The animated musical short film Am I Dreaming? directed by Jake Lee, has won Best Animated Musical at the UK Film Awards, making another major milestone for the award-winning project and its creative team at newly launched London-based independent animation studio Pixel Ctrl Studios.
Directed by Lee and produced by Escape Studios alumni Emmanouil Zervoudakis, Am I Dreaming? is a visually rich animated musical featuring an original song written and composed by Lilianne Coeverden, and performed by Kiersten Nielson. The animation team was led by Anya Dyachok, with original characters modelled, rigged and textured by Escape Studios tutor Michael Davies.
The film follows Kirstin, a young girl who dreams of being with Dan, the most popular boy in school. Her dreamlike journey takes her from outer space to a fairytale castle, blurring the line between fantasy and reality as her wish seemingly comes true. Or does it?
“Working with Lilianne Coeverden to compose an original song was a dream come true. She was the perfect collaborator and we went back and forth to craft a song that we were ecstatic with,” shared Lee on the creation of the music behind the animated short musical. “It has been a lifetime goal of mine to direct an animated musical. I grew up watching the great movies from Disney’s Renaissance period and always wanted to make something that pays homage to those films. It has been a thrilling journey that I have been on since December 2021.”
Since its release, Am I Dreaming? has received eight awards and 15 official selections at film festivals worldwide, cementing its place as a standout animated short. The project also marks the first project from Pixel Ctrl Studios, an independent animation studio founded by Lee. Pixel Ctrl Studios was created to develop original animated content.
Inspired by the glory days of traditional animation, Pixel Ctrl Studios is committed to hand- crafted animation techniques and has pledged to produce all projects without the use of AI. Lee joins as a speaker at Escapeverse Live on 26 February at 14:30 GMT about creating the project and what it takes to make a short film for festivals.
