Portfolio Reviews - Afternoon | Manchester Animation Festival

Portfolio Reviews – Afternoon

Wednesday 11 Nov 2026 - 14:30
Bridgewater Hall - Circle Foyer
Runtime: 90 mins (approx.)

Are you ready to showcase your talent to animation industry powerhouses? Professionals from top studios and companies are coming to the MAF Marketplace on the lookout for fresh talent—and this is your chance to shine! Whether you’re seeking expert feedback, career-changing advice, or that dream job offer, book a spot at our Portfolio Review session. this is where connections are made and futures are shaped. Don’t miss out—secure your appointment and take the next step in your animation career!

Slots will be available for MAF Passholders and last 15 mins. You must have a portfolio of work to bring to the session. You will be allocated a time slot with the company booked for in the session you have requested. A member of the team will later be in touch by email to confirm what time your booking is.

Ensure you are logged in and click 'Book Review' and then select one person/company for your review. Someone will be in touch to confirm your specific time slot before the day.

People hosting portfolio reviews are:

Camille Eden, Senior Recruitment Manager at Dream Games

Michael Turoff, Animation Producer at Dream Games

Interested in: Technical Roles, Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production

Dream is a leading mobile gaming company with offices in Istanbul in London. They have a growing animation studio in London focused on high-quality in-game cinematics as well as short and longer form content

Seán McCormack, Series Director at BlueZoo

Interested in: 2D, CG, Pre-Production, Production

BlueZoo are an animation studio creating multi-Emmy and BAFTA winning content. They help grow characterful brands, through co-development, creating mobile games, and growing audiences via YouTube and social media, to licensing and distribution.

Shelley Page, Head of Talent at Locksmith Animation

Interested in: Pre-Production

Locksmith Animation is a global independent animation studio, developing and producing high-quality features, series, and shorts for audiences of all ages around the world. From comedies and musicals to epic sci-fi, the studio tells contemporary stories that make people laugh, think, and feel. Based in London and Los Angeles, Locksmith brings together a team of accomplished industry leaders and world-class creative talent in a filmmaker-led studio.

Tom Jenkins, Creative Director at Spud Gun Studios

Interested in: 2D, Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production

Spud Gun Studios is a story driven independent animation studio with an unmatched track record in creating online animated content for young viewers. They are also the creative force behind Mashed, one of the biggest online animation channels in the world.

Emma Hanson, Associate Producer at Mayhap Films & ReDefine Originals

Sarah Smith, Writer/Director at Mayhap Films & ReDefine Originals

Interested in: CG, Technical Roles, Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production

Mayhap Films is an Independent, UK-based film and television production company.

Guests

Camille Eden

Camille Eden is a respected independent executive consultant for talent development and talent acquisition, known for shaping the teams behind some of the most successful animated properties of the last decade. She is currently the Senior Recruitment Manager at Dream Games Animation in London.

Shelley Page

Shelley's long career in feature animation began with legendary animation director Richard Williams, as head of backgrounds on 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?' She moved to LA in 1995 to help establish DreamWorks Animation as co-head of Artist Development. Shelley has worked in many areas of feature animation development and production, including studio startups in India and China. Her 36+ feature film credits include: ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’, ‘The Prince Of Egypt’, ‘Shrek’, ‘Madagascar’, 'Kung Fu Panda', 'How to Train Your Dragon', 'Ron's Gone Wrong' and 'That Christmas' (Dec 2024). In 2019 Shelley joined Locksmith Animation in London, Locksmith Animation is currently in production on 'Bad Fairies' (2027).

Tom Jenkins

Tom Jenkins is Creative Director and co-founder of Spud Gun Studios, the indie animation studio behind Mashed. He helped build Mashed into a global brand with over 2.5 billion views, blending animation, gaming and internet culture across wildly different genres and visual styles. Today, he's leading the studio's push into original IP, alongside collaborations with Larian Studios, Team17 and Devolver Digital. He's a firm believer that the best ideas need a little creative chaos. Preferably with an unreasonable amount of neon.

Seán McCormack

Seán McCormack is an Irish-born, Luxembourg-raised animation director, writer, and storyboard artist with over 18 years of experience in feature films and television. His directing credits include Two by Two, Luis and the Aliens, Two by Two: Overboard, Pip and Posy, and Rafi The Wishing Wizard. Having worked across nearly every stage of the animation pipeline, Seán brings a broad creative and practical perspective to storytelling and character performance. He currently works as an Episodic Director at Blue Zoo Animation Studio.

Michael Turoff

Mike is a veteran Animation and VFX Producer with decades of experience leading high-profile projects across London and New York. Currently an Animation Producer at Dream Games, he previously spent over a decade as Executive Producer and Head of Production at Passion Pictures Animation. His extensive career also includes pivotal production roles at Analog Studio, Jim Henson's Creature Shop, and MTV Animation.

Emma Hanson

Emma Hanson is an Animation Producer and Production Manager who began her career at Aardman Animations before completing a Masters in Producing at the National Film and Television School, and has since worked across a diverse range of BAFTA, Emmy and Annie Award winning films, television series and commercials for global brands and leading broadcasters.

Sarah Smith

Sarah Smith is a BAFTA-winning Director/Writer/Producer/Executive, and the only British woman to have written/directed major CG animated features (Arthur Christmas, Ron’s Gone Wrong). After 10 years creating iconic TV comedy, she became Creative Director Features at Aardman, before co-Founding Locksmith Animation. She has created animated features for Sony, Paramount, Disney, Warners & Netflix, bringing $350m of investment into the UK. Nom’s include 3 BAFTA’s, British Comedy Award, Golden Rose, 12 Annie’s and a Golden Globe.