2D Production Memo - May 2026

Art by Laura Swalley

Initial Development
Development on our 2D FOREST (working title) short began during Asians in Animation’s 2025 Development Lab, led by Executive Program Producer Saira Umar and Program Producer Alice Jiang. Over the course of 3 months, the 2D short cohort developed a concept and production-ready pitch package. 

How it Started
In October 2025, Director Ashley Lam and Writer Sheena Santamaria leaned into “hopecore” and presented a number of ideas that highlight positivity and wonder. What emerged was “FOREST” an optimistic story of rediscovering one’s roots and the importance of friendship and community.

Art by Laura Swalley

About the Short Film - Logline
After failing to attract tourists to visit his forest village, a feisty (and slightly impulsive) acorn rallies his community to showcase all the charm of their hometown. 

Inspired by the shifting landscapes of LA’s Little Tokyo, Chinatown, Historic Filipinotown and a small town in rural Japan, Ashley and Sheena sought to craft a story about “the little guy.” The story unfolds in a world where grand adventures take place, just from the perspective of some of its smallest inhabitants. ”FOREST” strives to convey the age-old adage of “teamwork makes the dream work,” and that there is beauty and magic in the everyday and in the everyperson. The creative team behind FOREST firmly believes the world and people are good, and hope that audiences can see the good parts of themselves in our characters.

Art by Ivory Bi

Art by Michelle Wirono 

Art
After drawing additional inspiration from our exceptional visual development artists (Vanessa Nakasone, Laura Swalley, Ivory Bi, and Michelle Wirono), we crafted a little world amongst the trees that our protagonist comes to appreciate more and more. The 51-page pitch deck captures not only our characters, locations, and cleverly-crafted props, but also beat boards and moment paintings. 

Building the Crew
We were utterly floored by the over 200+ applications we received to be part of our crew. The caliber of our candidates speaks to the tremendous potential of people in the indie animation space who are passionate about collaborating and creating animated stories together. As an apprenticeship program, we prioritized applicants who were not only eager to learn, but also experts in their own right. Many of our applicants resonated with our short’s themes of growing up in immigrant families or communities, and rediscovering their roots. Like our forest friends, we look forward to building together.

Art by Vanessa Nakasone

Updates
We’re still in the very exciting pre-design stage, where our visual development artists have stepped into leadership roles as art leads. They are continuing to flesh out our magical, little world of acorns, mushrooms, and bugs with a growing team of artists. Also, our storyboard artists are officially launched and beginning to bring these characters to life. Finally, a talented production team provides the organizational backbone upon which the creative team can build this world. We’ve been heartened by the team’s tremendous creativity and enthusiasm! We’re excited to bring you along on this journey and hope you come to love our little acorn’s world as much as we do.