Pilar Garcia-Fernandezsesma is a freelance director, animator, and fine artist from and based in New York. She is a RISD animation alumnus, a Glas and Jerome grant recipient, and a Student Academy Award gold medalist for her film “Ciervo”. Outside of her commercial work, she makes a variety of short films ranging in style and genre, some of which have been shown at festivals like Slamdance, Annecy, RIIFF, Animest, and Animafest Zagreb. She primarily works with 2D cel animation and often uses mixed media elements in her films by combining traditional and digital techniques and practices. Pilar likes to categorize much of her independent work under what she calls the 'beautifully disturbing', as she often uses the idea of the beautiful and pristine to depict otherwise gruesome and violent topics. Much of her work falls under the genre of Folk Horror, with an emphasis on rural settings and the isolation and beauty within them. As a whole, her work ranges from fiction and fantastical to poetic and metaphorical, and often deals with human interpersonal dynamics paired with themes of womanhood, family, and our relationship to the natural world.