ACE Canada and Netflix Canada Announce Final ACE 5 Cohort at Ottawa Animation Festival

# What happened

# Who the cohort includes The nine participants cover core creative and production leadership roles. Their names and current locations are:

• Writer: Goun Lee (Toronto) — works in creative development at Boat Rocker Studios and Nelvana.
• Producer: Meeka Stuart (Ottawa) — Emmy-nominated director and animator.
• Director: Alice Manieri (Vancouver) — filmmaker and story artist with recent festival presence.
• Art Director: Sujin Kim (Vancouver) — visual development artist with feature credits.
• Head of Story: Sara Mota (Vancouver) — story artist on multiple features and series.
• Animation Director: Jade Laflamme (Edmonton) — Métis animator with long-form credits.
• Production Manager: Helen Lysenko (Vancouver) — TV and film producer transitioning into animation.
• Editor: Sarah Fricker (Vancouver) — animation editor on franchise and short projects.
• Composer: Chihiro Nagamatsu (Toronto) — composer and songwriter with award recognition.

# What the program provides Over the next year the cohort will:

The program's stated mission is to help women, non-binary, and Two-Spirit animation professionals move into senior creative and leadership positions while supporting the creation of Canadian intellectual property and authentic storytelling.

# Outcomes and track record ACE Canada cites prior cohort outcomes to signal the program's career impact:

• 29 alumni now hold senior roles in the animation industry.
• ACE 4's short Rocketship Mai's was an official selection at SIGGRAPH 2026.
• ACE 3's Ostinato is available on Netflix.
• ACE 2's Pivot accumulated more than 1.4 million views on TikTok.

Those examples indicate the program combines credit-building, festival exposure, and audience reach as pathways to higher-level work.

# Selection process and context More than 150 applicants were screened down to 45 shortlisted candidates who participated in workshops and pitch-coaching sessions, including training with pitch coach Jan Miller. Juries then selected the final nine. ACE Canada founder and executive producer Rose-Ann Tisserand described the applicant pool as unusually strong, making final selections difficult.

# Why this matters for Canadian animation professionals The ACE 5 cohort places experienced practitioners into named senior roles on a shared production while providing targeted leadership training. That combination is intended to create both the credits and the management skills studios typically require for senior hires. For participants, the program offers a year of concentrated, sponsored professional development plus potential festival and streaming exposure for the short they produce.

# Immediate next steps The cohort will proceed with production and workshops over the coming year, culminating in completion of the short and public-facing credits for each participant.