Lou Hamou-Lhadj directed the 2016 animated short film, “Borrowed Time”
Pixar Character Technical Director Lou Hamou-Lhadj, a 2004 Washington Township High School graduate, has received an Oscar nomination for his work on the independent animated short film, “Borrowed Time.” The 2016 film was directed by Hamou-Lhadj and Andrew Coats, and produced by Amanda Deering Jones, and tells the story of a weathered sheriff who returns to the remains of an accident he has spent a lifetime trying to forget.
The short is about showing a character who has to face and own up to the mistakes that he has made and find the strength to move on.
“The goal for us was to make something that contested the notion of animation being a genre, and one specifically for children,” Hamou-Lhadj said. “We really wanted to make something that was a little more adult in the thematic choice and show that animation could be a medium to tell any sort of story.”
A 2008 graduate of New York University’s film school, Hamou-Lhadj minored in computer science and mathematics and was offered a job with Pixar while still an undergraduate after completing an internship with the production company. He boldly declined the offer to complete his NYU degree but was offered an open door to return to the company following graduation. Among his production credits, he has worked on “Wall-E,” “Brave,” “Toy Story 3” and “The Good Dinosaur.”
“Borrowed Time” has been well received since its release, earning numerous accolades and awards including: Grand Jury Prize: 2016 Nashville Film Festival, First Place Animation: 2016 USA Film Festival, Best Animated Short: 2016 St. Louis International Film Festival, Audience Award: 2016 Brooklyn Film Festival, and Best in Show: 2016 Siggraph Computer Animation Festival.
Other films nominated in the category of Best Animated Short include: “Blind Vaysha,” by Theodore Ushev, “Pear Cider and Cigarettes,” by Robert Valley and Cara Speller, “Pearl,” by Patrick Osborne, and “Piper,” by Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer.
For additional information on “Borrowed Time,” please visit www.borrowedtimeshort.com and www.facebook.com/btanimatedshort.
