Jannik Hastrup, born in 1941, is now considered the most successful animator in Denmark. From 1960 to 1965 he did an apprenticeship with the old master of Danish animated film, Bent Barford. During the sixties and seventies he produced and directed some sixty animated short films, among them the Danish classics “Benny’s Bathtub” (1970) and “Circleen” (1967-71). In 1976, Hastrup founded the production company Dansk Tegnefilm, which produces original animation films of high quality. To this day Jannik Hastrup is a successful animation director, whose work has won a lot of international recognition.

Born in 1956 in Stuttgart, after his apprenticeship as a bookseller Peter Rommel worked at the worldwide Berlin distributor Ex Picturis for six years before switching over to the producers’ side of the business. In 1993, he founded “Peter Rommel Productions” (now “Rommel Film”) in Berlin. Since then, he has produced numerous German and international feature films, including Andreas Dresen’s “Grill Point” and “Wolke 9,” which received many awards, or David F. Wnendt’s “Wetlands,” based on Charlotte Roche’s novel. In 1996, he founded the Stuttgart Film Production “Home Run Pictures” and, in 2004, the film financing company “Shotgun Pictures” together with international partners. Rommel is a regular member of the jury at international film festivals and also a lecturer at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin.

Max Howard created and ran studios for Disney in London, Paris, Orlando and Los Angeles, working on some of Disney’s most memorable films including „Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and „The Lion King”. As President of Warner Bros Feature Animation he oversaw such hit movies as „The Iron Giant”. He is currently producing a series of animated feature films for Exodus Film Group, and he is also serving as an executive producer on a slate of independent animated feature films including „Saving Santa”. In addition, Max is a sought after consultant and lecturer for the animation industry. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and was recently honored with a Doctor of Arts degree from Teesside University in the United Kingdom.