Awesome Short Films

Encyclopedia Pictura’s series of vignettes about a group of young friends is wildly inventive, from its adorable environments, to its character design, to its lighthearted story and dialogue, to its great voice acting. Animation junkies will definitely want to check this out.

“This idea would prove more complicated than I initially imagined.” This documentary about  founder Tim Leatherman looks at the inspiration behind the first Leatherman tool, Tim’s years of experimentation, failure, and rejection, and testimonials from satisfied Leatherman owners.

(PG-13: Language) “Just like old times.” Nate and Sully pull off a risky double heist in the name of – what else? – treasure. Nathan Fillion stars as Uncharted‘s hero in this fun short film with all the trademarks of the video game series, including Nate’s godly luck.

Has your Alexa-enabled device ever started spontaneously responding to something you know you didn’t say? In this short horror film by Julian Terry, Amazon’s digital assistant really does seem to be hearing things – and they’re not good.

In animator Katy Wang’s Kingston University graduation film, a lonely and stranded astronaut sends a message into space in hopes of making a connection. Incredibly, his message reaches a kindred spirit, and he sets off in hopes of face-to-face contact.

Filmmaker Fergal Costello had a couple of days to kill when he was off from work, and decided to use the time to shoot a short sci-fi comedy in his uncle’s garage. The result is a clever and amusing clip about a man who can’t be bothered to heed a simple warning label.

(Mature theme) Christopher Radcliff & Lauren Wolkstein have woven a creepy tale about a man and a boy, traveling to parts unknown, who stop to find relief in a motel swimming pool. All may seem fine on the outside, but the truth is far from okay.

“The schoolhouse fell down last year, so we don’t have to worry about that anymore.” No truer words were spoken than those of Rock Novak – the caretaker, mayor and only resident of Ballarat, a stark ghost town in California.

Director Paul Stone’s wonderfully-narrated and sharply-edited documentary tells the story of a Pete Vallee, a rotund Elvis impersonator who is convinced that he’s actually the love child of the real Elvis Presley – and judging by his vocal talents, he might be onto something.

Filmmakers Jordan Hemingway and Alban Adam present an appropriately gritty look at some of the subcultures described as “goth.” The series of vignettes features interviews and imagery of individuals who live on the fringe of what might be considered “normal” in society.

(PG-13) It takes a moment to build, but Jack Henry Robbins‘ sketch eventually goes way off the rails, as Reno 911’s Kerry Kenney gets good and weird as a public television painting instructor. Want more retro craziness? Support the VHYes! project on Kickstarter.

Motion designer Peter Tomaszewicz’s animated short film messes with our expectations, transforming what should be solid surfaces into sand, fluids, fabrics, gas, and bendy materials using CGI physics simulations.

Adam Butcher proffers up a hefty amount of dread and silence in The Prevailing Winds – a tale of a lone hiker searching for her sister in an isolated area where a deadly wind-borne toxin threatens with the slightest shift of air.

A school of fish wakes up one morning to find that they have all grown legs. The village leader thinks it’s a curse from god, but Charlie tries to sway his peers with logic and science. Dave Carter’s silly short film is a twisted take on evolution.

Filmmaker Maria Constanza Ferreira explores the incredibly ethereal and colorful organic patterns that reveal themselves when viewing the microscopic structures of sugar crystals under polarized light.

Stephen Kelleher’s, Chris Guyot, and John Poon’s animated short film attempts to communicate the morals of several classic Greek myths in the most minimal way possible, using the interactions between simple objects to express their primary meaning.

“I have weapons everywhere, so my guests feel comfortable that they’re always armed.” Josh Brock has a very dark sense of humor and the aesthetic to go with. He’s spent decades outfitting his home with fierce weaponry, armor, and decor, much of which he made himself.

(PG-13: Butts) A woman creates a fantastic new invention – a machine that can see the future – but it has some limitations, like it can only jump forward 15 seconds. Jimmy Marble’s quirky short film is packed with laughs, and offers a fresh take on the time travel genre.

(PG-13: Language) Filmmakers Thibaut Duverneix and Mathieu Léger take us on a wild ride through the disjointed mind of rapper Tierra Whack, playing out as 15 one-minute mini movies, each shot on a different set. The scenes are loaded with style, humor, and attitude.

“The safety rules at our work are written by our blood.” Gornovoy works in cast-iron smelting. Here’s what it’s like at his job. Director Evgenii Bakirov doesn’t teach us much about Gornovoy’s profession, but he does a great job of showing the danger involved in it.

A chameleon spies his crush while waiting for the subway, and aims to impress her with a gift. But Darrel doesn’t exactly have the best of luck in this amusing and award-winning animated short film out of Spain, directed by Marc Briones and Alan Carabantes.

Chinese lion dancing is a beautiful and vibrant artform that has gradually been fading from existence. In this wonderful documentary by Law Chen, we meet Sara Lai, a dancer who has trained to become the head of the lion in the traditionally male-dominated performance.

A hiker discovers that her world is far more limiting than she thought it was, and finds herself stuck in quite the predicament. Animator Kris Stanton’s short film is proof that a simple premise can make for great storytelling. One of CalArts’ 2018 character animation student films.