FUTURE DIRECTORS SCHOLARSHIP

Titmouse Foundation has paired up with projectcity.tv to create an intensive 25 week course to foster diverse story tellers and directors. The class will cover the fundamentals of storytelling and cinema, as well as storyboarding for animation. Anyone can audit this class by purchasing access but only recipients of the Titmouse Foundation Future Directors Scholarship will receive guided mentorship throughout the semester.

Recipients of the scholarship will receive:

  • Tuition of the Future Directors course fully covered

  • 1 year license of Toon Boom Storyboard Pro

  • Funding to purchase necessary hardware/software to take the class up to $2500

To be eligible for the scholarship, candidates need to be:

  • 18 years of age or older

  • Legally eligible for work in the United States

  • Living at a United States mailing address

  • Able to attend the live classes in the scheduled time

  • Candidates can be already working in the industry but must not have previous professional supervisor level experience in animation (ex. assistant director, episodic director, storyboard supervisor)

Important Dates and Deadlines:

  • Applications Open on June 1, 2022

  • Applications Close on July 1, 2022 at 11:59pm PST

  • Scholarships Awarded on the week of August 1, 2022

 

Thank You to our Sponsors:

 
 

2022 RECIPIENTS

Congratulations to our inaugural 2022 recipients of the Future Directors Scholarship!

Kaniz Fatema

Freelance Story Artist & Illustrator
Website | LinkedIn
”As a Bangladeshi immigrant, pursuing the arts is something I have to fight for. Art isn’t viewed as a necessity by my community, it is a luxury. For me becoming a director and storyteller means fighting social norms both in the western world and the traditional scope that the South Asian community is used to.”

Matthew D. Rice

Production Assistant at ShadowMachine
Website | LinkedIn
”I am a black artist from New York, hoping to help tell diverse [stories]. Unfortunately my SVA graduating class and major really got the rug pulled out from under them [due to the pandemic] and my skillset isn't quite there yet. I am always eager to learn and level up, and the endgame is telling stories that are sorely lacking from the current industry.”

Naomi Urey

Prev. Artist Intern at Warner Bros.
Website | LinkedIn
”Through the Titmouse Future Directors Scholarship, I want to learn techniques for storytelling from those who are just as passionate about story as I am [and] would strengthen my abilities to inspire the future generation of black female artists.”

Vic Sossa

2D Animator & Designer, Recent Grad
Website | LinkedIn
”As a student these past couple of years, I directed a couple animated short films and found a passion for it. With this scholarship, I want to continue to grow as a storyteller who can tell those impactful stories–but most importantly, I want to use it to grow as a director who will do good by her fellow animators. “

 

Esther Wu

Visual Development Artist
Website | LinkedIn
”I have been a concept artist & a visual development artist by trade, but dreamer at night— I want to learn how to write and create a universe that can get people excited. Maybe this is silly, maybe this is impossible, but I will never know if I don't try, so I'm here to learn.”

Isabella Darya Bajestani

Aspiring Artist
Website | LinkedIn
”Growing up a queer Iranian-American from a migrant family, I never saw working in animation as "for me". My parents disapproved of my interests in animation and going to art school. [I am currently enrolled in a Pharmacy program and] I have been working tirelessly on my animation industry-worthy portfolio as well as my studies [in order to achieve] my lifelong goal of ultimately giving voice to the breadth of immigrant and/or QTPOC stories that have yet to be told.“

Kathy Liu

Storyboard Artist at Warner Bros.
Website | LinkedIn
”I come from a background with formal training in live-action film production, and had ended up cobbling together my own personal animation / storyboard education when making my career transition to storyboards. I genuinely think of storytelling, leadership, and art-making as a noble, sacred practice — a big responsibility we have to each other, and to ourselves to be true, compassionate, and good.”

Jason Raymond

Story Artist
Website | LinkedIn
”I want people whose voices have been muted to feel empowered about what culture means to them and not tied down by how culture has been taught to them. These chains won’t break until we understand what they’re made of. Art and storytelling is how I’ve decided to take my freedom.”