Who Is Domee Shi? First Woman To Solo Direct A Pixar Feature Film

Domee Shi became the first woman to solo direct a Pixar feature film with her directorial debut Turning Red. Shi is also the recipient of Academy Award for the first Pixar short film directed by woman, Bao. Turning Red is about a 13-year-old girl who turns into a big red panda as she deals with puberty.

Domee Shi's Turning Red becomes the first feature to be directed by a woman in the 36-year-old history of Pixar. The film is distributed by Pixar, Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Turning Red cast includes actors Rosalie Chiang, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Sandra Oh, Addie Chandler, Ava Morse. James Hong among others.

Turning Red is a story of an obedient Canadian-Chinese 13-year-old girl Mei Lee and her chaotic youth. What makes her special is her ability to turn into a giant red panda every time she gets excited. The Director admitted in an interview with Times that the character is inspired by Teen Wolf and Lizzie McGuire while also drawing inspiration from her personal experiences as a teen.

However, the film has received backlash from parents as they believe that the film is not appropriate for children since it talks about the onset of puberty and menstruation. Turning Red producer Lindsey Collins told Polygon in an interview that the film is unapologetic about the period talk, "Everybody on the crew was unapologetic in support of having these real conversations about periods and about these moments in girls’ lives."

"The red panda is a metaphor not just for puberty, but also what we inherit from our moms, and how we deal with the things that we inherit from them," Shi told Polygon.

Who is Domee Shi?

Domee Shi is a Canadian-Chinese director, animator and screenwriter who has been working with Pixar since 2011. Earlier an intern and storyboard artist for 11 years, Shi recently grabbed Turning Red as the first Pixar feature directed by a woman. She also won an Academy Award under the category of Best Animated Short Film for her short feature Bao.

The 34-year-old director was born in China and completed her education from Sheridan College Trafalgar Road Campus, Canada. She moved to Canada at the age of two. With a following of 77.4K followers on her Instagram account, Shi is often seen posting her self-made doodle caricatures and graphic art on her profile. Her LinkedIn profile bio mentions that she loves animation, film and visual storytelling. 

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