Gairo Cuevas releases gun control short made with Pixar’s Cooperative Film Program

Cinematographer and editor for the creative content department at Pixar Animation Studios, Gairo Cuevas, frames the gun violence epidemic in a conversation among teens. The film was shot in the small town of Fairfax, California, located in Marin County near San Francisco. 

Two teenagers debate the issue of gun control on their walk home after leaving a memorial service honoring friends they lost during a school shooting. Watch it online at vimeo.com/666055944.

“I wanted to showcase the issue of gun violence through the perspective of two teenagers because school shootings are a massive problem in our society. Kids deserve a world free of gun violence, and in order to do that, we have to keep pushing for positive solutions towards ending the deadly gun culture plaguing America.”

The Gun Violence Archive recorded more gun deaths, excluding suicides, in 2021 than any year since its founding in 2014.

This is the first short Cuevas has filmed as one continuous shot. That means if an actor flubbed a line, a passerby interrupted filming, or he and his team encountered a technical error, he had to cut and start again. “We filmed about thirteen takes in one day from 3pm to 7pm.” 

Pixar’s Cooperative Film Program gives employees the opportunity to produce personal film projects at Pixar. The basic premise: “if you have a film project you are passionate about and are prepared to work on the project during your unpaid, free time, then Pixar offers resources to help make it happen.” Their goal is to “give filmmakers at Pixar the opportunity to expand and grow their creative skills while experiencing what it takes to mount a production.”