Workshop for Kids: Character Development & Representation

Description

Join the creators of Sony Pictures Animation’s new short film Hair Love as they lead a fun, hands-on workshop about personal character development and the importance of representation in media. Director Matthew A. Cherry and executive producer Frank E. Abney III are teaming up with SFFILM Education to share the story behind this important film, and how its concept was born out of a lack of diverse representation within mainstream animated projects.

Cherry is a talented storyteller who has recently collaborated with a number of exciting artists including: Spike Lee, Ava DuVerany, Tiffany Haddish, and Jordan Peele. Abney is an extraordinary animator who has worked on award-winning projects for studios such as Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, DreamWorks Animation, and Crystal Dynamics. Together, these remarkable filmmakers will encourage the participants to dive deep into the film’s themes and, along the way, they will explore why representation of marginalized communities in film and media is so important.

Workshop participants will get a sneak peek behind the scenes of the making of Hair Love and will get the opportunity to learn how to draw the film’s main character. Participants will also be able to create and draw their own character based on either themselves or someone from their community. We hope that this workshop will be particularly inspiring for any of our young participants who come from a community that is traditionally underrepresented in the eyes of mainstream film and media, and will show them that all stories are important and deserve to be seen and heard!

Program runtime: 90 minutes
This workshop is intended for youth grades 4–8.

Director Matthew A. Cherry

Chicago native Matthew A. Cherry is a former NFL wide receiver turned filmmaker who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, and the Baltimore Ravens. In 2007 he retired and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment, landing work as a production assistant on over 40 commercials and as a director for over 20 music videos. In addition to directing music videos, Cherry directed the short films This Time and Forward. Cherry also writes and directs web series, including the award-winning Almost 30 and Almost Home. Cherry is also a feature filmmaker, and his first feature film The Last Fall made its world premiere at SXSW and received awards at the American Black Film Festival and Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. Cherry’s latest feature, 9 Rides, which premiered at SXSW in 2016, was shot on the iPhone 6s. Most recently, Cherry directed episodes of the TBS series The Last OG, the CBS drama event series The Red Line and the hit new ABC action comedy series Whiskey Cavalier. He was also an executive producer on the Academy Award-nominated BlackKklansman from celebrated director Spike Lee. Cherry works at Jordan Peele’s production company Monkeypaw (Us, Get Out, The Twilight Zone) as a film and television executive.

Animator Frank E. Abney III

Frank Abney began at Pixar Animation Studios in 2017 and worked as an animator on Coco and Incredibles 2. He began his career working in video games and television before entering the film industry at DreamWorks Animation and Walt Disney Animation Studios. As an animator, Abney is responsible for breathing life into digital models, creating performances that are believable and sincere, inspiring moviegoers to connect with the characters. Abney was raised in the Bay Area, and received a Bachelor of Arts from the Art Institute of California and a Certificate in Advance Studies in character animation from Animation Mentor. He resides in Antioch, California.