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Baobab Studios Shares First Look at ‘Baba Yaga’ Immersive Experience

Special ‘Work in Progress’ presentation from the Emmy Award-winning studio behind ‘Bonfire’ and ‘Crow: The Legend’ will debut June 15 at Annecy 2020 online.

Baobab Studios, the multiple Emmy Award-winning studio behind Bonfire and Crow: The Legend, will unveil a first look at their newest immersive experience, Baba Yaga, with a special “Work in Progress” presentation at the Annecy International Animation Festival’s 2020 Online edition. The presentation will debut on Monday, June 15th and be available to accredited festival viewers for the entire two-week event. 

The Baba Yaga WIP session at Annecy Online will feature Baobab’s co-founder/CEO Maureen Fan, co-founder/CCO Eric Darnell and co-founder/CTO Larry Cutler, as well as several other key members of the studio team, including head of content Kane Lee, co-director Mathias Chelebourg, animation supervisor Ken Fountain, and production designer Glenn Hernandez. The presentation will reflect on many of the studio’s past award-winning films, such as Asteroids!, Invasion! and Bonfire to Crow: The Legend, discussing the studio’s philosophy and unique approach to interactive filmmaking while offering a special sneak peek at Baba Yaga.

Directed by Darnell and co-directed by Chelebourg, Baba Yaga is a contemporary portrayal of the Eastern European legend inspired by illustrative 2D pop-up animation, hand-drawn, and stop-motion styles, creating a modern visual language for VR inspired by classic animation. Leveraging the studio’s award-winning animation pioneers and interactive gaming veterans, the new project blends theater, cinema, and animation into a unique experience that explores themes of empowerment and environmentalism.

“While we wish we could actually be in Annecy meeting up with all our friends in the industry to celebrate the best in animation this month, we’re so happy to participate in the festival’s online programming with this first look at what we’ve been up to at Baobab with our newest film, Baba Yaga,” Darnell said. 

The Baobab Studios team will also participate in a Live Q&A hosted by the Annecy festival on June 23rd at 9am PST/6pm France time. Featured panelists will include several key creatives from the Baba Yaga production, including Darnell, Chelebourg, Fountain, and development producer Shannon Ryan.

Baba Yaga will premiere in multiple formats later this year. Click here to learn more about the film.

Source: Baobab Studios

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Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.