Awesome Short Films

Joseph Fifelski’s science fiction short film tells the story of a mechanic and a humanoid robot who arrives at his barn in search of a fix before she is shut down permanently. While Roy certainly owes a debt to Blade Runner, it also stands on its own as a story about compassion in the face of despair.

Danil Krivoruchko and a group of talented artists around the world collaborated on this fantastic fan film inspired by Peter Watts’ science fiction novel of the same name. It tells just a sliver of the original story from the perspective of a man waking up from cryosleep, as he recalls a first-contact mission with an alien species.

Motocross Saito created this captivating pixel art short that showcases how work culture has evolved since the 1920s in Japan. From the days when workers crowded into cramped offices, to 1980s workaholism, to the modern work-from-home era, the Japanese work ethic has remained one of the strongest on Earth.

Writer-director Sam H. Buchanan’s amusing short film imagines what it would be like if sports like golf, tennis, and billiards were played with a bowling ball instead of their normal game balls. Naturally, the added weight and mass make things a little more difficult, though it could make ice hockey even more exciting.

A group of soldiers escorts a scientist to a mysterious anomaly when he starts to experience a strange sensation. But are the terrors he sees and hears real or imagined? Writer-director Sava Zivkovic’s short science fiction film leaves us asking many questions with its unsettling vibe from start to finish.

3D artist and motion designer Matthieu Braccini has been working in his spare time on a science fiction short film about a humanoid alone in space. He hasn’t had time to finish it, so in the meantime, he shared this short sequence that reveals the main character coming to life from a sea of seemingly random shapes.

This experimental short film used artificial intelligence technology to stitch together action footage by the STORROR parkour team. The custom-written software identified similarities in their maneuvers and body positions, then manipulated and overlayed the imagery from various locations they’ve visited around the world.

Spend an evening among the animals through this series of short but impactful vignettes. Scott Wenner’s animated short film does a wonderful job creating a mood and sense of time and place through its sepia-tone color palette and silhouetted imagery.

Filmmakers Ryo Kitabatake and Takuma Sasaki created this experimental short film about the everyday pressures that weigh on all of us. The tentacled mass that tugs at our protagonist is boldly symbolic of the complex and intertwined nature of modern life’s responsibilities. Music and sound design by Max Cooper.

(PG-13: Language) Animator Steve Smith’s hilariously weird short film drops us into a post-apocalyptic world where all that remains are electronically augmented mutants who float around flooded cities collecting garbage that humanity left behind. Can we get a S.L.U.G.Z. feature film now?

Some of our earliest childhood memories involve colorful Fisher-Price toys with big buttons, spinny parts, and other tactile things to play with. This short animation from NYC creative house Bullpen envisions the evolution of these toys as we grow into adulthood, better representing life, from the mundane to the downright dangerous.

A man has been trapped aboard his own spaceship for years, as his robot guardian insists that not a single planet they’ve visited is habitable. But what’s the real reason he’s not allowed to disembark? Gökalp Gönen’s short film is a thought-provoking and creative work of science fiction with a fantastic style and mood.

(PG-13) After much protesting, a man gives in to peer pressure and snorts cocaine at a cocktail party. But his friends had no idea just how much of a coke fiend the guy was. Ace Norton’s short film goes off the deep end quickly as its protagonist turns into a human vacuum cleaner.

Animator Lazy Square create this fun little 43-second clip which imagines the evolution of a little red sedan from its humble beginnings in 1989 through its retirement and eventual rebirth as something straight out of Doc Brown’s laboratory in Back to the Future.

After humanity has met its end, what will happen to the machines we leave behind? Michael Dockery’s eerie animated short film imagines just that, as robots roam a desolated Earth, left to their own devices, endlessly downloading old information and destroying their own kind as they search for a purpose.

Artist Roman De Giuli created this abstract interpretation of the skies and heavens not by pointing his camera upwards, but down at wet pieces of paper where he manipulated watercolors, inks, and acrylic paints. The darker colors with the sparkles really do look like space.

(Flashing Images) Filmmaker Thomas Blanchard presents a unique perspective on the diverse people, places, and things in New York City. The mix of black and white footage with bright flashes of blue and red breathes added energy into the already lively city. Sébastien Guérive’s music and sound design further enhances the mood.

Water is critical to the survival of almost all living things. This fascinating time-lapse short film by Christian Stangl provides a close-up look at what happens to organics as they run out of moisture. Stangl captured the images using a combination of macro lenses and microscopes. View a selection of stills on Flickr.

Filmmaker Ian Hubert spent the better part of three years creating this short film which drops us into a Blade Runner-esque world. But instead of focusing on the dystopian nature of the place, we see the lighter side of living in such a future. If you want more, support Ian’s ongoing work on Patreon. (Thanks Rob!)

The spice might be life in Dune, but on this alien’s world, it’s sugar that reigns supreme. This animated short follows the story of an extraterrestrial on a quest to bring the critical condiment back to his home planet in hopes of saving it. Created by Ilya Landshut for HumanArtStudio.

Before we watched this animated short film, we thought Between Two Ferns was the most awkward talk show ever. But Anat Efrati & Yannay Matarasso’s graduation film sure got us feeling more uneasy than Zach Galifianakis ever did within seconds of Dr. Zussman’s mystery guest arriving on stage.

On the surface, Joseph Bennett’s animated short film is just two guys gabbing about nothing while birdwatching. But it turns into a deep existential discussion as the duo starts thinking about their place in the universe and their own mortality. Comedian Joe Pera did a fantastic job with the voice acting too.

Most skateboarders get their start rolling around their neighborhoods, using the sidewalks, streets, curbs, and whatever else they can find in place of half-pipes and vert ramps. Colin Kennedy’s short film pays tribute to skateboarding the suburbs and features cameos by Chad Muska and Rodney Mullen.