Speakers
Becky Friedman
Writer and Producer
Becky Friedman is a children's television writer and producer. She developed and served as Executive Producer and Showrunner for the Netflix animated preschool series, Horton!, based on the delightful characters of Dr. Seuss.
Becky's work can also be seen on shows such as: Rosie's Rules (PBS), The Stinky and Dirty Show (Amazon), Esme and Roy (HBO Max), TOTS (Disney Jr), Pupstruction (Disney Jr) . Most notably, Becky served as Head Writer for the first five seasons of the hit preschool show Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" for which she received 5 Emmy nominations and countless questions about why Daniel Tiger doesn't wear pants.
Becky lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sassy kids who love to remind her that they're too old to watch her shows.
Tamsin Lyons
Ink and Light
Tamsin Lyons is a seasoned film and television producer from Ireland with more than two decades of experience in animation and live-action production.
She is founder and managing director of Ink and Light, a production company specialising in creating original animated series and films for family audiences.
Most recently, Tamsin produced the animated Christmas TV special SANTA’S HOLIDAY with Anima Vitae which aired on RTÉ on Christmas Eve.
2025 also saw the international premiere of Ink and Light’s latest series STORIES FROM BACKWOODS in Competition at Annecy Animation Festival.
Dustin Ferrer
Creator, Writer, Producer
Dustin Ferrer is a childrens' television writer, creator, producer, and - despite what her name suggests - a woman.
She developed and was the showrunner for three Dr. Seuss projects for Netflix (Red Fish, Blue Fish; Horton!; The Sneetches), created Vida the Vet (BBC), developed Sago Mini (Apple) and was the co-creator of Esme & Roy (HBO Max).
Dustin has been nominated for 6 Emmys (and won twice) for her work on Esme & Roy, Peg + Cat, Wonder Pets and 3rd and Bird!. In addition, she has written for many other preschool programs including Muppet Babies, Bubbleguppies, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, and Wallykazam.
Ben Klimmek
Saurus Animation
Ben Klimmek has over 20 years of experience in the animation industry. After running a small animation studio in the UK, he returned to Ireland.
Working as an Animation Director and CG Generalist at Screen Scene, contributing to major films and TV shows, including A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) and Ahsoka (2024). His expertise spans storyboarding, animation, and VFX, allowing him to guide projects from concept to completion.
Now helping Saurus Animation, to deliver dynamic visual content while shaping the studio’s evolving brand identity.
John Kelly
Director, Filmmaker
John Kelly is a filmmaker specialising in animation. He studied at the Royal College of Art in London and is based in Dublin, Ireland, where he lives and works.
His film RETIREMENT PLAN won the Jury Prize for Best Animated Short at SXSW 2025 and was nominated for an Oscar in 2026.
He is currently developing a feature-length animated documentary, alongside a slate of other projects.
Jon Mortimer
Edinburgh Napier University
JON MORTIMER, is the Education & Early Career advisor for Axis Studios and animation lecturer for Edinburgh Napier University, with his focus on Employability skills and accessibility in the Animation sector.
JON has a background as a 2D animator and storyboard artist, with clients which include; Roald Dahl, Hasbro, Disney, Yamination & Sky.
JON has been working with different groups and communities to explore more inclusive options for animation education & training.
Including highlighting the gap in animation terminology available to sign language users - thought the animated short film “New signs for animation” (2021) [top right] & ‘Representation in Animation’ workshops. JON’s work has recently been awarded ENU’s ABOVE & BEYOND award for Inclusion, his short film inducted into the National Library of Scotland’s Moving image archive, and inducted into the Scottish Samurai awards
Francesco Siddi
Blender
Francesco started contributing to Blender as volunteer when he was a teenager, and joined the team in 2012 as a 3D artist. He has been involved in the project ever since in various roles, organizing events, designing and developing software and producing open movie projects.
He is currently CEO and chairman at Blender Foundation.
Coral Vazquez
Audiovisual Sector Coordinator at Invest in the Canary Islands
Proexca - Canary Islands Film (Government of the Canary Islands)
With a focus on fostering international partnerships, Coral provides strategic support to studios looking to leverage the Canary Islands' premier ecosystem. She is a key point of contact for navigating the region’s renowned tax incentives (up to 54%-45%) and facilitating international co-productions.
Through her work at Proexca, she actively connects the Canarian animation and VFX ecosystem with global partners to foster collaboration. Additionally, she provides tailored soft-landing services to companies interested in developing projects or expanding their operations to the Islands. Her mission is to ensure a seamless entry into one of Europe’s most competitive and dynamic audiovisual hubs, positioning the Canary Islands as a top-tier partner for global content creation.
Sherry Gunther
HEEBOO
Sherry Gunther Shugerman, Co-CEO of HEEBOO/Claynosaurz, is a two-time Emmy-Award winning producer & media executive with 7 Emmy-Award Nominations, a Cable-Ace Award, and multiple film festival awards.
As a producer, Sherry holds an unparalleled track-record of creating & producing some of television's top hits for the past 3 decades including: The Simpsons, Family Guy, Rugrats, PowerPuff Girls & more. Sherry most recently produced an adult animated series for Netflix with Zack Snyder and team, titled Twilight of the
Gods. Sherry began her career at Disney Feature Animation on The Little Mermaid and more.
Sherry joined the Claynosaurz team last year as their Co-CEO, to expand this digital first fan facing brand into gaming, longer form content, and continued journey in collectibles. The team is also building HEEBOO, a crowdfunding launchpad for animation creators and their fans.