Awesome Short Films

Not to be confused with another video game-themed short film, Zachary Antell’s animated short recounts a young man’s relationship with his older brother through their gaming sessions. We could’ve done without the narration, but it’s still worth watching. Making of here.

The latest trailer for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a short film that explains the game’s setting. Powerful human augmentations have become popular. But the rest of the world becomes afraid of the augmented after a hack temporarily caused the latter to become violent.

An emerging musician recovers the hatchback that she used to live in together with her dad, who raised her single-handedly as a street musician. A 360º animated tearjerker from animator and director Patrick Osborne (Feast).

Stanley Franks learns that he has a rare condition, in which he can only utter 1500 more words before he dies. Andrew Chaplin’s darkly comic short film looks at how Stanley chooses to use his remaining words, after wasting most of them reacting to his condition.

“I’ve gotten to see the world while doing this job. Well, not the world, just the eastern suburbs.” A young construction worker talks about the pros and cons of his job in this funny short promo film made for Carpentry Contractors Company.

A woman wrestles with a life-changing decision while sitting at a coffee shop. Shot from one point of view in a single take, Zen Design Studio’s short film is the visual equivalent of a short story. If you liked the film, check out its touching accompanying piece.

Jack Morrison was a super soldier and the first commander of Overwatch, but he fell from grace shortly before the group was disbanded. Now he seeks vengeance against those who orchestrated the peacekeeping force’s collapse as the vigilante Soldier: 76.

(PG-13: Language) Paul “OtaKing” Johnson – the man behind the badass TIE Fighter – and Mashed made this short film about a gamer who gets sucked into the classic shoot ’em up R-Type. The dialogue is hot garbage, but Paul’s animation makes it worth watching.

Think technology has taken over your life? Keiichi Matsuda’s incredible short film envisions a future in which augmented reality completely engulfs us with information overload and gamification of basic tasks. It’ll make you long for the days of sitting down with a good book.

Thomas Gleeson’s wordless short film about a transported home. Thomas says it’s his way of exploring what makes a house a home and exposing its fragility. But what we love most about the film is that it seems to be told from the house’s perspective.

(PG-13 Language) Actor J.D. Walsh took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles, and recorded seemingly random bits of dialogue and action with strangers to produce what could easily be the trailer for a typical Hollywood cop drama.

It’s hard to say anything about Job, Joris & Marieke’s enthralling animated short film without spoiling it. But we’ll just say it’s the first one we’ve seen where the main character is not in the film. (Otto) is profoundly creepy and depressing, but ultimately uplifting.

The best video game marketing campaign of all time continues with the story of Overwatch heroes Hanzo the bowman and Genji the cyborg ninja. The sons of a crime lord, Hanzo and Genji had a falling out that tore their lives apart, but each now seeks redemption in his own way.

Eadweard Muybridge was a 19th century photographer who inadvertently pioneered motion pictures and projectors. But he also murdered his wife’s lover and abandoned his son. Drew Christie explores the chasm between creators and their creations in this short film.

Director Tim Cahn’s animated short film merely shows us a rocketship as it leaves the burnt out remnants of Earth and heads towards a mysterious space station. Despite its lack exposition, it will draw you in, and make you wonder what led us here.

Donal O’Keefe and Charles Downman created this fun animated short which pays tribute to horror films, using a 3D isometric view to retell bits of classic flicks, as a car journeys from one nightmare scenario to the next. See if you can spot all the movie references.

(Gore, Flashing lights) Claymation master Lee Hardcastle sends his ass-kicking cat up against the forces of hell in this amazing promotional short film for the new DOOM game. Mew mew Mister Falcon.

“I’m the World Ender, baby, and I’m back from the grave… They can run for their lives but they cannot be saved.” We got a serious No Country for Old Men vibe from Ariel Vida’s sinister music video for Lord Huron’s vengeance-filled, ’50s surf music influenced track.

(PG-13: Language) A quadriplegic soldier agrees to be the test subject for a procedure that will give him a new body. Naturally, everything goes to hell. The Brothers Lynch were heavily inspired by Memento in this proof of concept for their upcoming feature length film, Residual.

Intoxic Studio’s award-winning short film looks at the damage caused by bullying, and the inner thoughts that flash through one man’s mind in reaction to his tormentors. Will he shut himself out of the world? Will he exact revenge? Or will his faith in humanity be restored?

This GoPro short film is about artist Jeremy Collins’ trip to Nepal after the 2015 earthquake that caused heavy damage to the state. Both Nepal’s natural beauty and its recovering citizens helped him reevaluate what’s important in his life.

Tim Sessler and Brandon Bray created this short film using drone footage and Hithcockian visual tricks to create a haunting, abstract portrait of the world around us, exploring our endless thirst for building and growth, and the uncertain future that our progress leads us towards.

(PG-13: Language) A young man goes to a birthday party for someone who was very dear to him. Brandon Zuck’s short film skillfully examines teenage depression and the disconnection it creates with the rest of the world. Don’t let it win.