“This Is a Story Without a Plan” by Cassie Shao at 65th ZINEBI International Festival of Documentary and Short Film

Animator and music video director Cassie Shao screened her latest film This Is a Story Without a Plan at the prestigious 65th ZINEBI International Festival of Documentary and Short Film this month. Recognized by the European Film Academy, the Oscars, BAFTA Film Awards and the Goya Awards as a nomination qualifying festival, ZINEBI recognizes superior filmmaking in several categories including Best International Short Film.

Shao’s inimitable style depicts a story of “…two people and an explosion. This film envisions two characters witnessing a constant explosion in different fragments of their lives.” Shao is the director of the Maggie Dave music videos “Old You” and “I’m Not Ready,” which garnered her a Vimeo Staff Pick in 2019.

"My Year of Dicks" nominated for Best Animated Short Film at 95th Academy Awards

My Year of Dicks, based on creator/writer Pamela Ribon's 2017 book Notes to Boys: And Other Things I Shouldn't Share in Public, was announced as one of the five nominees for Best Animated Short Film at the 95th Academy Awards on Tuesday, January 24th. Directed by Sara Gunnarsdóttir, the short features animation by Maggie Dave music video director Cassie Shao, who worked remotely with a team of artists to complete the film.

“Largely over Zoom, Gunnarsdóttir and Ribon shot live actors performing the script as reference for the animators, who then loosely rotoscoped their artwork overtop, creating the film’s fanciful, kaleidoscopic vision of a teenage girl’s inner life.” - Adam B. Vary, Variety (January 24th, 2023).

When asked about using the medium of animation to tell this personal story, creator/writer Pamela Ribon told Variety: “I don’t think this is a story you get to see very often, particularly in adult animation. I think animation is not a genre, it’s a tool. It can be inviting for people who might have thought adult animation wasn’t made for them. This is pretty inclusive.”

The 95th Academy Awards will air live on March 12th, 2023 at 5:00 P.M. (PDT)

"Maggie Dave - Old You" wins Honorable Mention at Los Angeles Animation Festival

Maggie Dave - Old You, the official music video animated by Cassie Shao, was awarded Honorable Mention at the 2022 Los Angeles Animation Festival. This honor is given "to work of an exceptionally high standard and worthy of festival praise." Shao is an alum of LAAF, earning a nomination for her film There Were Four of Us as Best Student Experimental Short at the 2019 festival.

Fest Anča International Animation Festival: "Maggie Dave - Old You"

"Maggie Dave - Old You" recently competed in the International Competition of Music Videos at the Fest Anča International Animation Festival in Slovakia. Animated by Cassie Shao, her video shared the screen with a superb collection of films from around the world, featuring documentary to experimental works. The complete program to the 2022 festival can be found here.

"Maggie Dave - I'm Not Ready" wins Best Animation/Mixed Media at 2021 Austin Music Video Festival

On December 4th, director & animator Cassie Shao took home her second award for Maggie Dave - I'm Not Ready at the 2021 Austin Music Video Festival. Praised for the video's dreamlike atmosphere and harmony between the song and the visuals, Shao was awarded the top prize for animation from a program featuring videos from celebrated artists such as Missy Elliot, The Shins and Mac DeMarco. Lead singer Sean David Christensen joined remotely from Los Angeles for a brief Q&A with the festival after the "Saturday Morning Cartoons" program, where the video was shown shortly before the live-streamed awards presentation. That same afternoon, Maggie Dave - Old You (also animated by Shao) made its theatrical screening premiere at the London International Animation Festival, capping off a week of festival screenings for the artist & the band.

"Maggie Dave - Old You," animated by Cassie Shao, paired with videos by The Chemical Brothers, Dua Lipa & Elton John at London International Animation Festival

“Maggie Dave - Old You,” animated by Cassie Shao, will pair with videos by The Chemical Brothers, Dua Lipa & Elton John at the 2021 London International Animation Festival in December. Directed by internationally celebrated visual artists RUFFMERCY and Raman Djafari, respectively, their works share the screen with Cassie’s and some of the finest animated music video offerings of 2021. “Music Video Session” will screen both in-person at The Horse Hospital and streamed online for LIAF ticket holders.

