WATCH: Go behind-the-scenes with the team from Mitra Shahidi’s ‘Starling’
The team behind the short film Starling, directed by Mitra Shahidi and brought to life by a core team of fellow Pixar alum with a group of 70+ dedicated volunteer artists and animators from across 14 separate countries, have today released the latest in a series of behind-the-scenes vignettes on the making of the film. Following Episode 1: Introduction, Episode 2: Production Design and Animation and Episode 3: Story and Editing, the fourth entry Cinematography and Visual Effects presents a sit down discussion with the Director of Photography Andrew Jimenez and Visual Effects Supervisor Kristoffer Landes:
In my short film, Starling, a mischievous little spirit shoots down from the sky to return to her family’s home on her birthday. On the way, rainclouds derail her and she misses her target, causing her to tumble onto the streets of Istanbul, where she grew up. As she makes her way through the city we see her experience all the things she loved when she was among us.
The film is a tribute to my friend who lost her battle to cancer but lived her life vivaciously and full of love for her family and friends. I wanted to capture that even though she is no longer with us, her spirit lives on and is still able to bring joy and love to those she left behind.
-Mitra Shahidi (Director, Starling)
Having picked up the award for Best Animated Short prize at the Tribeca Film festival earlier this year, Starling is produced by Jessica Heidt (whose Pixar credits include Cars 3, Luca, Soul and the upcoming Elio and Inside Out 2) and was made as part of Pixar’s co-op program, an initiative that grants the studio’s employees access to its equipment to aid in the development and completion of their own creative projects during downtime.
Hailing from Istanbul, Turkey, Iranian-American story artist, director and screenwriter Mitra Shahidi moved to the USA to pursue animation, graduating from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and initially working as an art director and story artist across games, film and advertising, ultimately joining Pixar Animation Studios as a story artist in 2017 where she has worked on the Academy Award-nominated Luca as well as the upcoming Elio.
For more on the film visit starling_short.com