Adam, Before Eve: Interview with Oscar nominee Minkyu Lee

Minkyu Lee’s directorial debut Adam and Dog, a Garden of Eden story about man’s first friendship, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

by Ada Tseng

27-year-old, Korean-born, Los Angeles-based animator Minkyu Lee celebrated his first Oscar nomination on January 10, 2013, when the official Best Animated Short Films list was announced on the Academy Awards website. Funded out of pocket and supported by a crew of friends and volunteers — some from CalArts, where Lee studied and teaches, and various professional connections through his years of work at Disney — Lee’s 15-minute debut took over two years to complete. The result, Adam and Dog, is a quiet, ethereal, gorgeously-animated short film about the dog Adam befriends in the Garden of Eden, before Eve comes into the picture.

Starting February 1, Adam and Dog can be seen in over 260 theaters across the US, Canada, and Europe as part of the Oscar Nominated Short Films theatrical release presented by ShortsHD The Short Movie Channel and Magnolia Pictures.

Director Minkyu Lee answers some of Asia Pacific Arts’ questions about Adam and Dog in an email interview.

Click here to read the interview.