Awesome Short Films

Director Martin Nabelek’s CGI short film is short on story, but big on atmosphere, as we are left to ponder just what this space explorer is doing, and what the universe has in store for him. Be sure to check out the equally compelling VFX breakdown reel.

Plagued by prior tragedy, the man who once portrayed the masked character Pombo – an ’80s kid’s TV show mascot – struggles to leave the Pombo suit and the past behind him, in filmmaker Steve Warne’s poignant, engaging live-action animation Pombo Loves You.

We’re getting all the feels after watching Eugene Kolb’s tenderhearted story of how he met his current love in this relatable and clever short animated film. Just goes to show you what might happen if you take a chance, ladies and gents.

Inspired by the music of Brendan Scott Friel, this sweet and evocative short film from animator and motion graphic designer Marc Eijkelenboom tells the tale of the journeys and and connections between places, seasons, and people.

(Mature themes) Lots of awesome faces and fun vocal expressions in Tabook, a short 2D film from the folks at Studio Pupil in the Netherlands that shows the reactions that take place when a young woman is noticed checking out kinky erotica at the bookstore. This totally happens.

We are intrigued by the rich hand drawn stylings of Jake Fried, and in his latest vid, created from ink, white-out and collage, we continue to marvel at the endless rapid transformations, quantum vacuums, and other life stuff. How does he do that?

Animator Uli Meyer worked on films like An American Tail, FernGully, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and right after he did Space Jam, he and his team created this proof of concept film about a real duck who turns into a cartoon, and decides to become a superhero.

Take a minute out of your day to enjoy this fun colored chalk-looking animation from the talented, Edinburgh-based Emilio Yebra. It’s a compelling tale of what happens when an arrow hits the wrong target.

Paulo Raposo shows us how it doesn’t take a ton of time or money to make an entertaining short film – just a bit of creativity. He made this stop-motion animation in just a couple of days, using paper, pen, tape, and a little work to put it together in After Effects.

Filmmaker Patrick (H) Willems just turned 30, so to celebrate he created a short film about the decade he leaves behind on his march into adulthood. That Mr. Thirty seems like a real buzzkill, but Patrick really has the best decade ahead of him.

Shinichiro Watanabe’s (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) prequel short film for Blade Runner 2049. It’s about the catastrophic event in 2022 called the Blackout. A massive EMP set off above the US leads to a global crisis that persists in the movie.

(PG-13) CalArts animation alum Aram Sarkisian’s animated short film will pierce you to the core with its dark tale of a man tormented by his demons. The haunting imagery is accompanied by sharp as a tack writing, and amazing voice work by Matt Kelly. (Thanks Rob!)

Think three talented sisters rocking out is cool? Now add a drum circle and an intimate short film from Paul Thomas Anderson and put it all together – it’s Haim’s new LP Something to Tell You being recorded. A valentine (with one f bomb) for the ears for sure.

Illustrator Sylvain Rusques‘ abstract short film doubles as the music video for Yom from Mars‘ alt-rock track Bad Mechanical Systems. It follows an astronaut as he journeys through a mysterious world on a mission to space. It’s thin on plot, but the animation is top notch.

For those of us who ever wanted to have a new face (Arya Stark, we know you’re just asking for a friend), we just found out you can and not for cheap either, thanks to the folks at GBS. Meet self-described “weird mad scientist” Landon Meier and his disturbingly realistic masks.

Ever wonder what would happen if you were to literally lose your head? This short animated film from Jerusalem-based director Stav Levi, tells a tale of a disheartened man who decides to do just that. Tempting, isn’t it?

If you’ve never seen anything simultaneously dreamy and gritty, take nine minutes to watch New York-based Aurélien Heilbronn’s Street Racers, a short film documenting the highly dangerous and illegal motorbiking culture in the Dominican Republic. Beautifully shot.

Dave Bautista stars as Sapper, a replicant on the run in the second of a series of short films which take place between Blade Runner and Blade Runner: 2049. Again, it captures the texture of the original film well, though it drops more questions than answers. Original here.

(PG-13: Language) Mehdi just wants to know if his buddy got lucky. If only Samy would stop blabbing and get to the point. Then the day’s beatdown from the cops would be so mundane. We sincerely hope Sébastien Petretti’s comedy short film remains a hyperbole.

A couple’s ups and downs, as punctuated by the word “hi.” Actor and musician Jacob Anderson aka Raleigh Ritchie aka Game of Thrones’ Grey Worm wrote, directed and starred in this short film for Topman. The song is Cowards from his album You’re a Man Now, Boy.

A short film which fills in some gaps between the events in the 30 years between Blade Runner Blade Runner: 2049. Directed by Ridley Scott’s son Luke, it introduces us to Niander Wallace (Jared Leto), who created a new series of replicants, coded with extra safeguards.

(PG-13: Language) After the recent teaser, we now have the 7-minute concept short film based on Charlie Human’s novel about Baxter Zevchenko, a strange young man who finds himself pulled into a underworld filled with supernatural forces. We want more!

“Let me tell you who we got for our black guy with a cockney accent…” Two well-dressed criminals puts together their caper crew wish list to pull off a big robbery in this parody of the Hollywood heist genre, and films like the Oceans’ series and The Fast and The Furious.