Mark Shapiro

In his role in entertainment brand marketing for LAIKA, the animation studio based in Oregon, Mark Shapiro traversed the globe for twelve years, attending major animation festivals on five continents, from Annecy to Zagreb as a curator of animation content, juror and presenter. He has given talks and hosted animation master classes at festivals and events including Sundance, Toronto International Film Festival, Hiroshima International Animation Festival, Cape Town International animation Festival and Comic-Con (San Diego). He also worked on the publicity campaigns for LAIKA's five Oscar-nominated animated features: Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) and Golden Globe winner Missing Link (2019). Prior to LAIKA, at global brand giant Nike, he managed communications, public relations and publicity efforts for Nike Basketball, Nike Tennis and Nike Community Affairs. In that role, he established, maintained and cultivated relationships with national and international media. He also served as a spokesman for Nike at events, press conferences and protests. Mark is currently working in pre-production on an animated feature film based in Mexico City and also consults and collaborates with filmmakers and directors on film projects. A native of Seattle, he attended Emerson College and received his BA (English) from Colorado College and holds a high school teaching credential from Lewis & Clark College.