Ben Mitchell is a Bristol-based animator, filmmaker and writer. Alongside his work as an animation freelancer and independent director, he was written extensively on the animation industry, primarily as Editor in Chief of Skwigly Online Animation Magazine, for which he also hosts and produces several podcast strands including Intimate Animation, which began in 2016. As an educator Ben has lectured and tutored at several universities and is the author of the book Independent Animation: Developing, Producing and Distributing Your Animated Films (Taylor & Francis/CRC Press). He has also worked with and alongside a number of international industry events (including Encounters, ITFS Stuttgart, Animafest Zagreb, the British Animation Awards, Fredrikstad Animation Festival, Manchester Animation Festival and Cardiff Animation Festival) in a variety of capacities spanning preselection, awards juries, programming, hosting and panel moderation. Dr. Laura-Beth Cowley is an animator, filmmaker and educator based in Bristol, UK. She has a PhD from The University of the West of England, with a focus on the use of new technology within the animation industry, and has written academically, critically and journalistically for various online and print journals. She has spoken at multiple conferences, festivals and symposiums, taught at several universities and is the Second Year Stage Leader for MA Character Animation at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. Alongside her academic work, Laura-Beth has worked in the animation industry for various studios and clients including Aardman Animations, Calling The Shots and BBC Arts and is a co-founding member of the Weird Eye Collective. She is the Features Writer and co-host of the Intimate Animation podcast strand for Skwigly Online Animation Magazine.
