Madeline Sharafian receives her second Academy Award nomination for directing Disney/Pixar’s ELIO

Madeline Sharafian has received her second Academy Award nomination for directing Disney/Pixar’s ELIO.

Madeline Sharafian serves as director of ELIO alongside Domee Shi and Adrian Molina, which marks her feature directorial debut. The film makes her the first Armenian and only third woman in Pixar history to direct a feature-length film.

ELIO follows an 11-year-old space fanatic with an active imagination, who finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.

Madeline Sharafian received her first Academy Award nomination in 2021 for Best Animated Short Film for Pixar’s BURROW. Madeine Sharafian joined Pixar straight out of college in 2015, and her rapid ascent from short-form storytelling to feature filmmaking reflects a remarkable creative trajectory.

Madeline Sharafian was honored at the 2025 Armenian Film Society Gala, where her award was presented by her colleague Katherine Sarafian.

The 2026 Academy Awards will be held on March 15, 2026 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.