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18 cgw j u ly • a u g u s t • s e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 6 co-director, Kenna Harris, to VIEW Conference 2026, with a presen- tation that will propel our international audience to infinity and be- yond!" Kenna Harris joined Pixar Animation Studios in September of 2018 as a story artist. Aer working as a story lead on Pixar's 2021 feature film Luca, they then went on to direct their first Pixar short film, Ciao Alberto, which was released later the same year. Harris also recently served as the story supervisor on Inside Out 2, Pixar's highest gross- ing film of all time, before co-directing Toy Story 5 alongside director Andrew Stanton and producer Lindsey Collins. H E X E D : P R O D U C E R Y V E T T M E R I N O Oscar-winner Yvett Merino, producer of Walt Disney Animation Stu- dios' upcoming animated feature Disney's Hexed, will also be pre- senting at this year's conference. Merino will take the stage to de- liver a spectacular presentation including exclusive clips from this much-anticipated new movie, which arrives in theaters this Novem- ber. "Like so many people, I am counting down the days to the upcom- ing release of Hexed," shared Gutierrez. "It is a privilege to host this exclusive preview of the latest movie from Walt Disney Animation Studios, and I know Yvett's presentation will cast a magical spell over our whole audience!" Earlier this year, Merino was one of a select group of influential women to receive the VIEW Conference "Trailblazer" Award, which shines a spotlight on professionals who have made an outstanding contribution to the motion picture industry, recognizing the achieve- ments not only of outstanding creative directors and artists, but also those active in the fields of public relations and politics, who dedi- cate themselves to the forging of meaningful partnerships within the arts and beyond. Since joining Disney Animation more than 30 years ago, Merino has worked in a variety of production capacities on some of the most popular animated features of all time. Aer launching her career in the Technology department, she moved into the world of produc- tion as a supervisor on Tangled and continued in that role on The Lion King 3D, Wreck It Ralph, and in Disney Animation's Development de- partment. She then went on to serve as production manager on the Oscar-winning feature Big Hero 6 as well as the Oscar-nominated Moana. Merino is the first producer in animation history to have two ani- mated features in a row exceed over a billion dollars at the box office: Walt Disney Animation Studios' Zootopia 2 and Moana 2. Zootopia 2 is the #1 MPA animated feature of all time, and she received the BAFTA and NAACP Image awards for her work on the film. She is also the first Latina to receive the Oscar for Animated Feature for her pro- ducing work on Encanto, for which she also received the Producers Guild of America Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe. In 2023, she also produced the Emmy Award-winning Disney Animation 100th anni- versary short film, Once Upon a Studio. F O R G O T T E N I S L A N D : D I R E C T O R S J O E L C R A W F O R D & J A N U E L P. M E R C A D O This year's program also includes a special presentation celebrat- Disney & Pixar's Toy Story 5 Disney's Hexed Disney's Hexed