BERKELEY, Calif. — During his time at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Alex Woo aspired to create an animated feature film.

“The ultimate ambition for any film student or budding filmmaker is to craft a large-scale feature film. That was always the dream,” Woo explains.

After teaming up with fellow animators Stanley Moore and Tim Hahn, Woo established Kuku Studios in Berkeley, California. Nearly a decade later, his dream materialized with the release of his debut feature, “In Your Dreams.”

“We aim to tell stories that evoke tears of laughter and profound emotion, touching audiences deeply through the characters’ journeys,” Woo expressed.

The film “In Your Dreams” follows siblings Stevie and Elliot as they stumble upon a magical book that transports them into their dreams. Within this dream realm, they seek out the Sandman, believing he holds the key to mending their parents’ troubled marriage.

“It feels like the movies that I grew up watching and loving and being really deeply impacted by. It’s just a really exciting opportunity to be a part of that, potentially for somebody watching today,” actor Simi Liu, the voice of “dad,” said.

Woo’s filmmaking career started with an impressive foundation.

“I spent ten years at Pixar, and I really think of my time there as a master class or a Ph.D. in storytelling. Almost everything I learned about storytelling, I learned from my time there. I got to work with such incredible filmmakers. I worked with Brad Bird on Ratatouille and Andrew Stanton on Wall-E. John Lasseter on Cars 2,” said Woo.

Woo spent countless hours perfecting his film, hoping to make a truly connect with his audience.

“The main goal, really, is to make something that touches people in so many ways. The Bay Area has given me so much as an artist and as a filmmaker. And so I just want to continue that legacy that the cinematic forefathers have sort of established for me,” Woo said.

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