CREATIVE KEYNOTE: Jerry Rees, Film Director/Animator

Jerry Rees,
Film Director and Animator

Writer / Director of live-action, animation, AR, audio-animatronic and immersive themed entertainment, including 22 attractions for Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney Studios Paris, Disneyland Hong Kong, Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Cruise Line.

Winner of 4 THEA awards and 3 Disney Inventor Awards for AI and Autonomous Robotics.

During high school, mentored with Eric Larson, one of Walt Disney’s legendary “Nine Old Men.”

Awarded Disney Scholarship to California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts) as Teacher’s Assistant for the inaugural A113 class with classmates Brad Bird, John Lasseter and John Musker.

Featured in Vanity Fair’s 2014 article “The Class That Roared” with photos by Annie Leibovitz.

Started as a classically trained Disney Feature Animator, before moving into new technologies such as Computer Image Choreography on TRON, and Directing the first official Augmented Reality postage stamp for the US Postal Service and Smithsonian in 2011.

VP Level Executive R&D Imagineer at Walt Disney Imagineering from 2015 – 2020, tasked with guardianship of story, character, emotion and human connection across all emerging technologies.

Creative lead on KIWI Capable Actor Robot and D3-09 Conversational Starcruiser Droid.

Fine artist and sculptor, pursuing next-gen Avatars, AR, VR and Blended Reality for the masses to establish a new standard of immersive global communication.

Dedicated to bringing “The Illusion of Life” to AI.

Member of DGA and WGA.

Writer / Director of “The Brave Little Toaster”.

“We will not win the next technology race with better technology. We will win the next technology race with better philosophy.”
– Jerry Rees