We’re on cloud nine to welcome director and writer Alex Woo, VFX supervisor and director Nicola Lavender, and head of character animation Sacha Kapijimpanga to our Barbican stage to discuss their work on the Netflix original animated feature In Your Dreams.
In Your Dreams follows Stevie and her younger brother, Elliot, magical journey into the world of dreams in search of The Sandman, the fabled figure who promises to make their wildest dreams come true. Along the way, they discover that as long as they have each other, they can overcome anything – even their worst nightmares.
ALEX WOO (DIRECTOR/WRITER)
Alex is the founder and CEO of Kuku Studios, an independent animation studio based in Berkeley (California). Prior to founding Kuku Studios, Alex was a story lead at Pixar Animation studios, a director in development at LucasFilm Animation, and a Student Academy Award-winning filmmaker.
He is the creator and executive producer of the Netflix original series Go! Go! Cory Carson. His credits include Ratatouille, Wall•e, The Good Dinosaur, Finding Dory, the Student Academy Award-winning short Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher, and the Sundance New Frontier selection VR short, The Rose and I. His latest project includes directing In your Dreams.
NICOLA LAVENDER (VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR & DIRECTOR)
Nicola Lavender is a VFX supervisor and the director, CG Supervision at Sony Pictures Imageworks with over two decades of experience working on live-action and animated features. She most recently supervised the animated comedy adventure In Your Dreams.
Nicola previously served as CG supervisor on the Academy Award- nominated feature The Mitchells vs. The Machines, overseeing the look of picture team who was responsible for crafting the stylized look of the movie. She served in a similar capacity on the animated features Smallfoot and The Angry Birds Movie.
SEBASTIAN ‘SACHA’ KAPIJIMPANGA (HEAD OF CHARACTER ANIMATION)
Sacha Kapijimpanga is the head of character animation at Sony Pictures Imageworks, most recently leading the animation team on the Netflix feature In Your Dreams.
Sacha previously supervised animation on Over The Moon, the live-action Ghostbusters reboot, The Emoji Movie, The Smurfs 2 and The Smurfs: a Christmas Carol. He also served as lead animator Hotel Transylvania, The Smurfs, and G-Force.
Sacha’s other Imageworks credits include: Alice in Wonderland, which was nominated for an Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, I Am Legend, Beowulf, Surf’s Up, Monster House, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.