The Latino Film Institute has announced the exciting news that Miguel Puga, a Supervising Director and Creative Producer on Nickelodeon Animation Studio's popular animated serieswill be co-hosting a Masterclass as part of the institute's LALIFF Connect 2020 program, which will this year be held virtually due to the on-going COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. The Masterclass will take place on Friday, May 29, 2020 at 1 PM – 2 PM PDT.The synopsis for the Masterclass is: "LatinX in Animation: A Masterclass with Head of Story of Connected at Sony Pictures Animation Guillermo Martinez, Co-Producer at Walt Disney Animation Studios Yvett Merino, and Creative Producer of The Casagrandes at Nickelodeon Animations Studio Miguel Puga".LALIFF ConnectLatinX in Animation: A MasterclassLALIFF: https://latinofilm.org LXiA: https://latinxinanimation.org Join LatinX in Animation as we host Latinx Creators, Artists, and Producers. Moderated by Carlos Aguilar, we will discuss the influences behind these talented artists, writers, producers, and creators, and how their unique perspectives have influenced their projects.Film & TV WriterOriginally from Mexico City, Carlos Aguilar was chosen as one of 6 young film critics to partake in the first Roger Ebert Fellowship organized by RogerEbert.com, the Sundance Institute and Indiewire in 2014. Aguilar’s work has appeared in prestigious publications such as Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Indiewire, Vulture, RogerEbert.com, MovieMaker Magazine, Remezcla, Filmmaker Magazine, Variety Latino, Slate, Bustle, Americas Quarterly, among others. He is a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA)Besides his work in journalism, Aguilar regularly works as a screener for the Sundance Film Festival and a screenplay reader for Sundance’s Screenwriters Lab. Carlos Aguilar has also been on the jury at renowned festivals such the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Outfest Los Angeles, Aspen Shortsfest, and the Los Angeles Indian Film Festival.Art Director, The Cuphead Show!Netflix AnimationAndrea Fernández is a Latinx artist and creator with experience working in animation and publishing. She is currently the Art Director on Netflix's upcoming animated series, The Cuphead Show! Previously, Andrea provided Art Direction for Warner Bros' animated series Unikitty!, airing now on Cartoon Network She has also served as the Co-Creative Director of the breakout toy company GoldieBlox, recrafting the brand's entire visual style and overhauling the characters, toy designs and story. She has provided IP development, art direction and illustration for Disney, Mattel, Penguin Publishing, Nick Jr and many more.Head of Story, ConnectedSony Pictures AnimationGuillermo Martinez currently serves as head of story on Sony Pictures Animation’s upcoming original feature comedy “Connected,” slated for theatrical release on October 23, 2020.Prior to joining Sony Pictures Animation, Martinez served as a story artist at Laika Studios on “Kubo and the Two Strings” and “Missing Link.”Martinez’s additional credits include storyboard artist and writer on the Cartoon Network series “We Bare Bears.” Also at Cartoon Network, he developed a short film for the show “Clarence".Martinez was born and raised in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and earned his bachelors in design at the Escuela de Artes Plasticas in San Juan, Puerto Rico before attending Academy of Art University for his masters. He currently lives in Culver City with his wife, daughter, and two plants.Co-ProducerWalt Disney Animation StudiosYvett Merino first came to Walt Disney Animation Studios 20 years ago and has worked in a variety of production capacities over the years on some of the most popular animated features of all-time. Among her most recent credits, she served as Production Manager on the Academy Award®-winning feature, “Big Hero 6” (2014), as well as on the Oscar®-nominated 2016 release, “Moana.” Launching her Disney Animation career in the Technology department, she moved into the world of Production as a supervisor on “Tangled.” She went on to work with the Stereo team on “Lion King 3D,” and with the Technical Animation, Effects and Lighting departments on “Wreck-It Ralph.” She is currently working as a Co-Producer on a feature film in development.Merino lives in Los Angeles with her family. She holds an MBA from Loyola Marymount University and an undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.Creative Producer, The CasagrandesNickelodeon Animation StudioMiguel Puga is the creative producer for Nickelodeon’s animated series, The Casagrandes, an original spinoff of the Emmy Award-winning series, The Loud House. As creative producer, Puga works to oversee the storyboard team and directs many of the episodes.Puga is a graduate of the Art Institute of Los Angeles, and has worked on Nick’s hit animated series The Loud House since season one. He helped to shape and define the Casagrandes family from their very first appearance in The Loud House, “Relative Chaos,” as storyboard supervisor. Puga has worked as a storyboard director, storyboard artist, development artist and character designer on series, including Futurama, Gravity Falls and The Fairly Odd Parents.LALIFF Connect 2020, will will be held between May 5 – 31st, will include feature films, short films, episodics, masterclasses and musical performances — all of which will be available through LALIFF’s website for free. For more information, please visit http://www.latinofilm.org follows the adventures of a multi generational Mexican-American family and is a spinoff of the Emmy Award-winningtells the story of 11-year-old Ronnie Anne, who moves to the city with her mom and older brother to live with their big, loving family: The Casagrandes.The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) is a premiere international event dedicated to showcasing the entirety of human experience from the Latino perspective, whether through film, television, digital, music, art, or any other vehicle, regardless of platform. LALIFF is presented by the Latino Film Institute (LFI), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with the mission to showcase, strengthen, and celebrate the richness of Latino lives through the audio-visual event. LFI develops, activates, and supports artists, creators, and executives through pathways and platforms for the expression and appreciation of their work.For more information and updates on LALIFF visit www.latinofilm.org For more information on the Youth Cinema Project visit www.youthcinemaproject.org