Canadian filmmaker Domee Shi on Sunday night took home the Oscar for best animated short for the Pixar-produced film Bao.

Shi’s victory came on a night when women creatives took home a record number of golden statuettes (15). “To all of the nerdy girls out there who hide behind their sketchbooks – don’t be afraid to tell your stories to the world,” said Toronto-raised Shi, who has worked as a storyboard artist and director for Pixar since 2011. The eight-minute film, set in Toronto, is about a woman who becomes the mother of a handmade dumpling that springs to life.

This is the first nomination and win for the Sheridan College alumnus, who accepted the award alongside Pixar producer Becky Neiman-Cobb. The college tweeted out congratulations to the director following her win. “Thanks for inspiring people everywhere to honour their heritage and tell their stories to the world,” the college said in the tweet. “You make all of Sheridan proud.”

Shi competed in the category alongside Canadians Alison Snowden and David Fine for the National Film Board-produced Animal Behaviour and Toronto’s Trevor Jimenez for Weekends.

Meanwhile, Canadian sound engineer Paul Massey walked away with an Oscar for Best Sound Mixing for his work on Bohemian Rhapsody, along with Tim Cavagin and John Casali. This is Massey’s first win, with seven previous nominations going back to Legends of the Fall in 1995.

The Vancouver-based team at Sony Imageworks also won Oscar glory in the Best Animated Feature category for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The animated superhero film was created at Sony Imageworks in Vancouver and Sony Pictures Animation in Culver City, CA. “There’s 800 filmmakers who pushed boundaries and took risks to make people feel powerful and seen,” said producer Christopher Miller, while accepting the award.

Canadian-produced shorts Fauve, directed by Jeremy Comte, and Marguerite, directed by Marianne Farley, which were both up for Best Live Action Short, lost to Guy Nattiv’s Skin.

Neiman-Cobb and Shi pictured left and right, respectively. Image courtesy ABC/Craig Sjodin