Variety's Pixels and Pencils Panel Returns to SCAD Savannah

Variety's "Pixels and Pencils" panel is returning to the SCAD Savannah Film Festival for a fifth year, with six filmmakers set to join the lineup. Brad Bird, Daniel Chong, Joel Crawford, Januel Mercado, Travis Knight and Leah Nelson will take part in the animation conversation.

The panelists represent the animated features "Ray Gunn," "Hoppers," "Forgotten Island," "Wildwood" and "Tangles." The festival's 29th edition runs Oct. 24-31.

Variety will also present its fifth annual 10 Artisans to Watch at the festival, with Jazz Tangcay moderating that conversation.

Oscar track record

The Savannah panel has become a reliable early stop on the road to the Academy Awards. In 2025, four of the five best animated feature nominees at the 98th Academy Awards came through the "Pixels and Pencils" lineup, led by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, whose "KPop Demon Hunters" won the category. That edition also featured Ugo Bienvenu ("Arco"), Domee Shi ("Elio") and Maïlys Vallade ("Little Amélie or the Character of Rain").

The 2024 panel included eventual winner "Flow" alongside fellow nominees "Inside Out 2," "Memoir of a Snail" and "The Wild Robot." In 2023, Peter Sohn ("Elemental"), Nick Bruno and Troy Quane ("Nimona"), and Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson and Kemp Powers ("Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse") launched Oscar-nominated runs from the Savannah stage.

The inaugural 2022 edition featured three eventual nominees: Crawford, who appeared with "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," Dean Fleischer Camp ("Marcel the Shell With Shoes On") and Shi, who returned in 2025 with "Elio." Earlier this month, Variety hosted the 2026 class of 10 Animators to Watch at SCAD AnimationFest at its Atlanta campus.

Festival passes for the 2026 SCAD Savannah Film Festival are on sale now, and individual event tickets go on sale Friday, Oct. 2. The SCAD Savannah Film Festival draws more than 63,000 attendees over eight days.