Jul 23, 2019

Alberto Mielgo writes and oversees the original animation features for Stampede

Spanish animation artist Alberto Mielgo, a Cartoon Brew fave for over a decade, will write and direct his first feature film for Greg Silverman's independent production company Stampede. Silverman was the former president of creative development and worldwide production at Warner Bros. before exiting in 2016.

No details have been released about the film other than it will be based on an original concept. But if Mielgo's past work is any indication, the film will be a risk-taking venture unlike anything else out in the current animation marketplace.

Mielgo was nominated for an Emmy last week for “The Witness,” a short that he wrote and directed for Netflix's anthology series Love, Death & Robots. He has previously won an Emmy and Annie Award for his work on Tron: Uprising, and played a significant role in establishing the visual language of Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

“It's a rare thing to come across a filmmaker and world-builder with as much ingenuity and panache as Alberto Mielgo,” Silverman said in a statement. “His sense of humor, character and whimsy – even in the darkest of places – put him in a class all his own. And his technical acumen to pull it off really is something to behold. We're honored that he's chosen Stampede as the home for his next project. Everyone is going to be waiting for this one.”

Added Mielgo: “I'm looking forward to working with Greg [Silverman] and the team at Stampede, as they understand both me and my art. We share the same vision of where we want to take animation with this film.”

Stampede will partner with Vince Gerardis of Startling to produce the film. Gerardis will serve as producer, along with John Morgan.

Mielgo is represented by CAA. The deal was negotiated by Chris Bosco and Anna Pinar of Stampede and Vince Gerardis.

Stampede's lead investor and co-chairman is Gideon Yu, former CFO of Facebook and Youtube, and co-owner of the San Francisco 49ers.