Directed by Erick Oh and inspired by his grandfather, the studio’s new immersive animated film premieres today at the Sundance Film Festival; the narrative poem thoughtfully reflects on the meaningful moments in one man’s life.
Emmy Award winning Baobab Studios has dropped a trailer for their new immersive animated film, Namoo (Korean for “Tree”), directed by award-winning filmmaker, Erick Oh. The film, a narrative poem come to life, was inspired by the life of Oh’s grandfather; it follows the meaningful moments in one man’s life. Namoo premieres today at the Sundance Film Festival.
Starting as a seed, the tree eventually grows and matures, collecting meaningful objects that represent positive and painful memories in its branches. The visually rich film was created with Quill, the real-time VR animation tool, realizing the filmmaker’s artistic vision. The thoughtful Namoo is a deeply personal yet surprisingly universal film that will undoubtedly resonate with each viewer.
Watch the teaser trailer:
A Korean filmmaker and artist based in California, Oh has had his films introduced and awarded at numerous film festivals including the Academy Awards; Annie Awards; Annecy Animation Festival; Zagreb Film Festival; SIGGRAPH; Anima Mundi; and others. With a background in fine art from Seoul National University, Korea, and film from UCLA, he worked as an animator at Pixar Animation Studios from 2010 to 2016. He joined Tonko House with fellow former Pixar artists and directed PIG: The Dam Keeper Poems, which won the Cristal Award at the Annecy Animation Festival 2018.
Read AWN’s interview with Erick about his extraordinary short film project
The Mesmerizing and Surreal Animation of Erick Oh’s ‘OPERA’
Oh is currently working on a variety of projects with his partners in film/animation and the VR/AR industry, as well as the contemporary art scene in US and South Korea. His short film project, Opera, is currently touring the festival circuit and will debut as an installation exhibition this Spring in Paris and South Korea.
Source: Baobab Studios
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
