Visiting Filmmakers Series presents a Masterclass with Heather Lanza, co-producer, The Wild Robot
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM EDT
Center for the Arts, Monson Grand Tier
Please join us for a Masterclass with Heather Lanza, co-producer of The Wild Robot.
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
1:30pm-3:30pm
Monson Grand Tier III
Attendees are meeting in person and Heather is joining us virtually from LA. We do not have a Zoom option available for attendees.
Seating is limited.
Heather Lanza will talk about a range of topics, including her experience in animation production, the role of a producer, and leadership in production management.
Heather Lanza received her Bachelor in Motion Picture Cinema Arts and Television Production and went on to work at Disney Feature Animation where she worked on Academy Award-nominated films Bolt and Tangled, along with the TV special Prep and Landing, and short film, Super Rhino. Heather then joined Dreamworks Feature Animation, where she’s been on the producer teams for Penguins, Academy Award-nominated The Boss Baby, Abominable, Academy Award-nominated Puss in Boots - The Last Wish, and Academy Award-nominated The Wild Robot, as well as a half dozen animated short films.
Our host for this Masterclass is Mel Jones. Mel is a multi-talented producer, director, and writer. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Howard University and her MFA in Producing at the American Film Institute. Mel's credits include Justin Simien’s Dear White People and Gerard McMurray’s Burning Sands, as well as Juanita, starring Alfre Woodard and Blair Underwood, The Weekend, starring Sasheer Zamata and Y'lan Noel, and Really Love, starring Kofi Siriboe. (VFS spoke with Really Love's director, Angel Kristi Williams, in 2021: you can see that recording here). Mel is also a cofounder of Invisible Collective, a creative studio and production company that tells stories across media, from advertising to film and television. She is also currently teaching FAVS 250 for Film and Video Studies at George Mason University.
This event is presented by Visiting Filmmakers Series; College of Humanities and Social Sciences; College of Visual and Performing Arts; Film and Video Studies; English Department; Screen Cultures, University Life; the Center for the Arts, and Women and Gender Studies.
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For more information, contact film@gmu.edu
