In a pathbreaking movie, Disney released its first project with a gay main character, titled Out, last week. The studio's branch, Pixar, started Sparksshorts, a series of short animated films which all aim to deliver a message. Out is a 10-minutes long short film. The story is about a Greg, a gay man, who comes out to his parents and tells them about his boyfriend, Manuel, in a very Freaky Friday way. The short was the directorial debut project for Steven Clay Hunter who has been an animator at Pixar for 23 years and has based the film in his experience. Out Movie Review: Disney's First Film With an Openly Gay Main Character Is a Must-Watch.

"The relationship of Manuel and Greg is something I went through,” the director said in a rare interview with Associated Press. "I wasn’t out to my family and I was in a relationship but they didn’t know about him. It took a toll on our relationship and we ended up breaking up because of that. And that break-up led to me coming out to my family, over the phone in a conference room at Pixar." Despite the monumental success of the film, Steven is reluctant to talk to the media. Avengers: Endgame Features MCU’s First Openly Gay Character, Director Joe Russo Plays the Role.

Steven says that he was not out to his family until he was 27. He is 51 now. "I didn’t come out until I was 27 and I’m 51 now, and I feel like I’m still dealing with it. You can’t hide who you are for half of your life and then not carry that baggage around. You’ve got to process it somehow. I got lucky enough to process it in the making of this movie," he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 30, 2020 12:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).