BEST ANIMATED SHORT
WILLIAM SALAZAR, DIRECTOR
Director William Salazar recently completed production
on the short film “Bird Karma.” For the past 20-plus
years, Salazar has been an integral part of
the DreamWorks family, going all the way back to the
studio’s critically acclaimed film “The Prince of Egypt,”
where he worked as a supervising animator. Over the
years, Salazar has worked as a supervising animator
and/or character animator on a number of films,
including “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “Monsters vs. Aliens,”
“Over the Hedge,” “Madagascar” and “Spirit: Stallion of
the Cimarron.”
Salazar began his career as an animator in 1991, working
for Steven Spielberg’s Amblimation on the films “An
American Tail: Fievel Goes West,” “We’re Back! A
Dinosaur’s Story” and “Balto.”
Born on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica,
Salazar studied art at Ecole des Beaux Arts in
Angoulême, France, and animation film studies at the
Gobelins, L’Ecole de L’Image.
JEFF HERMANN, PRODUCER
Jeff Hermann is currently in production on the short film
“Marooned,” directed by Andrew Erekson. Previously,
Hermann served as producer on the short films “Bilby” and
“Bird Karma.” He also served as Co-Producer on “Kung
Fu Panda 3” and as Production Manager on the first two
“Kung Fu Panda” films. Collectively, the three films have
grossed over $1.8 billion in worldwide box office.
In his eighteen years at DreamWorks Animation,
Hermann has worked as Production Supervisor on titles
including “Sinbad” and “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.”
Additionally, he served as Digital 2D Producer on the
“Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special” in 2010.
Prior to joining DreamWorks Animation, Hermann spent
five years at Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he
held the roles of Assistant Production Manager and
Production Coordinator on films including “John Henry,”
“Mulan,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and
“Pocahontas.”
Raised in Oak Lawn, Illinois, Hermann attended Southern
Illinois University-Carbondale, where he graduated with a
bachelor's degree in Film Production.
LIRON TOPAZ, DIRECTOR
Director Liron Topaz is a Character Lead Animator atDreamWorks Animation Studios. Born and raised in
Tel Aviv, Israel, Liron was passionate about animation
from a very early age. He graduated from Ringling
College of Art and Design with honors, and won the
Ringling President’s Award for his thesis film ‘This Side
Up.’ In 2008, Liron was selected by the Academy of
Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for their exclusive
internship program at Sony Pictures Imageworks, and
continued there to work on Tim Burton’s “Alice in
Wonderland.” He then moved to DreamWorks Animation
where he worked on various films including the “How to
Train Your Dragon” franchise, “The Croods” and the “Kung
Fu Panda” franchise, where he served as Lead Character
Animator of Master Oogway.
PIERRE PERIFEL, DIRECTOR
Born and raised near Lyon, France, Pierre Perifel is adirector, animator, storyboard artist and character
designer. After falling in love with animation in his late
teens, he graduated from Gobelins l’Ecole de l’Image a
few years later. He sharpened his teeth as a traditional
animator on movies such as “Curious George”,
“Nocturna” and “The Illusionist” before discovering CG
animation when he arrived in California. He joined
DreamWorks Animation in 2008 as an animator and has
worked as a supervising animator, head of character
animation and story artist on several films including the
“Kung Fu Panda” trilogy and “Rise of the Guardians.”
JP SANS, DIRECTOR
Director JP Sans is a Supervising Animator atDreamWorks Animation Studios and most recently
worked on “Rise of the Guardians.” Born in Venezuela
and raised in Florida, JP has been driven by the
combination of performance art and drawing from an
early age. Through the medium of animation, he fell in
love with characterization and storytelling. He achieved
his degree in Computer Animation from Miami
International University of Art & Design, where he
further developed this passion. His first break came
when he joined Blue Sky Studio, later moving to
DreamWorks Animation Studios in 2011. JP’s most
notable work has been on “Rio,” “Rise of the Guardians,”
and the “Ice Age” franchise.
KELLY COONEY CILELLA, PRODUCER
Kelly Cooney Cilella is a Producer on the DreamWorks
Animation short “Bilby.” She also currently serves as a
Co-Producer on the upcoming Dreamworks Animation
release “Trolls World Tour.”
Her other credits include Production Manager on
“Trolls,” “Puss in Boots,” “Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the
Scroll,” and the Netflix series “Dragons: Riders of Berk.”
In addition to working in the story department on
“Shrek 2” and “Shrek the Third,” Kelly also spent several
years working as a creative executive in development for
DreamWorks Animation.
Kelly is originally from Minnesota and attended the
University of Notre Dame, where she studied Film,
Television, and Theater.
JEFF HERMANN, PRODUCER
Jeff Hermann is currently in production on the short film
“Marooned,” directed by Andrew Erekson. Previously,
Hermann served as producer on the short films “Bilby” and
“Bird Karma.” He also served as Co-Producer on “Kung
Fu Panda 3” and as Production Manager on the first two
“Kung Fu Panda” films. Collectively, the three films have
grossed over $1.8 billion in worldwide box office.
In his eighteen years at DreamWorks Animation,
Hermann has worked as Production Supervisor on titles
including “Sinbad” and “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.”
Additionally, he served as Digital 2D Producer on the
“Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special” in 2010.
Prior to joining DreamWorks Animation, Hermann spent
five years at Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he
held the roles of Assistant Production Manager and
Production Coordinator on films including “John Henry,”
“Mulan,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and
“Pocahontas.”
Raised in Oak Lawn, Illinois, Hermann attended Southern
Illinois University-Carbondale, where he graduated with a
bachelor's degree in Film Production.
