Mila

MILA is a war story that takes on a child's perspective. Inspired by World War II stories from the director's mother, the character of Mila represents the best of humanity. Although she has lost everything - her family, her house, her peace - she still clings to hope. With a little more than imagination and humanity, Mila manages to profoundly impact others, including a caring stranger who saves her.

  • Cinzia Angelini
    Director
    Balto, Prince of Egypt, Eldorado, Spirit, Sinbad, Spider-man 2, Open Season, Meet the Robinsons, Bolt, The Minions Movie, Despicable Me 3, The Grinch, Abominable
  • Cinzia Angelini
    Writer
  • Andrea Emmes
    Producer
  • Valerio Oss
    Executive Producers
  • Valentina Martelli
    Executive Producers
    Calypso, The Magnificient Journey
  • Antony Hunt
    Executive Producers
    Fearless, Gnome Alone
  • Adam Nagle
    Executive Producers
    Trouble
  • Flavio Gargano
    Composer
    Only A Child, Le Piccole Cose
  • Pepe Valencia
    Cinematographers
    Astro Boy
  • Oscar Lo
    Cinematographers
  • Alexandra Kavalova
    Art Directors
    Barbie: Dolphin Magic, Abby Hatcher, Fuzzly Catcher
  • Richard Smitheman
    Art Directors
    Postman Pat: The Movie
  • Tim Denin
    Editors
  • Ellery VanDooyeweert
    Editors
    The Addams Family , Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia
  • Chris Pinkston
    Sound Designer
    Love, Death & Robots, Meet the Robinsons
  • Valerio Oss
    VFX supervisors
    Menocchio the Heretic, Taras 2050
  • Nate Barnard
    VFX supervisors
    The Addams Family, Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia
  • Eric Cheung
    Animation Supervisor
    Surf's Up 2: WaveMania, Open Season: Scared Silly
  • Laura Brousseau
    Head of Lighting
    The Addams Family
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Short
  • Genres:
    War, Drama, Family, Kids, Youth
  • Runtime:
    19 minutes 50 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 20, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    4,000,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada, Italy, United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • RAI RAGAZZI
    Distributor
    Country: Italy
    Rights: Video on Demand, Paid TV
Director Biography - Cinzia Angelini

Cinzia Angelini, a story artist, and director who has collaborated with Imageworks, Walt Disney, Warner Bros, Dreamworks, and Illumination Ent. After writing and directing Mila, a high-quality CG short film produced by the largest independent, world-wide, virtual studio ever created, she joined Cinesite to direct the animated feature film Hitpig.

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Director Statement

Today, children continue to suffer the ravages of conflict in many places around the world. Their current plight is what moved me to take action. While it's civilians who are the first to be hit, it’s their children that are the last to be remembered. My wish is that “Mila” could be seen by as many people as possible, to help promote a societal shift in our understanding of what the real, long-term, generational cost of war is. If “Mila” could change even one decision-maker's mind about going to war, then all our efforts will have been worth it.
What I wanted to show with this film is the strength and resilience that kids have, even when they are alone, abandoned and lost. I’m convinced that animation can be exploited as a vehicle for more meaningful messages.
Hollywood might applaud socially relevant features, but it still views animation as essentially little more than “entertainment.” But it’s so much more powerful than that! It has such potential to affect fundamental change in how we approach each other, how we deal with societal challenges. Especially now, we need to exploit that potential as much as we can.