Director: Cullen Burt, Abby Corbett, Indira Escobar, Shon Xiao

Film: Boy Cut

Bio: Something as simple as a haircut can mean so much to one person.

This animated documentary tells the story of a child’s desire to control their own appearance.

Directed and Animated by four students in USC’s CTXA 470 Documentary Animation Production class.

Director Bios: “Boy Cut”

Cullen Burt is a stop motion animator and filmmaker studying at the University of Southern California. In 2024, he will be graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in East Asian Languages and Cultures and a Minor in Animation + Digital Arts. Following graduation, Cullen will be pursuing a career in stop motion feature animation.

Abby Corbett is a PhD candidate in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Southern California. Their primary research interests include queer and trans theories, environmental cinema, and documentary film, especially including rural, Appalachian, and Amazonian representations. They earned a BA in Spanish from Berea College, and an MA in Education and Food Systems from Prescott College. Abby is interested in auto-theoretical methodologies that blur the lines between theory and practice, work and the self, in order to explore more embodied and transformative forms of art and scholarship.

Indira Escobar-Zapata is an impassioned advocate for change, currently pursuing a B.A. in Communication at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School, with a minor in Media and Social Change at the School of Cinematic Arts. With aspirations to break into above-the-line roles in the entertainment industry and implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, Indira’s commitment to visual storytelling for advocacy has been evident in past roles as a Researcher at the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and serving as the Director/Coordinator for an Opinion Short Documentary & Workshop in Los Angeles, collecting testimonies on acculturation, acceptance, and belonging among Latinx individuals. Indira’s documentary projects underscore her dynamic role, utilizing her skills to bring awareness to concealed narratives and catalyze positive change.

Shon Xiao is an artist and animator, who specializes in digital 2D animation and visual development. They will be graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in Animation and Digital Arts at the University of Southern California in Spring of 2024. He achieved a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science with a concentration in games at USC before switching career paths to animation. Shon aims to work in animated shorts or music videos, particularly in 2D character animation and visual development.

e where through careful curation new visions can be realized.