Apple Gives A Forgotten Dream Another Chance In 2026 Holiday Film

Image courtesy of Apple and featured with permission

Apple’s annual holiday film unwraps more than a new computer. The Dreamer follows a young artist whose imagination fades as he grows older, only for his parents to remind him that creativity has not left the building, it has simply been waiting for another opening.

Created by TBWA\Media Arts Lab, the film is directed by Melina Matsoukas, with Bradford Young handling cinematography and Hebru Brantley producing its original artwork. Their story centers on a boy whose drawings give form to an active inner world. By young adulthood, however, he has set art aside and become disconnected from the ideas that once came naturally.

His parents still recognize the artist he could become. They give him his first MacBook Neo, offering more than a piece of technology. The gift serves as a vote of confidence and helps him begin drawing again, starting with a storyboard for a new character created in Brantley’s distinctive visual language.

Image courtesy of Apple and featured with permission

Set to Strawberry Guy’s Give Me a Dream, the film follows the character’s gradual return to making art. The MacBook Neo becomes part of that process, allowing him to explore and develop the figure that eventually comes alive on screen. The device remains central to the campaign, although the emotional weight rests with the parents who refuse to let their son abandon his talent.

Image courtesy of Apple and featured with permission

The idea also has personal roots for the people behind the film. Matsoukas, Young, and Brantley drew from their own lives as aspiring artists who benefited from encouragement before their careers had taken shape. That shared experience gives the story a connection to the uncertainty that often accompanies creative work.

Image courtesy of Apple and featured with permission

“My goal with work is to create pieces that move people and create change in the world. I saw the opportunity to do that with this project and was fortunate to work with a brand that had the courage to do so. In this moment in the world, to deliver a message that inspires people to follow their passions, to protect our artists, and to look at the world as a canvas of possibilities, is something I’m very proud to have been a part of,” Matsoukas said.

Brantley made every artwork featured in the film, including the protagonist’s childhood sketches and the character created after he returns to drawing. His illustrations chart the young artist’s development, shifting in complexity as the story moves from childhood into adulthood. Brantley produced the final character on MacBook Neo, moving between physical drawing and digital creation throughout the process.

“Our experiences shape what we create. My mother saw the artist in me before I could see it in myself, and her belief gave me the confidence to explore that – which I’ll continue to honor. That’s why this story is special to me. The right tools can help us unlock our creativity. For the young artist in the film, the MacBook Neo is also a reminder that his parents see the potential in him, and an invitation to reconnect with it,” Brantley said.

Image courtesy of Apple and featured with permission

A companion behind-the-scenes film titled Creating the Art, produced for @helloapple, offers a closer look at Brantley’s process, from his early concepts to the finished work appearing on set. He also discusses his mother, whom he credits with recognizing his abilities before he understood them himself. “She saw it first and most,” he says.

Her support helped him understand the possibilities of making art. As Brantley puts it, “I could create, I could make something from nothing.”

Image courtesy of Apple and featured with permission

The Dreamer returns to Apple’s familiar theme that creative potential often begins with the right tools, but it places equal importance on the people willing to see that potential early.

[via Apple, images courtesy and featured with permission]