Pete Docter | Close Encounter O.V.

After enchanting audiences with animated gems like Up, Monsters & Co. and Inside Out, the American filmmaker, screenwriter, animator and producer Pete Docter is back to take us on another thrilling ride onscreen. Docter will be be awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award as Chief Creative Officer at Pixar Animation Studios this year, following up with a** Close Encounter** during which he’ll present his latest film, Soul, which will be opening the Rome Film Fest. With eight Oscar® nominations and two wins for Up and Inside Out to his credit, Docter is one of the most brilliant and visionary filmmakers ever, uniquely equipped to serve up stories with a heart, suitable for audiences of all ages. In fact, his films all have an emotional core that makes them stand out from other animated films and leaves them open to different levels of interpretation. They appeal to children for their entertainment value and make adults think about universal themes such as the passing of time, identity, and death.

Pete Docter started drawing comics as a teenager and graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 1990, the year he joined Pixar, Steve Jobs’ brainchild at the time. His higher-ups sat up and took notice of his remarkable artistic talent, and in 1995 Docter helped write the treatment for Toy Story; four years later, he co-wrote Toy Story 2. He made his directorial debut in 2001 with Monsters & Co., which was nominated for an Oscar® for Best Animated Picture. The following year he made a short, Mike’s New Car, for which he received another Oscar® nomination. Docter would go on to write the script for _Wall-E _by Andrew Stanton and direct his second feature, Up, which swept the boards in the 2009 season, winning two Oscars®, two Golden Globes and one BAFTA, among numerous other kudos. In 2015 he wrote and directed Inside Out, winner of the Oscar® for Best Animated Film.