Project Involve Deep Dive: ‘7LBS 8 OZ’
We are rolling out some of our past Project Involve shorts to view online! These Project Involve shorts can now be seen on our Film Independent YouTube channel and are featuring them here on the blog with exclusive talks with the filmmakers. Applications for next year’s Project Involve are now open. This week we’re featuring 7LBS 8OZ, written, directed and animated by Yoo Lee, 2021 Project Involve Fellow.
Cities continually change. New businesses open while old standbys have to call it quits. Some neighborhoods get an influx of new money and development, while others start to decay. New populations move in, whether they’re immigrants looking to make a new start or people just looking for cheaper rent.
One of the great parts of living in a city is that all those people can live on the same block. The benefit of urban life is being exposed to all sorts of different people and experiences. Some of those interactions can expand your world, other times, difference in perspectives can bring tension, and sometimes what you think is going to happen might speak more about your own beliefs than those of the person you interact with.
In 7LBS 8OZ, a young mother moves into a Jersey City neighborhood and finds out her coarse next-door neighbor might not be everything he seems to be.
Lee wanted to bring her own experiences of living in Jersey City into her animated short. “I wanted to tell the story of an Asian female protagonist who is also a mother, and share her experience of moving to a new town.” Lee said. “It might sound mundane, but it’s something I rarely see in stop-motion animation. I also wanted to explore a diverse narrative through the lens of socioeconomic dynamics, using multi-generational characters. Comedy was the glue that would hold the story together, and in the end, I wanted the audience to feel good and be entertained.”
Because the film was made during the pandemic, the team didn’t really come together in person until it was time to start animating. “It was my first time directing a team larger than what I could count on my fingers, and none of the crew had worked in stop-motion, let alone animation before,” Lee said.
“But I believe there’s a certain freedom that comes from learning as you go and making mistakes on your tries.”
The film went on to screen at over 50 festivals, winning the Grand Jury prize at the Florida Film Fest. It led to Lee directing an episode of HBOMax’s Only You shorts series and a documentary supported by Netflix.
Looking back at the program, Lee said “What was most incredible was the support that comes from being part of Film Independent. It was a post-production dream: coloring with Company 3, sound with Formosa, amazing music support, and, of course, the mentorship, it’s where I learned I wanted to write. You can’t go through the program without leveling up, that is as long as you finish the film.”
Applications for the 2026 Project Involve program for both live-action and stop-motion animation are now open with a Non-Member deadline of July 14th. Members have until July 28th. Learn more about Project Involve here, and apply today.
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