Elena Altheman

Elena Altheman (she / her) is a PhD candidate at Concordia University in Montréal and a multi-awarded screenwriter. She is affiliated with The Platform Lab at Concordia, the animation research group Zootropo, and the Brazilian AI research group Grupo IAavBR. Her current research examines the political economy of the Brazilian animation industry, focusing on the role of public policies and the present and future of animated labour in the country. Elena was awarded her Masters from University of São Paulo (ECA – USP), where she conducted her research on narrative theory, animated world-building, and labour practices within animation production. At Concordia, Elena unites her experiences as a labourer in the creative industries with her academic work, creating a dialogue between practice and theory. She was awarded with the Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program in 2018 for her research on animated narratives, and with the Emru Townsend Award, offered by the Society for Animation Studies (SAS), in 2019 and 2025. Elena’s work has been published on the Animation Studies journal, where her paper “Adventure Time’s World-Building: Analyzing Its Opening Title Sequence and the Mobile Map” was the runner-up in the Maureen Furniss Award for Best Student Paper in 2020, offered by the SAS. Her most recent work has been published in the book “Media Industries in Crisis: What Covid Unmasked”, edited by Dr Vicki Mayer, Dr Noa Lavie and Dr Miranda Banks.

With her work as a scriptwriter, Elena has been nominated three times for the International Emmy Awards. With productions she wrote for, she has also twice won the Quirino Awards and the Brazilian Screenwriting Association Awards (ABRA), and was nominated for the Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro, and others. Elena has written for productions such as the feature film Chico Bento e a Goiabeira Maraviósa (2025), part of the Turma da Mônica transmedia universe; the first Latin American Cartoon Network Original show Irmão do Jorel (2014); the first Brazilian animated show for kids on Netflix, Nutty Boy (2022); Wake Up, Carlo! (2023);Clube da Anittinha (2018), created by Brazilian pop superstar Anitta; amongst others. Her works can be seen on Netflix, HBOMax, Amazon Prime, Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, and others. She is the co-author of the children ‘s book Irmão do Jorel: Livro Fenomenal, published in 2021 by Harper Collins. Elena also teaches screenwriting and creative writing in Brazil.