LAIKA To Receive Prestigious LGBTQ Community Award In Support Of LGBTQ Students

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Point Foundation (Point) will present its Point Inspiration Award to the award-winning animation studio LAIKA. The award recognizes a trailblazer who has taken a leadership role as an advocate of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community. Point Foundation is the nation's largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit.

For more information and tickets, please visit pointfoundation.org/HonorsLA19.

Fueled by the vision of its President & CEO Travis Knight, the award-winning stop-motion animation studio LAIKA has contributed significantly to LGBTQ representation in animation. LAIKA made history in 2012 with the film "ParaNorman," featuring the first ever openly gay character in an American animated feature. LAIKA's four films "Coraline," "ParaNorman," "The Boxtrolls," and "Kubo and the Two Strings" were all nominated for the Academy Award for Outstanding Animated Feature. "Kubo and the Two Strings" received an additional Oscar nomination for Visual Effects and also won the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film. LAIKA's fifth film, "Missing Link," was released in April of this year to widespread critical acclaim.

"We are constantly impressed with how LAIKA, under Travis Knight's leadership, effortlessly includes LGBTQ narratives in their films in a way that reflects our world as it genuinely exists, with the LGBTQ community rightfully and respectfully included," said Jorge Valencia, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Point Foundation. "Our scholarship recipients and LGBTQ youth everywhere benefit from LAIKA's brilliant example of the power of art to open minds.” 

For the first time ever, each of the 16 new Point Scholars selected for the 2019 scholarship will be in attendance at the event, in addition to some of Point's 85 current scholarship recipients and 380 alumni, to share their inspiring stories about how they have overcome challenges to get their higher education degrees. Comedian and writer Rhea Butcher will host the festive evening, which features a special performance by Debbie Gibson. Additional celebrity attendees include Theo Germaine, Rahne Jones, Kiran Deol, Pete Nowalk, Blair Imani, and Tracie Thoms. Past recipients of the Point Inspiration Award include HBO, Focus Features, Johnson and Johnson, Estee Lauder and Time Warner.

Presenting Sponsors: Hilton, Wells Fargo
Premier Sponsor: Cadillac
National Media Sponsor: OUT
Local Media Sponsor: LA Blade
Friends of Point: J.Crew, Shelter PR

About Point Foundation: Point Foundation empowers promising LGBTQ students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential – despite the obstacles often put before them – to make a significant impact on society. Point Foundation promotes change through scholarship funding, mentorship, leadership development, and community service training. www.pointfoundation.org | #PointHonors

Media Contact:
Jessica Rozycki, Point Foundation,
(914) 776-4163, [email protected]

SOURCE Point Foundation

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