Marvels of Media Directors’ Roundtable

As part of the 2023 Marvels of Media festival, MoMI will host a virtual panel discussion about all stages of the creative process including writing, directing, producing, and acting in films and videos. The conversation will be moderated by 2022 Marvels of Media Awardees Jason Weissbrod of Spectrum Laboratory and Jackson Tucker-Meyer, and will feature animator Jorge R. Gutiérrez, and actor, director and producer Sue Ann Pien. Audience members are encouraged to share their questions prior and during the event.    

View recording of roundtable on the Museum’s YouTube channel.

 

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Jorge R. Gutierrez is an Emmy– and Annie Award–winning Mexican animator, painter, voice actor, writer, and director. A CalArts Experimental Animation BFA & MFA graduate, Gutierrez has completed various films, cartoons, and paintings exploring his love affair with Mexican pop and folk culture. Gutierrez was Director & Co-Writer of the Guillermo del Toro–produced animated feature The Book of Life, which earned him a 2014 Golden Globe Award nomination. He and his wife and muse, Sandra Equihua, created the multiple Emmy Award-winning animated series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera for Nickelodeon. Gutierrez most recently created, wrote, and directed the event series Maya and the Three for Netflix, which won two Annie Awards, and was nominated for five Emmys. Gutierrez is currently developing and writing/directing the Netflix animated feature I, Chihuahua with Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias. 

Sue Ann Pien is a professional SAG-AFTRA actress. She received Best Performance nominations in the 2023 Spirit Awards and 2022 Gotham Awards for her breakout role in Emmy-award winning showrunner Jason Katims’s As We See It on Amazon Prime. She is out about being on the autism spectrum, and it’s her neurodiversity that informs her creativity as a writer, director, and producer. Her first short film is being produced by Darren Dean (The Florida Project) and Beacon Pictures’ president Suzann Ellis and is written by and stars autistic teen actress Bella Zoe Martinez. She previously directed music videos for singer-songwriter Cynthia Catania, who is in the band The Secret Things, including the PJ Harvey cover “Down by the Water,” used to fundraise for transgender-rights nonprofits featured in The Advocate magazine. Named The Hollywood Reporter’s “NEXT BIG THING” and People magazine’s “ONE TO WATCH,” Sue Ann continues to break barriers in all the industries she is passionate about—including space as a former Mars One colonist finalist. Catch her as Disney’s third autistic character June Chen on Season 2 of The Ghost and Molly McGee. 

Jackson Tucker-Meyer (he/they) is a fabulously autistic writer, theater artist, filmmaker, arts administrator, and educator who makes work that is weird for weirdness’ sake. Jackson’s film Satan Cured My Autism won Best Mockumentary at the Museum of the Moving Image’s inaugural Marvels of Media Awards. Jackson’s play Banana Guy and Banana Girl with Banana Dreamz in a Krazy World was part of Roundabout Theatre Company’s inaugural Reverb Theatre Arts Festival. Three of Jackson’s plays—GAME NITE, Cap’n McKrispy’s Underwater Utopia, and 4 U—have been produced at Sarah Lawrence College. Jackson has been an artist-in-residence with the Modern Accord Depot’s MADarts program. As an arts administrator, Jackson is Director of Programs for Actionplay, a neuroinclusive theater nonprofit. As a musical theater lyricist, Jackson is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.

Jason Weissbrod is the co-founder, CEO, and Head of Film & Acting Departments at Spectrum Laboratory. He has a bachelor’s degree in Directing and Acting for Film and Theater and has directed, produced, written, edited, and starred in many films, television shows, web series, commercials, and theater productions. Over 15 years ago, Jason became involved with the neurodiverse and autism community through his work with The Miracle Project as their theater director and lead acting coach. He also worked with programs and organizations such as Tree Academy, the Help Group, Autism on the Seas, and CSUN’s Teenage Drama Workshop. Over time, many neurodivergent and autistic artists told Jason they wanted to make professional movies, record music, and eventually work in the entertainment industry, which inspired Jason and his colleague Garth Herberg to create Spectrum Laboratory. Jason and Garth believe that teaming up neurodivergent artists along with entertainment professionals stimulates everyone’s creativity and talent. Jason says, “Show people what they can do and magic will ensue!” Jason feels blessed to be able to do what he loves each day, and he thanks all who support Spectrum Laboratory.