Oct 1, 2019

Cinesite to Complete Production of "Mila," a Short Film Made by Volunteers from 35 Countries

One of the more notable production stories in the animation world has a happy ending.

Mila, a short CG film about a young girl's World War II experience, was conceived as a volunteer-based project. And now the goal is in sight. Cinesite has announced that it will work with the director to complete the film in a Vancouver studio.

That director is Cinzia Angelini, a Los Angeles-based animator and story artist who is currently Cinesite's story director. While working for major studios such as Disney, Warner Brothers, Sony, and Illumination, she has been steadily working on "Mila," a passion project inspired by her mother's childhood. The film tells the story of a young girl and two women who are in Trento, Italy, Angelini's hometown, when it is bombed in 1943.

"I believe that strong themes such as those depicted in 'Mila,' inspired by a true story and told through the powerful magic of animation, can move people like nothing else and influence future generations," Angelini said in a statement. It's wonderful that a major studio like Cinesite shares this belief and is willing to work with me to bring this film to the big screen."

"Sadly, 'Mira' is a timely condemnation of the violence currently taking place on the world stage. The talented team at Cinesite and the magic of their animation will move people and remind us of the humanity at stake and the sense of hope that a child's perspective can give us." As a studio, we are always looking for diverse projects that cover a variety of themes, styles and scales, and Cinesite is delighted to support an independent project written and directed by a woman."

UK-based Cinesite started as a VFX company before moving into animation; in 2017, it acquired Vancouver-based Nitrogen Studios to expand its animation production capabilities; Mila just wrapped production on the feature film The Addams Family which will be completed at Cinesite's Vancouver studio.

In a career spanning over 25 years, Angelini has worked on films such as Prince of Egypt, Open Season, Bolt, Despicable Me 3, The Grinch, and Abominable. She describes the Mila team as "the largest independent, global virtual studio collaboration ever." In her TEDx talk, she introduced animation as a means of bridging cultural boundaries (see below).

"Mira" is a co-production of Pixel Cartoon, Ibiscus Media, and Cinesite, sponsored by UNICEF Italia. The producer is Andrea Emes. For more information, visit the film's official website.