Kate Winslet, Jennifer Hudson and Glenn Close join the cast of Baba Yaga from Baobab Studios

August 26 2020

Baobab Studios announces that the famous actress Kate Winslet (Academy Award for The reader; imminent Ammonite), Jennifer Hudson (Academy Award for Dream girls; next biopic about Aretha Franklin Compared) to Glenn Close (three-time Golden Globe winner and seven-time Oscar nominee; His wife, Albert Nobbs) joined the leadership of Daisy Ridley to complete the final cast of her new production of the animated film Baba Yaga.

Hudson is executive producer of the animated film VR, which will make its world premiere at the 2020 Venice International Film Festival on Wednesday 2 September as part of Venice VR Expanded.

In Baba Yaga, viewers will be invited as main characters into a completely reimagined fairytale and haunting world, and their choices could spell the end of this story of love, fortitude and magic. Sometimes a force for evil, sometimes a force for good, the enigmatic witch Baba Yaga (Winslet) uses her powers to stop the villagers whose settlement invades her enchanted forest (Hudson). When the spectator's mother, the boss (Close), becomes fatally ill, it is up to them and their sister Magda (Ridley) to do the unthinkable: enter the forbidden rainforest, uncover its hidden mysteries, and obtain healing from Baba Yaga. . Ultimately, every decision the viewer makes is important… perhaps even if humanity and nature can live in balance.

"Baba Yaga it's a beautiful animation work and I've been honored to be an executive producer alongside my talented collaborators at Baobab Studios, ”Hudson said. “Although the story is rooted in classic folklore, we were inspired to bring it to modern light by focusing on environmental themes and strong female characters, themes the world must explore now more than ever. It was a pleasure to be part of the strong female cast alongside Daisy, Kate and Glenn “.

"Creation Baba Yaga it was especially challenging during the pandemic and we are grateful to Kate, Daisy, Glenn and Jennifer for traveling with us on this unusual journey, ”said Eric Darnell, director of the film and co-founder of Baobab Studios. “Each of them came up to this unique opportunity with tremendous energy and passion in creating their characters and I am proud of what we have accomplished together. It is a confirmation that our work is recognized by the Venice Film Festival and we look forward to sharing the experience with virtual reality audiences around the world “.

Image courtesy of Baobab Studios

Directed and written by Darnell (Madagascar franchise, Antz) and co-directed by Mathias Chelebourg, Baba Yaga is a contemporary depiction of the Eastern European legend coming to life with illustrative 2D pop-up animations as well as hand-drawn and stop-motion styles, creating a modern visual language for virtual reality inspired by classic animation. Leveraging the studio's award-winning animation pioneers and interactive game veterans, Baba Yaga blends theater, cinema, interactivity, artificial intelligence and animation in a unique experience that explores the themes of empowerment and environmentalism. The VR experience is produced by Hudson, Maureen Fan, Larry Cutler and Kane Lee.

Baba Yaga will be available exclusively on Oculus Quest later this year. As part of 77th Venice International Film Festival / Venice VR Expanded, the experience will be accessible online to accredited viewers through an innovative digital platform that enjoys the support of Oculus, VRChat and Facebook's VRrOOm.

Also, for the duration of the festival (September 2-12), it can be seen in person in the VR rooms of cultural institutions around the world as part of the satellite program network. Each of these rooms will be open to the public and equipped with VR viewers, where viewers can explore all the films from the festival's VR program. To date, these locations include: