View Conference’s New Trailblazer Award Honors 15 Women From Across The Motion Picture Industry

Italy’s View Conference has announced the inaugural class of recipients for its new Trailblazer Award, a prize created to recognize women whose work has shaped the motion picture industry across animation, live action, vfx, and the cultural infrastructure that supports them. The honorees will be celebrated at this year’s edition of the festival, which will be held October 12-16 in Turin.

According to the conference:

The View Conference “Trailblazer” Award shines a spotlight on a select group of professionals who have made an outstanding contribution to the motion picture industry. The award recognizes the achievements not only of outstanding creative directors and artists, but also those active in the fields of public relations and politics, who dedicate themselves to the forging of meaningful partnerships within the arts and beyond.

That broad framing is reflected in this year’s slate, which mixes Oscar winners and nominees with executives, instructors, and government officials.

The 2026 honorees are:

• Maggie Kang, Oscar-winning director of Netflix and Sony’s KPop Demon Hunters
• Yvett Merino, Oscar-winning producer of Disney’s Encanto and Zootopia 2
• Jinko Gotoh, Oscar-nominated producer and vice-president of Women in Animation
• Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Oscar-winning cinematographer of Warner Bros.’ Sinners
• Ruth De Jong, Oscar-nominated production designer of Universal’s The Odyssey
• Alice Brooks, cinematographer of Universal’s Wicked: For Good
• Danielle Feinberg, award-winning cinematographer and VFX supervisor on Pixar’s Coco and Turning Red
• Tara DeMarco, VFX supervisor on Netflix and Upside Down Pictures’ The Boroughs
• Amy Astley, senior VP of publicity/communications, creative legacy, and brand strategy at Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Julie Tustin, public relations, awards, and talent relations at Netflix
• Emilie Erskine, president of Erskine Public Relations
• José Urso, chief of staff, Office of the Governor
• Patrizia Polliotto, secretary general of the CRT Foundation
• Rochele Gloor, assistant director for Innovation Technologies
• Brooke Keesling, animation development and talent development, character animation instructor at CalArts

View Conference, now in its 27th year, has steadily expanded its remit beyond animation and VFX to encompass games, AI, and the wider digital arts community, and its 2026 program will feature keynotes, panels, workshops, and masterclasses. More information is available at viewconference.it.