Carlos López Estrada’s Antigravity Academy Partners With Dolby Creator Lab To Launch Next-Gen Short Film Studio

EXCLUSIVE: Antigravity Academy, the production company of Oscar-nominated filmmaker Carlos López Estrada, has partnered with Dolby Laboratories to launch a new studio, designed to amplify the voices of emerging filmmakers.

Powered by Dolby Creator Lab, Antigravity’s Short Film Studio will provide filmmakers with access to the technologies of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in the making of a short film, along with Antigravity’s hands-on development and production support.

Open to U.S.-based filmmakers over the age of 18 who have no prior feature film or television experience, the program’s inaugural session with produce three shorts, finished in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Each creative participating will receive a $35,000 production grant.

Observed López Estrada, “There are so many extraordinary filmmakers out there and not enough opportunities to bring their movies to life. We hope this program can introduce audiences to a variety of stories that haven’t been told before.”

Antigravity comes to the Dolby partnership after collaborating with the company on its debut feature, Dìdi, from writer-director Sean Wang, which won the Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize at the this year’s Sundance Film Festival before hitting theaters via Focus Features. The program will be overseen by Dìdi producer Valerie Bush and Antigravity’s Head of Film and TV, Winsor Yuan.

Stated Glenn Kiser, Director of Dolby Creator Lab, “The success of our collaboration with Antigravity Academy on Dìdi (弟弟) inspired an incredible opportunity here to expand on our work together and advance our mission to foster next-generation filmmaking. We look forward to empowering these filmmakers with the magic of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos — allowing them to express themselves and their stories to the fullest potential.”

Applications to Antigravity Academy’s Short Film Studio are open today through January 3rd. More information on the initiative can be found at the link.

Best known for co-directing Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animates Feature, Estrada’s other credits include Lionsgate’s Blindspotting, series like Legion and F.A.M., and more. His company Antigravity saw its first feature Dìdi debut in theaters on July 26. In television, they’re currently developing the comedy series Smugglers with FX Networks, in collaboration with This American Life and showrunner Joanna Calo (The Bear).

López Estrada is represented by UTA, M88, and Ziffren Brittenham.