Dreams, aspirations and personal stories in Oscars short animated selection

Record ID: 1397040

  • Title: Dreams, aspirations and personal stories in Oscars short animated selection
  • Date: 23rd February 2019
  • Summary: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 20, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** FILMMAKERS ALISON SNOWDEN AND DAVID FINE POSING FOR PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (English) 'ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR' DIRECTOR ALISON SNOWDEN, SAYING: "Well I've always been interested in therapy, but it occurred to us that animals have a lot of the same issues as people, but t
  • Embargoed: 9th March 2019 01:52
  • Keywords: Oscars Academy Awards animated shorts filmmaker Taiko Studios
  • Location: LOS ANGELES / BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS;
  • City: LOS ANGELES / BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS;
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Film
  • Reuters ID: LVA001A2O0JT9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Dreams, aspirations and personal stories govern the Oscar nominated short animated films.
    The filmmakers were all invited to a symposium on Wednesday (February 20) where they were given the chance to show off their films at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
    'Animal Behaviour' is a film about a group of different species of animals discussing their personal problems in a group therapy session and it's directed by Alison Snowden and David Fine, who have been nominated three times before and won once.
    "I've always been interested in therapy but it occurred to us that animals have a lot of the same issues as people but they get away with it," said Snowden. She added "They don't get judged. They're just happily doing what they're doing and we just wondered what would happen if they were, if they were in society and they had to adapt the way we have to - we have to be nice to each other - and we thought a group therapy session was the best place to play that out."
    Pixar Studios' 'Bao' was seen by many around the world as it was played before the screening of 'Incredibles 2'. The film is about a woman who discovers her dumpling is alive and then does her best to raise it as a human.
    The film has an unexpected end to it, which has caused great pleasure to the director Domee Shi. She told Reuters "It's either crying or this crazy laughter of disbelief and horror. Shock and horror and emotional devastation, hilarity. It's like everything which is really cool to see - how that one moment sparks such a wide range of reactions in people. That's why I love making films and telling stories."
    'Late Afternoon' is the story of an old lady who is drifting through the memories of her life. Louise Bagnall, who wrote and directed the film, explained how the film was personal, saying "A lot of the inspirations for me came from my own grandmothers. They didn't have dementia but they did have elements of their lives that was confusing for them. So for me, it was a way of exploring who they were and that's kind of where the film came from."
    'Weekends' is also a personal story. The film is based on the memories of the director and writer Trevor Jimenez and is about a young boy coming to terms with his parents' divorce.
    Asked how he felt to be Oscar nominated for such a personal story, he replied "I've been working on it for 10 years and it's really my passion project, a personal passion project I've been working on for a long time so it's hard to believe. I'm just enjoying and appreciating it and honored."
    The final film in the selection is 'One Small Step', the story of a girl who aspires to be an astronaut. The film echoes that of the filmmakers, as they left Disney to set up Taiko Studios with the intention of creating animated content which would be accessible to both American and Chinese audiences.
    Co-director Andrew Chesworth said "The title was always there and it just felt like a good fit for our first project and it's very aspirational and it obviously harkens from the Neil Armstrong quote stepping onto the moon and even Taiko Studios. Taiko is the prefix to the word taikonaut which is the Chinese for the word astronaut so everything about our first project and our company felt like reaching for the stars, so it felt right."
    Being Oscar nominated for their first project has boosted interest in their studio. The directors also got the chance to meet some of their animation heroes at the Oscar Luncheon.
    "All of us are kind of animation nerds. Andrew, Bobby and I were animators at Disney and all the people we really admire and respect, they all know us now so it's odd but it's cool," said the studio's CEO, Shaofu Zhang.
    Their next plan is to make an animation film and a television series.
    The winner of the animated shorts selection will be announced at the Oscars ceremony on Sunday (February 24).
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