Two Toronto Creatives Join ACE Canada’s Fifth Animation Cohort
Writer Goun Lee and composer Chihiro Nagamatsu are among nine professionals chosen to make a new Canadian animated short.
ACE Canada Cohort 5. Top row, left to right: Goun Lee, Alice Manieri, Meeka Stuart, Sara Mota and Helen Lysenko. Bottom row: Sujin Kim, Jade Laflamme, Sarah Fricker and Chihiro Nagamatsu. Image: ACE Canada media kit. Confirm individual photographer credits and editorial reuse rights before publication. Alt text: Composite portraits of the nine ACE Canada Cohort 5 participants beside Netflix and ACE logos.
Two Toronto animation professionals have secured key creative roles in ACE Canada’s fifth cohort. Writer Goun Lee and composer Chihiro Nagamatsu will join seven peers from Ottawa, Vancouver and Edmonton to produce a new animated short over the coming year.
ACE Canada announced the nine-person team on September 25 during the Ottawa International Animation Festival’s 50th-anniversary edition. Netflix Canada is the program’s lead sponsor. The cohort gives mid- and senior-level animation professionals who identify as women, non-binary or Two-Spirit the chance to earn a key production credit while receiving mentorship, workshops and practical leadership training.
Toronto talent takes the writer and composer roles
Lee works in creative development at Boat Rocker Studios and Nelvana. Her writing credits include Unicorn Academy and Piñata Smashlings, along with two forthcoming preschool projects identified in the release as productions with Boat Rocker and 9 Story.
Nagamatsu is a Japanese-Canadian composer and songwriter. Her screen credits include Gracie and Pedro: Pets to the Rescue!, 1001 Couronnes Pour Ma Tête and Bubble Tea Time. The release notes that Bubble Tea Time received a Best Canadian Composer Award from the Screen Composers Guild of Canada.
Their selections give Toronto a direct role in both the story and the score of the cohort’s short film. The remaining positions cover the rest of the production pipeline, so the team will carry one project through development, production and post-production rather than completing isolated training exercises.
Nine creators will build one original short
The full ACE Canada Cohort 5 lineup is:
- Writer: Goun Lee — Toronto, Ontario
- Producer: Meeka Stuart — Ottawa, Ontario
- Director: Alice Manieri — Vancouver, British Columbia
- Art director: Sujin Kim — Vancouver, British Columbia
- Head of story: Sara Mota — Vancouver, British Columbia
- Animation director: Jade Laflamme — Edmonton, Alberta
- Production manager: Helen Lysenko — Vancouver, British Columbia
- Editor: Sarah Fricker — Vancouver, British Columbia
- Composer: Chihiro Nagamatsu — Toronto, Ontario
The group brings credits spanning children’s television, feature animation and independent filmmaking. Its members have worked on productions such as The Bad Guys 2, The Dragon Prince, Dora!, Cyberchase, My Little Pony, Clone High, Spidey and His Amazing Friends and several LEGO shorts. Those credits belong to individual participants; ACE Canada is bringing them together for a new project that has not yet been publicly titled.
The program pairs a key credit with leadership training
The ACE Canada program was created to address a familiar career bottleneck in animation: professionals may have years of experience but still struggle to secure the senior credit needed to move into a leadership role. Cohort members develop an original project together, supported by individual mentorship, group training, pitch preparation and industry networking.
ACE Canada’s current program details describe the production as an approximately five-minute short completed on a part-time schedule, with participation expected to continue through August 2027. The organization says the program has no participation fee and provides a small honorarium.
Before the final selection, 45 shortlisted professionals completed workshops and pitch coaching, then presented to juries made up of more than 35 Canadian studio and creative-industry professionals. The September announcement names the nine participants who will carry the project into production.
ACE’s earlier shorts have moved beyond the training room
ACE Canada has already produced four animated shorts. The third cohort’s film, Ostinato, is currently available on Netflix. The fourth cohort’s Rocketship Mai screened at Annecy in 2026 and has continued through the festival circuit. These releases show the program’s practical goal: create a finished piece that can reach audiences while giving each participant a substantial credit.
ACE Canada says 29 alumni now work in senior animation roles. Cohort 5’s film title, story and production schedule have not been announced, so the next public milestone will be the team’s project reveal. For Toronto’s animation community, Lee and Nagamatsu are the two local names to watch as that work develops.
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