Awesome Short Films

(Flashing lights) This fascinating short film from Joel Penner and Anna Sigrithur uses time-lapse footage to reveal how tiny organisms spoil food, others that make it tastier through fermentation, and yet more that compost and break down dead things to fertilize the Earth for new life.

Artist Jake Fried’s latest animated short film takes us on an abstract journey through life and the universe as witnessed in the reflections of our eyes. As is the case with most of Jake’s works, he hand-illustrated each frame using ink and white-out. We can’t imagine how long this took to create.

C’était Un Rendez-vous is a 1976 film by Claude Lelouch, described as the world’s first underground racing video. Captured while much of Paris was asleep or on vacation, the film puts us in the driver’s seat of a Ferrari as it speeds through the iconic streets of Paris, blowing through 18 red lights along the way. (Thanks, Marc!)

Filmmaker Steve Cutts animated short film explores one thing that’s been consistent throughout our existence – the need to have what others don’t – and the willingness to fight each other for it. It’s a grim, dark comedy that reminds us of moments from two Kubrick films: 2001: A Space Odyssey and Dr. Strangelove.

While keeping an eye out on a neighborhood tree, a birdwatcher witnesses one bird murdering another. After realizing what he has seen, the bird tries to protect its secret. Charlie Hankin wrote, directed, and animated this darkly comic short film that sort of combines Hitchcock’s Rear Window and The Birds.

Marisa Tomei, Minnie Driver, and Paulo Costanzo star in this unsettling short film about a body that goes missing from a hospital. When the patient’s doctor goes looking, she stumbles onto an experiment that attempts to capture what happens to our souls when we die. Written by Terry Rossio and directed by Jocelyn Stamat.

(PG-13: Gore/Language) Julien David’s hilariously warped animated short tells the tale of the greedy CEO of a company that produces a half-organic/half-chemical chicken. But after introducing a new variant of his Frankensteined-together “Maybe Chicken” at a party, things go horribly awry.

Filmmaker Thomas Blanchard is back with another experimental film of fluids interacting. He created the hypnotic scenes by mixing paint, oil, and liquid soap, swirled together in a circular motion. The crisp and colorful macro footage is accompanied by a smooth an ethereal soundtrack by Alexis Dehimi.

Filmmaker Zach Dorn’s short film recounts his attempts to fulfill a promise to win a plush toy for his ex-girlfriend. It’s a bittersweet and relatable tale about long-distance love in the time of COVID, told in a smartphone-friendly vertical format. How many of you are installing Clawee now?

After 98-year-old Lillian read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, filmmaker and creative director Chris Carboni interviewed her to ask some questions about the book. He then used interpretive AI technology to create images to accompany Lillian’s amusing and endearing descriptions of the story and its characters.

This animated short by Simon Biggs follows the story of a pampered gentleman who has grown overly reliant on his machines. But when he ignores his robot butler’s advice and starts dating a free-spirited woman, all hell breaks loose in his once neat and tidy life.

This surreal and imaginative animated fantasy follows the story of an astronaut dog sent into space to investigate a seemingly dead planet. But when she arrives, she has a revealing encounter about her species’ past that could change their future forever. Written, directed, and animated by Jordan Speer.

Art meets science in Vadim Epstein’s trippy digital compositions. Ghosts is an experimental short film that explores complexity emergence from AI feedback loops. It makes use of the StarGAN2 neural network to morph between machine-generated images. Sound by Alexander Kopeikin and Fractal Heads.

It’s August and triple-digit temperatures outside for some of us, so the idea of watching a Christmas-themed short film seems a little premature. But we couldn’t resist sharing this charming holiday animation about a boy with very special powers. Directed by Philippe Tempelman for the a German supermarket chain Netto.

(NSFW) This darkly humorous animated short follows a husband and wife whose relationship takes a turn when one of them starts to question their place in the world. In less than three minutes, it takes on the topics of gender conformity, toxic masculinity, and infidelity. From the Emmy award-winning trio Job, Joris & Marieke.

William Landgren might only be 15 years old, but he’s already an accomplished digital artist. He created this 100% CGI short film about a robot desperate for a drink using Blender, After Effects, Marvelous Designer, and Davinci Resolve. We love the mood he created with the grain and lighting. (Thanks, Rob!)

The 1 is a bespoke electric motorcycle. Built from the ground up – and looking like nothing that’s come before – the visionary design is a revolutionary direction for the legacy Curtiss Motorcycle Company. The short fil The Opposite of Death documents the $83,333+ dream machine’s birth, giving us lots to drool over.

Fernando Livschitz of Black Sheep Films wows us with another amazing short film. The stop-motion clip was made by capturing live breakdance footage, mapping the frames into outlines, laser cutting each from wood, then layering the 800+ pieces to create a motion effect.

This short science fiction film from anime director Akihiko Orikasa follows the story of an astronaut exploring the surface of Mars who stumbles onto the wreckage of a long-lost commercial vessel. While searching the site for survivors, he encounters something unexpected. Will he let his fears get the best of him?

When you feel burnt out, it’s a good plan to take time for yourself. But taking a break sometimes causes everything to come crashing down. Maggie Mae Fish’s relatable short film about living with ADHD explores some of the feelings you might experience when you emerge from your everyday distractions. (Thanks, Rob!)

École de Condé animation students Ninon Ringenbach Trifilieff, Rodolphe Savolle, Paul-Adrien Butty, and Alexis Lainé created this charming short film about a lonely robot who wanders a junkyard in search of the parts to make a friend. They created the project in just two months using 3D animation tools Blender and Maya.

Every trick a skateboarder ever landed required at least some degree of practice and persistence. Director Najeeb Tarazi offers up an “ode to effort” with this experimental short that takes footage of skateboarders failing and composites it with their successes. Filmed by Dennis Ludwig, Ryan Neddeau, and Frankie Eder.

After getting fired from her job, Penny the cat encounters a stranger who offers her a chance to make a lot of money. His proposition is equal parts Fight Club and Squid Game. Victoria “Vewn” Vincent’s off-kilter animated short film explores how a need for cash and acceptance can lead us to some very dark places.