Disney+ has released a new featurette, titled “Embrace Yourself,” showcasing season one of Disney’s Launchpad collection of short films, premiering May 28th.
What’s Happening:
- Today, Disney+ released “Embrace Yourself,” a featurette for Disney’s inaugural season of Launchpad, a collection of live-action short films from a new generation of dynamic storytellers. The goal of Disney’s Launchpad is to diversify the types of stories that are being told and to give access to those who have historically not had it. Inspired by life’s journey, these first six short films for Disney+ are based on the theme, “Discover.” All six short films will be available to stream on Disney+ beginning May 28.
- Disney’s Launchpad Season One short films:
- American Eid – Written and Directed by Aqsa Altaf.
- Ameena, a Muslim Pakistani immigrant, wakes up on Eid to find out that she has to go to school. Homesick and heartbroken, she goes on a mission to make Eid a public-school holiday, and in the process, reconnects with her older sister, and embraces her new home, while her new home embraces her.
- Dinner Is Served – Directed by Hao Zheng, Written by G. Wilson & Hao Zheng.
- A Chinese student at an elite U.S. boarding school realizes excellence is not enough when he tries out for a leadership position no international student has ever applied for.
- Growing Fangs – Written and Directed by Ann Marie Pace.
- Val Garcia, a Mexican-American teen who is half human/half vampire, has had to keep her identity a secret from both worlds. But when her human best friend shows up at her monster-infested school, she has to confront her truth, her identity, and herself.
- Let’s Be Tigers – Written and Directed by Stefanie Abel Horowitz.
- Avalon’s not ready to process the loss of her mother, but when she’s put in charge of a 4-year-old for one night, she finds more comfort than she ever could have expected.
- The Last of the Chupacabras – Written and Directed by Jessica Mendez Siqueiros.
- In a world where culture has nearly ceased to exist, one lone Mexican-American struggling to carry on her traditions unknowingly summons a dark and ancient creature to protect her.
- The Little Prince(ss) – Written and Directed by Moxie Peng.
- When Gabriel, a 7-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet, becomes friends with Rob, another Chinese kid from school, Rob’s dad gets suspicious about Gabriel's feminine behavior and decides to intervene.
- American Eid – Written and Directed by Aqsa Altaf.
- Submissions for Season Two of Disney’s Launchpad, which is based around the theme of “Connection” and includes a writer’s track, will be accepted beginning today through June 11 and can be submitted at launchpad.disney.com.
- Cameras and lenses for Season One of Disney’s Launchpad were supplied by Panavision, a leading global provider of technical and creative solutions for the motion-picture industry. “Panavision and Disney share a commitment to empowering storytellers from a diverse cross section of communities,” says Panavision President and CEO Kim Snyder.
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