#108: Renee Zhan, Director & Animator

My guest this week is Renee Zhan, a Chinese-American director and animator from Houston, Texas now based in London. She graduated from Harvard University in 2016 with a BA in visual and environmental studies and the National Film and Television School in 2020 with a degree in Directing Animation.

Her short films, which include 2016’s Hold Me (Ca Caw Ca Caw), 2018’s Reneepotosis, 2020’s O Black Hole and 2021’s Soft Animals have screened and won awards internationally including Locarno TIFF, and the Jury Prize for Best Animated Short at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. 

We talk about her path into the world of animation, how she started making films and why she gravitated towards the more tactile techniques displayed in her work. We also discuss why animation can sometimes be lonely and how she has evolved her process along the way. 

It was a treat to chat to Renee, I think her filmmaking style is really special and beguiling and so I urge to seek out her short films if you haven’t already seen them. I’ve popped some links to that which is available online in the show notes. 

This is episode 108 of Best Girl Grip.

 

Show Notes

• Make sure to check out Renee's commercial work with Blinkink.
• Watch Reneepoptosis here.