The studio’s first female-directed short will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and play in front of ‘Incredibles 2’ when it’s released June 15.
‘Bao,’ a Pixar short film, will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and play in front of ‘Incredibles 2.’
Pixar’s next animated short film is titled Bao, written and directed by Domee Shi – making this the studio’s first female-directed short film – and set to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and screen in advance of Incredibles 2 when it is released June 15.
Entertainment Weekly had details and concept art from the short, which runs seven and a half minutes and is described by Tribeca thusly:
“An empty-nesting Chinese mom gets another chance at motherhood when one of her dumplings springs to life. But she must come to terms with the bittersweet revelation that nothing stays cute and small forever.”
Concept art from ‘Bao,’ directed by Domee Shi.
Shi’s career at Pixar began as an intern, which lead to jobs as a story artist on Inside Out and work on The Good Dinosaur, Incredibles 2 and the upcoming Toy Story 4. She was born in China and raised in Toronto, after her parents moved there when she was 2 years old.
The film was inspired by her own life and her own mother, who she describes as a “dumpling master.” “Often times it felt like my mom would treat me like a precious little dumpling, wanting to make sure I was safe, that I didn’t go out late, all that stuff,” Shi tells EW. “I just wanted to create this magical, modern-day fairy tale, kind of like a Chinese Gingerbread Man story. The word ‘bao’ actually means two things in Chinese: Said one way, it means steamed bun. Said another, it means something precious. A treasure.”
Becky Neiman-Cobb is producer of the short, with Patrick Lin its cinematographer, Katherine Ringgold as editor, Toby Chu composing the music and Pete Docter and John Lasseter as executive producers.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
Tom McLean has been writing for years about animation from a secret base in Los Angeles.
