USC animation alumnx Miguel Jirón has recently completed work as Head of Story on the critically acclaimed Sony Pictures Animation “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” The 2023 film is the sequel to the Academy AwardⓇ-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” on which Miguel worked as a story artist. Miguel is returning to USC in the fall ‘23 semester to teach CTXA 592 Master class, Advanced Storyboarding: Inside the Animation Story Room.

“A Cow in the Sky” is the true story of the Ethiopian man, Mulugeta Seraw, who was studying in the U.S. and was murdered by white supremacists in 1988. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June. XA Adjunct Professor Greg Garay was brought on during the early stages as the animation director and provided storyboards, concept art, and key animation for the project. He assembled and oversaw a team of mainly USC alumni and current students, including Shelby Chan and David Amberg. Greg reports, “For it to be recognized at such a prestigious festival, the same festival I used to hear about when I was an undergrad in NYC, is more than I could’ve hoped for.”

Arlyn Villaruz has been the program coordinator for Expanded Animation since October 2022. Although new to USC, she has been an avid moviegoer of SCA’s Outside the Box [Office]. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from Cal State Fullerton. Arlyn has been serving students for the past twenty years, including her work at two previous colleges, and has also worked in film distribution and exhibition. She grew up in Hawaii and enjoys traveling. In her spare time, she likes to meet friends over popcorn brunch, preferably at one of the vintage movie theaters around Los Angeles.

XA Professor Sheila M. Sofian’s CTXA 470 Documentary Animation Production class won the BEST FILM award at the Youth Collective Film Festival for their collaborative film, “Illegitimate Voice.” The theme of the 2023 festival was DEMOCRACY. “Filmmakers were encouraged to think beyond politics and show creative and thoughtful interpretations of what democracy can mean.”