ACE Canada, along with premiere sponsor Netflix Canada, announced the selection of their nine final participants for ACE CANADA’s fifth cohort. The ACE program is an immersive Animation Career Excel-erator training program for mid to high-level animation professionals who identify as women, non-binary and Two-Spirit. The mission of the program is to help these professionals break the glass ceiling, move into key creative and senior roles in the animation industry and to encourage the creation of Canadian intellectual property and the telling of authentic stories.
Over the next year, the selected candidates from across Canada will work together to create an animated short film, with mentorship and guidance along the way, to earn that essential ‘key credit’ for their role. They will also participate in a series of soft skills workshops and learn industry best practices to prepare them to move into senior and management roles. The success of the program is evident, with 29 past participants now working in senior roles in the animation industry and the ACE Canada short films screening at animation festivals around the world. ACE 4’s short film Rocketship Mai’s was an official selection at SIGGRAPH 2026, ACE 3’s short film Ostinato is now playing on Netflix, Variety predicted that ACE 2 short Pivot would be a short-listed candidate for the 2024 Academy Awards and had more than 1.4 million views on TikTok, a testament to authentic stories finding an audience.
The finalists were selected by a jury of more than 35 creative and studio industry professionals from across Canada.
Final ACE CANADA Cohort 5 Participants
- Writer – Goun Lee (Toronto, ON)
Writer working in creative development at Boat Rocker Studios and Nelvana. Writing credits include Unicorn Academy, Piñata Smashlings, and two upcoming preschool series with Boat Rocker and 9Story.
- Producer – Meeka Stuart (Ottawa, ON)
An Emmy nominated Director and Animator known for such works as Through the Woods, Dora!, and Cyberchase.
- Director – Alice Manieri (Vancouver, BC)
Internationally awarded filmmaker and story artist with 9+ years’ experience shaping narratives, storyboards, and visual content. Credits include “Tangles. A Story About Alzheimer’s,” which premiered at Cannes in 2026, and Netflix shows like “The Dragon Prince”.
Art Director – Sujin Kim (Vancouver, BC)
A visual development artist and visual storyteller for feature films. Credits include Addams Family 2, Zoopocalyse, and Paw Patrol 2: The Mighty Movie. Currently, a visual development artist for Sony Pictures Animation’s next sequel to Mitchell’s vs. Machine.
- Head of Story – Sara Mota (Vancouver, BC)
A Story Artist with 10 years of experience. Credits include The Bad Guys 2, Unicorn Academy, Lego One Piece, and Big Nate.
- Animation Director – Jade Laflamme (Edmonton, AB)
A proud Metis animator with thirteen years of experience.. Credits include the My Little Pony series, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree, Johnny Test, Clone High and Shift and go!.
- Production Manager – Helen Lysenko (Vancouver, BC)
Helen Lysenko is a TV and film producer originally from Ukraine transitioning into the world of animation, Credits include Lego Pixar: BrickToons and Spidey and His Amazing Friends (Seasons 3, 4, 5, 6).
- Editor – Sarah Fricker (Vancouver, BC)
Animation editor with credits on Spidey and his Amazing Friends and multiple LEGO Disney shorts such as LEGO Disney Princess & LEGO Frozen: Operation Puffins.
- Composer – Chihiro Nagamatsu (Toronto, ON)
An award-winning Japanese-Canadian composer and songwriter, credits include Gracie and Pedro: Pets to the Rescue!, 1001 Couronnes Pour Ma Tête, and Bubble Tea Time, which received the Best Canadian Composer Award from the SCGC.
