On Monday, Dec. 8, the Golden Globes ushered in awards season with the announcement of the 2026 nominees across 28 categories. Among this year’s contenders is Pixar’s Elio, which earned a nomination for Best Motion Picture – Animated. The film is directed by CalArtians Madeline Sharafian (Film/Video BFA 15), Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina (Film/Video BFA 07).
Elio follows the title character, an underdog with a boundless imagination who is accidentally beamed into the Communiverse—an interplanetary council representing galaxies across the cosmos. Mistaken for Earth’s official ambassador, Elio must navigate new cultures, forge unexpected friendships with eccentric alien delegates, and ultimately discover his own sense of belonging.
Molina originally conceived the project as a story informed by the solitude of his early years, drawing on his upbringing on a military base and the sense of community he later found at CalArts. He left the production of Elio midway to begin work on Coco 2, after which Sharafian and Shi served as the film’s lead directors.
Molina’s career at Pixar spans nearly two decades. He began as a 2D animator on Ratatouille before shifting into story roles on Toy Story 3 and Monsters University. He co-wrote and co-directed Pixar’s Oscar-winning feature Coco.
Sharafian joined Pixar as a story artist and contributed to several features before making her directorial debut with the 2020 short Burrow. Her additional credits at the studio include story work on Turning Red, which was directed by Shi, and Onward, directed by Mike Scanlon.
Shi is best known for her film Bao, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.
The 83rd Annual Golden Globes will air live on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, on the CBS Television Network and will stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
