2026 Immersive Works Jury
Discover the Immersive Works jury members for the 2026 edition’s awards.
Abi FEIJÓ
Director, Producer, Educator
Portugal
Abi Feijó is a Portuguese animation director, producer, and educator working across filmmaking, production, and transmission. His directing work includes films such as How Calm It Is, Time of Darkness, The Outlaws, Fado Lusitano and Stowaway, alongside the co-direction of Our Lady of Apresentation. As a producer, he has been involved in internationally recognised films including The Night, Tragic Story with Happy Ending, Kali the Little Vampire, Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days, Amélia & Duarte, Ride, Altötting and Virgin Fandango.
He founded several studios and cultural initiatives, including Filmógrafo, Casa da Animação, Ciclope Filmes and Casa Museu de Vilar, contributing to the development of animation in Portugal. His involvement with ASIFA included serving as president and vice president of the Workshop Group. He currently directs Casa Museu de Vilar and Ciclope Filmes, where he produces projects such as Mother's Faces and Dreams Bestiary, while also developing workshops and performances exploring animation and optical theatre.
Aubry MINTZ
Animator, Director
USA
Aubry Mintz Aubry Mintz has worked as a feature animator (ILM, Square USA) and directed projects for Smirnoff, McDonalds, MuchMusic and General Mills as well as the Canadian rock band Rush. His short animated film Nothing to Say narrated by Danny Aiello screened at 41 festivals around the globe and won awards at the Australia Independent Film Festival, Arctic Film Festival (a United Nations SDG Initiative), Palm Springs International Animation Festival, Anchorage Film Festival, NFMLA, and Canada Shorts.
Mintz is also a co-author for the book Ideas for the Animated Short (2nd Edition) and writer for Cartoon Brew, Animation Magazine, Animation Scoop and IndieWire. Mintz presented at Disney Feature Animation, Blue Sky Animation Studios and DreamWorks Animation, among others. Aubry was also guest host on TV's Turner Classic Movies (TCM) for a 4-hour program on animated short films from the National Film Board of Canada, and he was featured in the documentary Autism Goes to College. Mintz is Professor of Animation at California State University Long Beach and Executive Director for the prestigious non-profit organization that helms the Annie Awards – ASIFA-Hollywood.
Negar MOTEVALY
Director, Animator, Visual Artist
Iran
Negar is an Iranian director, animator, and visual artist working across animation, immersive media and illustration. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Art and Architecture in Tehran and a Re:Anima Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's degree.
Her work explores perception, human vulnerability and emotional storytelling through poetic, experimental visuals. She has received awards at international festivals, including the Venice International Film Festival and Kaboom Animation Festival. Alongside her artistic practice, she works as a concept artist, illustrator and lecturer. She has given workshops at Aalto University and the University of Algarve. Her recent projects focus on immersive VR experiences exploring displacement.