See the World Through Innocent Eyes with Apple's Beautiful Short

Director Ted Melfi teamed up with Oscar-nominated cinematographer Lawrence Sher and editor Giovanni Messner for Apple’s 2020 Shot on iPhone short film Daughter starring Zhou Xun. The film has won several awards including: the Andy Award for Craft Film, ADC Bronze Award for Motion/Film Narrative, AICP Next Award for Web Film Over 15 Seconds. Shortlist and nominations include: One Show Awards for Online Video, Television & VOD/Long Form, Moving Image Craft/Use of Technology, Branded Entertainment/Art Direction, Branded Entertainment/Long Form Video; D&AD Awards Direction/Entertainment-Fiction; AICP Next Integrated Campaign, Original Music and Editorial:Storytelling. 

The films sweeping panoramas, intimate closeups and single take ultra wide flashbacks beautifully capture the emotional story of a taxi driver’s (Xun) complicated relationship with the two most important women in her life, her young daughter and her estranged mother. The film examines the changing social norms in China and reflects on the generational differences between traditional families and modern youth. The intergenerational film is a touching drama of family reconnecting for the Chinese New Year. 

'Pro to Pro,' directed by Giovanni Messner, was released in tandem with the film and features a look at how filmmakers Melfi and Sher used features like Low Light, Slo-Mo, Portrait Mode and more to create professional content using only a mobile phone. Gio’s extensive non fiction experience presented a unique opportunity for him to craft an intimate movie behind the movie, going above and beyond a typical BTS film.

Daughter marks the first major collaboration by brother and RadicalMedia.