Elton John & Dua Lipa - Cold Heart (PNAU Remix); Directed by Raman Djafari

The Chemical Brothers - The Darkness That You Fear; Directed by RUFFMERCY

Best Music Video - Columbus International Film + Animation Festival

Maggie Dave - I’m Not Ready has been awarded with “Best Music Video” at the 2021 Columbus International Film & Animation Festival. One of nine films honored by the longest running film festival in America, animator Cassie Shao takes home top honors in the music video category. Celebrating its 69th year with virtual and drive-in screenings, the festival continued its revered tradition of showcasing the finest in short form works (narrative & documentary) along with special programming for experimental and animated films.

"Worry" (Visualizer) by Cassie Shao featured on GoodMoves.tv

One of the premiere curated galleries of motion graphics on the web, GoodMoves.tv recently featured Cassie Shao’s visualizer for “Worry.” Her signature style, hand-painted 2-D illustrations that warp and ripple with dreamlike lucidity, continues to be celebrated by the creative press and further establishes her artistry as a formidable presence in the animation industry.

Anima Fest Gdańsk - International Animation Film Festival (Dec. 27-30th, 2020)

Celebrating the best in animation from around the world, Anima Fest Gdańsk - International Animation Film Festival will stream their event online this year for audiences in Poland. A diverse program featuring shorts (experimental & narrative), feature films and more, “Maggie Dave - I’m Not Ready” (Dir. Cassie Shao) will compete in the International Music Video Competition alongside offerings from France, Spain, Brazil & China, among others.

“Maggie Dave - I’m Not Ready” (Dir. Cassie Shao)

Portland Film Festival interview with Sean David Christensen

Earlier this year, Maggie Dave lead singer/songwriter Sean David Christensen sat down for a virtual conversation with the Portland Film Festival. Discussing the making of “I’m Not Ready,” the acclaimed music video created by Cassie Shao, Sean described their collaboration and Shao’s distinctive visual style that defined this memorable work.

Cassie Shao directs animation for Hedgehog music video

Maggie Dave animation director Cassie Shao lends her visionary artistry to the latest music video for Beijing-based indie rock trio, Hedgehog.

From NOWNESS Asia : “Inspired by life in quarantine in a cheap hotel in Shanghai, ‘Bat’ envisions a future in which adults are prisoners of children, who are kept in small rooms and perform repetitive tasks day after day, such as repairing and making toys for children.”

"I really like this simple, direct and beautiful way of expression,” says director Haonan Wang. “At that time, the aesthetics were very rich, with colors and exaggerated images everywhere; Not stingy, very dynamic, and very different from the current pursuit of flatness and grayscale. I think it’s fun to present this story in this format."

Production: Round2Film / Director: Haonan Wang / Writer: Haonan Wang, Heran Wang / Producer: Jinming Zhong / Cast: Naughty Xiao / Production Designer: Luyue Meng / Director of Cinematographer: Wenqiang He / Gaffer: Zhengfei Wang / Stylist: Luyue Meng / Wardrobe: Luyue Meng, Huizhen Zhong / Editor: Haonan Wang, Minxing Liao / Director of Animation: Cassie Shao / Director of Puppetry: HIKARU / Colourist: David Rivero Martin (Digital Domain Ltd) / VFX Artist: Pengfei Dang

2020 Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival - Oct. 23rd to 30th

Cassie Shao’s music video for “I’m Not Ready” will be screening alongside some of the most adventurous and boundary-pushing animated films from around the world at the 2020 Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival - held online from October 23rd to 30th. Featuring award-winning and celebrated music videos, experimental & narrative work, we’re proud to be a part of this show!

Excerpt from the program “International Block 2”

From the festival: "Since 2012, Sweaty Eyeballs has carried the torch of the animation scene in the Mid-Atlantic with independent programming & special events. Now in our 9th year, we have partnered with our longtime friends at the Maryland Film Festival to launch our 2nd international festival of animation. The festival will take place October 23-30, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic the festival will be held online in 2020. The festival will open with six original animated music videos set to music by six Baltimore area bands, an international competition of 80 animated shorts, a Baltimore showcase, and remote animator studio tours."​

36th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival - Cassie Shao & "I'm Not Ready"

Cassie Shao's visionary music video for "I'm Not Ready" is announced as part of the 36th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival! The largest festival of its kind in Southern California, LAAPFF is an Oscar-qualifying film festival for the Short Film Awards, and features an exciting lineup of productions by Asian American & Pacific Islander artists from across the globe. Thank you to Visual Communications for their amplification of Cassie's work and the more than 225 filmmakers celebrated across five weekends (Sept. 24 - Oct. 31) for this special online event!

