Awesome Short Films

“Here’s what we’re gonna do… so that the operation isn’t gross.” A group of kids literally play doctor in Dean Fleischer-Camp and Jenny Slate’s charming short film, which wonderfully presents the sorts of things kids would actually say. We wonder how much of it was improvised.

A kid struggles to keep awake in class, and every time he nods off, something strange happens to him. Seoro Oh’s short film about the thoughts that run through a young person’s mind is wonderfully weird, totally relatable, and beautifully animated.

Johan Ripma’s mind-blowing animation sees him drawing a line, then imagining what it would look like if the world was made of dots that are continuously moving separately and outwards, just like the dots in the line. More on Johan’s website.

Church’s Fried Chicken co-founder David Bamberger has been spending his capital and the past 41 years rehabilitating 5,500 acres of dry and overgrazed land in Texas. Selah Ranch is now filled with life, and offers tours and seminars for nature lovers of all ages.

“What if they’re not better than us?” “So long as they’re no worse.” Set immediately after the events of Prometheus, this short film sums up Dr. Shaw and the android David’s journey to the homeworld of our creators, the Engineers.

Meet Glenda. She’s fortunate enough to be able to check out some of the galaxy’s wonders. Sadly, she’s just like many other tourists. Animator Someone’s Ex says they made this to tide us over until Rick & Morty resumes. It’s got potential. Unless Glenda ruins that too.

Goro Fujita’s “short film” is a looping snapshot of a suburban area. So what makes it so special? It’s entirely in 3D, made for and within virtual reality. Goro spent 80 hours making it in Quill, an illustration app for the Oculus Rift that lets you make both 2D and 3D visual art.

Rind-Raja Picture Company took in the sights of South Africa using DJI’s Mavic Pro drone. Just a few years ago it would’ve been impossible for a single person to take these shots without a helicopter. Technology is awesome. The song is African Skies by Stephen Anderson.

Launched in 1997, the Cassini space probe has been providing NASA with data about Saturn and the moon since 2004. It’s now running out of fuel. Erik Wernquist made this excellent CGI short film to sum up Cassini’s contributions and its final mission.

A young woman expresses her dream of becoming a synchronized swimmer, but her friend is against the idea due to the nagging memories of a tragic event in her past. We really enjoyed Danny Sangra’s quirky, well shot, and amusing short film.

Illustrator Victoria Vincent’s frenetic animated short follows the life of a cat who escapes home to live among humans, and learns the hard way that he might have been better off remaining someone’s pet.

(PG-13: Language) Sick of people asking what the heck happened to him over the years, a man makes a passive-aggressive PowerPoint presentation to point out the broken parts of his body. How we wish Jeremy Hotz did the narration instead.

A report on the plight of visual effects artists. While a single actor can get millions of dollars for a film, VFX studios compete with each other for fixed bid contracts that often end up being unprofitable because of additional expenses from costly revisions. More here.

“I think more people should adopt this way of life… I’m creating jobs, and it’s good for the economy.” Big Red Button’s hilarious short film introduces us to a man who decides to forgo material possessions, and instead spends all of his money on a staff to do his bidding.

(PG-13) “Be mentally prepared for your job.” Ciaran Cassidy and Adrian Chen’s eye-opening short follows the training of newly hired online moderators. Every day, they are expected to view and rate tens of thousands of pictures from social media, dating sites and more.

Artist Jill Goritschnig’s animated short is about a fisherman who has a very specific fish in mind when it comes to catching one. So he waits and he waits and he waits… and then he waits some more, in this film best described as a 3-minute version of Waiting for Godot.

“They shelter… they divide. But the thing is, they get built in people’s heads.” Three young men – a Palestinian, a refugee and an aspiring soccer player – talk about the walls that both contain and fuel their desires. The song is About Her by Phazz.

“Talk yourself out of it if you possibly can.” For her graduation project at the Bezalel Academy, Daniella Shuman made this animated short that has childish doodles playing over spoken advice from renowned artists such as Jonathan Franzen and Patti Smith.

In 1987, with brand perception at an all-time low, Fender decided to open the Fender Custom Shop – a small unit devoted solely for made-to-order instruments. Fender recently honored the shop’s founding members by collaborating with them once more.

“We all look forward to your message to the world in this momentous occasion.” An astronaut prepares for a historic trip. Everything is in order, except for one thing. This short could’ve been half as long and twice as funny with a better script, but it’s still a neat joke.

Filmmaker Adrian Bonvento takes us into the pits, and inside the minds of the Stevenson Motorsports team, as they explain some of what makes a pro race team tick. A beautifully-shot short documentary filmed during the 2017 12 Hours of Sebring race.

Animator Felix Cosgrave’s latest short took him over 2 years to create, but the result was well worth the wait, as he transports us to a weird and wild universe where strange characters take turns trying to steal the crown of a surreal kingdom. What the heck did we just watch?

The storytelling in Grant Kolton’s darkly comic and wonderfully meta animated short tells the tale of a young boy named William and his best friend Chester – who just happens to be a deadly scorpion.