Talks

The Future of Animation: A Director’s Perspective

Elio

Women in Animation: VFX and Live Action

Domee Shi began as a story intern at Pixar Animation Studios in June 2011, and was soon hired as a story artist on the Academy Award®-winning feature film “Inside Out.” Since then, she has worked on the feature films “The Good Dinosaur,” “Incredibles 2” and the Academy Award®-winning “Toy Story 4.” In 2015 she began pitching ideas for short films, and soon was green lit to write and direct “Bao” which won the Academy Award® for Best Animated Short Film. In her role as a Creative VP, Shi is involved in key creative decision-making at the studio and consults on films in both development and production. 

Shi most recently made her feature film directorial debut on “Turning Red,” which was released on Disney+ March 11, 2022, and was nominated for an Academy Award®. Currently, Shi is directing Pixar’s upcoming feature film “Elio,” alongside directors Madeline Sharafian and Adrian Molina, and producer Mary Alice Drumm. “Elio” is set to release in theaters June 20, 2025.  

Shi graduated from the animation program at Sheridan College where she was fueled by her love of anime/manga, Disney, and Asian cinema influences that can be seen in her work to this day. 

Shi was born in Chongqing, China and resided in Toronto, Canada most of her life. She currently lives in Oakland, California and notes that her love of animation is only rivaled by her love of  of cats.