Cassie Shao animates for Sam Fischer - I Got to Live

Cassie Shao animates for Sam Fischer’s “I Got to Live,” directed by friend-of-the-band Kimberly Stuckwisch. Shao’s dreamy visuals ascend upwards, beautifully paired with the song’s elegiac recollections of a life lived to its fullest, with all of the imperfections worth remembering.

Sam Fischer - I Got to Live (Dir: Kimberly Stuckwisch; Animation - Cassie Shao)

LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival & Nevada City Film Festival

Maggie Dave - I’m Not Ready (Dir: Cassie Shao) at LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival

Cassie Shao’s brilliant music video for “I’m Not Ready” was announced on two lauded festival lineups this week. At the LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival, Shao’s work will make its Ukrainian premiere alongside 26 other international offerings in the “Commissioned Film Competition.” At the “Sundance of the Sierras,” the Nevada City Film Festival will host the music video in their innovative online program, complete with filmmaker Q&As.

2020 Pictoplasma in-Isolation

Very proud of our friend Cassie Shao today, whose work was announced alongside 77 cutting-edge international animated shorts at 2020 Pictoplasma in-Isolation. Her music video for “I'm Not Ready” is a stunning addition to this vanguard of innovative and visionary work presented this year. Bravo, Cassie! This year at Pictoplasma, the festival boasts "4 thematic programs full of psychedelic eye candy, virtual popcorn and ingenious storytelling—with many of the international filmmakers staying awake in their respective time-zones to meet you for live behind-the-scenes chats and realtime interaction." It's such an honor for us to be counted among these visionary artists, each joining together from isolation to celebrate the art of animation and character design.

About: Pictoplasma is the world’s leading platform for contemporary character design and art. The project pushes forward interdisciplinary discussion, development and promotion of a new breed of visual vocabulary—from illustration to animation, game to interactive design, urban to graphic arts.

Cassie Shao at 2020 Annecy International Animated Film Festival

Cassie Shao, director and animator of Maggie Dave - I’m Not Ready, joins the prestigious Annecy International Animated Film Festival this week with her brilliant experimental short There Were Four of Us. Competing in the “Graduation Short Films” category, hers is one of only 44 international works selected for awards contention.

Fest Anča International Animation Festival, August 27th-30th, 2020

What a surprise to discover this week that not only will I'm Not Ready be competing for the "Music Video Award" at the 2020 Fest Anča International Animation Festival, but we made the front page as well! Created by the visionary animator Cassie Shao, our video will join nearly 300 works from 65 countries in this international celebration of groundbreaking animation. Shao's critically-acclaimed There Were Four of Us is also in competition for the "Anca Student Award." Way to go, Cassie! It's great to see so many other animators we love on the lineup as well, including Joao Gonzalez and his nervous meditation on obsession and isolation, Nestor.

"The official selection of Fest Anča’s 13th edition embraces diversity, offers films from renowned as well as up-and-coming creatives, large Slovak film sections, and the very latest animation trends...The international competitive program comprises a selection of stand-out animated films completed in the last two years, highlighting short films, music videos, and non-competitive screening sections." A unique event with so much breadth of programming, we can't wait to take part later this fall (fingers crossed)!

47th Athens International Film + Video Festival: October 12th - 18th

I'm Not Ready by Cassie Shao joins The Academy Award-qualifying animation program at the 47th Athens International Film + Video Festival this Fall! Championing the vanguard of experimental filmmaking for nearly five decades, AIF+VF is one of our favorite festivals, and we're thrilled that Cassie's vision can join their legacy of bold programming. This year, 2,200 films were submitted to the competition. From these; 235 films from 41 countries were chosen to screen in 2020. What an honor!