The gender justice organization establishes the Fumi Kitahara Membership and Scholarship Fund to honor the long-time chair.

LOS ANGELES, California — WIA leadership and staff are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our beloved friend, colleague, and longtime board member, Fumi Kitahara. She was a premier publicist, renowned awards consultant, passionate advocate, and cherished member of the animation community. Kitahara passed away on February 24, 2025 at age 56 due to complications related to her long battle with a rare blood cancer.

Kitahara served as the WIA PR Chair for more than 10 years, joining the gender justice non-profit at a pivotal time in its history. With more than 30 distinguished years of industry knowledge, she was key to helping elevate WIA to the global stage.
“WIA would not be where we are today without her extraordinary and relentless work,” said Jinko Gotoh, Vice President of WIA and fellow Academy colleague. Gotoh noted Kitahara helped spotlight WIA’s work and mission at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market. “She was the ultimate connector to the media as well as the ideal Annecy ambassador for our World Summit.”

Kitahara was deeply committed to advancing gender equity and inclusivity in the animation industry. She selflessly donated hours of her time to WIA’s mission and vision.

In honor of Kitahara, WIA is establishing the Fumi Kitahara Membership and Scholarship Fund “to recognize the impact Fumi has had on the members of WIA she lifted up through her hard work over the years. This fund will support future generations in our industry as we sustain the incredible legacy of kindness and generosity that Fumi gave to all of us,” says Marge Dean, President of WIA.

Kitahara, a trailblazer in the animation industry and a beloved member of the WIA board leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of creativity, leadership, and passion. With a career spanning more than three decades, Kitahara was a driving force behind some of the most iconic animated films and shorts, earning her a reputation as one of the industry’s most respected publicity and awards strategists.

After graduating from California State University, Northridge, with a degree in business marketing, Kitahara began her career in 1992 at The Walt Disney Studios, working alongside Howard Green. During her time at Disney, she contributed to the publicity campaigns for beloved classics such as The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Toy Story and the documentary Frank and Ollie, as well as numerous live-action titles.

In 1996, Kitahara joined the newly formed DreamWorks SKG, where she helped establish the animation publicity department and served as head of animation publicity for 11 years. During her tenure, she played a pivotal role in launching campaigns for groundbreaking films such as The Prince of Egypt, Shrek (which won the first Academy Award for best animated feature), and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Her work at DreamWorks solidified her reputation as a visionary in animation marketing.

In 2007, Kitahara founded her own boutique firm, the pr kitchen, where she continued to shape the industry through her expertise in publicity and awards campaigns. Her recent work included Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning Pinocchio (2022), as well as campaigns for acclaimed films such as Coraline, How to Train Your Dragon, Kubo and the Two Strings, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, and The Sea Beast. She also lent her talents to Oscar-nominated shorts, including If Anything Happens, I Love You, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse and War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko.

Kitahara’s career also included a four-year stint as an entertainment publicist with Google Spotlight Stories, where she led strategy and campaigns for Emmy-winning projects like Pearl and Sail, as well as Glen Keane’s Duet. She collaborated with Baobab Studios on innovative VR projects such as Baba Yaga and Namoo and contributed to documentary campaigns for films like Walt & El Grupo, Waking Sleeping Beauty, and the Oscar-nominated short Joanna.

Kitahara is survived by her husband, Simon Otto, a veteran director (That Christmas), head of character animation (the How to Train Your Dragon films), and animator; and their son, Max. Other survivors include her mother, Teruko Kitahara; sister, Hiroko Kitahara Domes; brother Keiichi Kitahara, and their family around the world. Plans for a celebration of life are in progress.