Sorrow (Quebranto)
Country: Colombia
Directed by: Issabella Rozo Gonzalez
Produced by: Issabella Rozo Gonzalez
Synopsis: Mysterious creatures stop someone from everything he intends to do as he goes about his daily activities.
Qualifying win: Santa Lucia for Best Animation Short Film (National Competition) at Bogoshorts (Colombia)
A Sparrow’s Song
Country: Germany
Directed by: Tobias Eckerlin
Produced by: Animationinstitut – Film Academy Baden-Württemberg
Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, a widowed air raid warden in the midst of World War II struggles to overcome grief and rediscover joy in her life — until she finds a dying sparrow she hopes to save.
Qualifying win: Gold Medal – Animation Student Academy Award
Sparrows
Countries: Belgium, France
Directed by: Rémi Durin
Produced by: Arnaud Demuynck; Les Films du Nord
Synopsis: In a Buddhist temple, young monks begin their meditation when the master arrives. One of the children is distracted by a sparrow and follows the bird outside the monastery. Here begins a walk off the beaten paths that goes through the tour of his lifetime.
Qualifying win: Jury Award (Best Animated Short) at New York International Children’s Film Festival
Speed Reader
Country: Spain
Directed by: Jennifer Levonian
Produced by: Jennifer Levonian
Synopsis: Speed Reader follows a set of identical twins as their lives weave in and out of one another, creating a poignant portrayal of what it is to see and be seen or not seen by loved ones through the vicissitudes of life.
Qualifying win: 1st Prize (Animated Short) at Athens International Film + Video Festival
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 — Lost in New Jersey
Country: U.S.
Directed by: Kent Seki
Produced by: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Jeff Rowe, Ramsay McBean; Nickelodeon Movies, Point Grey Pictures
Synopsis: When a mysterious toy company exploits the Turtles’ newfound fame, the brothers follow the clues to New Jersey where they stumble upon a shocking discovery.
Qualified by exhibition.
The Three Sisters
Country: Cyprus
Directed by: Kognov Timur
Produced by: Robinovich Zalman; Polydont Films
Synopsis: Three sisters live a lonely life on an isolated island, each in their own small house. One day, circumstances develop in such a way that they are forced to rent out one of the houses.
Qualifying win: Best Animated Short Film at Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Transferable
Country: Canada
Directed by: W. Jacob Gardner, David Hubert
Produced by: Agora Studio
Synopsis: In a world ravaged by an incurable disease, a devoted husband is forced to make an impossible choice as his wife’s life hangs in the balance.
Qualified by exhibition.
Trash
Country: France
Directed by: Gregory Bouzid, Maxime Crançon, Robin Delaporte, Mattéo Durand, Romain Fleischer, Alexis Le Ral, Margaux Lutz, Fanny Vecchie
Produced by: ESMA — École Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques
Synopsis: In a dark alley, a scrawny rat has no choice but to fight with a pigeon for a small slice of pizza. Without a second thought they throw themselves in a vertiginous chase from the top to the bottom of the street.
Qualifying wins: Best Short Animated Film at Cinequest Film Festival; Best in Show at SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival
The 12 Inch Pianist
Country: U.S.
Directed by: Lucas Ansel
Produced by: Lucas Ansel, Rhode Island School of Design
Synopsis: A bar joke goes awry, unraveling into a surreal tale that explores the acceptance of self, others, queer identity, a 12-inch-tall pianist, and a wish-granting genie!
Qualifying win: Silver Medal – Animation Student Academy Award
Two Black Boys in Paradise
Directed by: Baz Sells
Produced by: Ben Jackson
Synopsis: Two young Black men journey through a dreamlike world in search of acceptance — from each other and from themselves in this meditation on queer love, cultural stigma and freedom of self expression.
Qualifying win: Best Short Animation at Woodstock Film Festival
Two One Two
Country: Canada
Directed by: Shira Avni
Produced by: Shira Avni
Synopsis: Two One Two, by award-winning filmmaker Shira Avni, combines shimmering clay on glass animation with personal archives in this deeply intimate, experimental animated documentary love letter to motherhood, parenting on the spectrum, and two headed monsters everywhere.
Qualifying win: Franklin J. Schaffner Jury Award for Mini-Doc at Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival
Two Ships
Countries: United States, Portugal
Directed by: McKinley Benson
Produced by: Mackenzie Benson, Jodi Benson, Bruno Caetano; COLA Animation
Synopsis: While working opposite schedules, a modern couple tries to maintain their relationship through brief connections.
Qualified by exhibition.
Versa
Country: United States
Directed by: Malcon Pierce
Produced by: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Synopsis: A young couple experience a range of emotions, from grief and loss to ultimate love, joy and acceptance, as they embark on an ethereal “cosmic dance of life.”
Qualified by exhibition.
A Very Twisted Tale
Country: France
Directed by: Catherine Buffat, Jean-Luc Gréco
Produced by: Les Films à Carreaux
Synopsis: Every evening, Brindone, a teenager, goes to bed before the end of the TV programs. Every evening, instead of going to bed discreetly, his big brother Musclor turns on the light in their shared bedroom to annoy him. Every evening the same routine. Brindone can’t take it anymore.
Qualifying win: Animest Trophy at Animest International Animation Film Festival (Romania)
