interpretation and translation. The word “pain” is full of meaning; for one, it is a poem of longing, for another, it is a song of sadness. In today’s world, humans, like lost poets amid their unfinished poems, search for the meaning of words, but remain endlessly in the embrace of discordant interpretations and rarely dance in the embrace of empathy and absolute understanding of each other.

As a Minnesota educator and filmmaker, this project — with the first screenplay drafted in early 2020 — took on new meaning after the tragic murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and the national racial reckoning that followed. The legacy of white silence and anti-Black violence came into clear relief for me and many other white Minnesotans. Initially, there was great energy focused on listening, learning, protesting, and working towards social change. Predictably, however, that energy diminished over time, leaving many white people wondering what to do with a newfound understanding of race, privilege, and power.  https://www.beckernelson.com/whitenessatwork

Artist Bio: Northern California based artist Steven Vander Meer (b. 1963) creates animated films by drawing on 3×5 inch index cards. He has a BA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, but is primarily self-taught as an animator. His award winning films have screened at Sundance, Ann Arbor, Slamdance, Annecy, Raindance, Cinequest and many other festivals, as well as the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco.