Press Releases

LOS ANGELES, CA (October 19, 2017) — mitú, the leader in creating media and entertainment through a Latino P.O.V. has partnered with Sony Pictures Animation to launch the mitú / Sony Pictures Animation ACCELERATOR program. mitú's ACCELERATOR is an ongoing mentorship and fellowship program for digital content creators, filmmakers, writers and animators.

Sony Pictures Animation is the latest partner to join mitú's ACCELERATOR and will work with mitú to develop a pipeline of highly-skilled diverse storytellers in the animation industry. Former partners include the Annenberg Foundation, Mayor Garcetti and Bixel Exchange, Los Angeles' Center for Innovation and Technology.

The 8-week intensive ACCELERATOR Animation program will give promising Latino animators the opportunity to learn directly from Sony Pictures Animation's experts, mitú's development team, and newly appointed mitú CEO Herb Scannell, whose tenure at Nickelodeon was marked by iconic animation franchises that broke cultural and creative barriers including "Dora the Explorer," "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Rugrats."

"mitú's mission is to champion Latino talent in all that we do. We're disproportionately underrepresented in all areas of entertainment both in creative roles and as business leaders. I'm thrilled that we're partnering with Sony Pictures Animation to develop the next generation of Latino animators through our ACCELERATOR program. Animation is close to my heart given my time at Nickelodeon, and I'm proud that we are mentoring young Latino talent to bring their creativity and characters to life," said Herb Scannell, CEO of mitú.

Program participants will present their animated shorts to Sony Pictures Animation and mitú executives and three creators will be chosen to have their projects premiered on mitú's platforms that reach 120 million people daily.

The program, to be hosted at both mitú and Sony Picture Animations' studios is slated to run from January 8, 2018 - March 2, 2018. Applicant submissions are now open and will close on November 10, 2017. For more information and to apply for the program visit the "build my skills" section at mituaccelerator.com.

About mitú
Our audience is the 200% - youth who are 100% American and 100% Latino - they inspire us to create authentic, culturally relevant stories. We reach a massive, cross-cultural audience who will soon be the majority of youth in the U.S. Our audience is nearly 100 million people in the U.S. each month. Globally, we drive over 400 million content views and over 120 million video views monthly.

mitú is the leader in connecting brands, content buyers, and creators to Latino youth in America. Our investors include Upfront Ventures, WPP, AwesomenessTV, and Verizon Ventures. mitú is headquartered in Downtown Los Angeles and has operations in Miami, New York, Chicago, and Bogotá, Colombia. For more information, visit www.wearemitu.com.

About ACCELERATOR
The mitú ACCELERATOR is a hands-on training and mentorship program that teaches participants every aspect of the digital media industry. On our path to diversifying entertainment, we will empower the next generation of Latino and multicultural creators by providing opportunities in all facets of our industry.

About Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation produces a variety of animated and family entertainment for audiences around the world, including the hit franchises Hotel Transylvania, Smurfs, the mouth-watering Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs as well as the recently released comedy The Emoji Movie, and the inspirational The Star (November 2017).