Oscar-Qualified Animated Short ‘Butterfly Kiss’ Releases on Vimeo Staff Picks Nov. 7 (Exclusive)

Acclaimed animation production companies The Hive Studio (Letter to a Pig, Black Slide) and Fabian&Fred (Sultana’s Dream, Steakhouse) today announce that their short film Butterfly Kiss, directed by Zohar Dvir (Mercury’s Retrograde), has been selected for release on Vimeo as part of its Staff Picks strand, following a highly successful festival circuit.

Among its accolades, Butterfly Kiss won the Oscar-qualifying Gold Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival on its first selection, making it eligible for consideration for the 2026 Academy Awards.

Butterfly Kiss tells the story of Carol, who panics and quarrels with her girlfriend Ray after an unexpected proposal. The situation escalates when she wakes up to an apocalyptic reality where Ray has transformed into a butterfly. Ray’s metamorphosis, the invasion of the outside world into their home, and the growing tension between the two threaten their relationship. Carol is afraid of losing Ray, but devoting herself to her girlfriend might come at a price. 

With themes of identity, transformatio, and human anxiety weaved throughout, the film uses the body-horror genre to examine the emotional complexities of commitment, self-acceptance, and vulnerability within relationships, played out through surreal animation. While echoing the long cinematic history of doomed queer romances, Butterfly Kiss reimagines it, allowing its lovers to stay, to transform, and to simply remain together.

The co-production collaboration across continents highlights each studio’s strengths, which come together to create an animated short that offers a unique take on the horror genre — one that is both deeply personal and universal in its themes, and that celebrates queer love.

“At its core, Butterfly Kiss reflects a deeply human experience and the psychological and social struggles that accompany the search for belonging, love and understanding,” says Amit Russell Gicelter, Founder & CEO of The Hive Studio. “We are honored that this coproduction with our friends at Fabian&Fred has received Oscar-qualifying status and thrilled to share this beautiful work of art with audiences for the first time, following its run at over 70 festivals worldwide.”

Fabian Driehorst, Co-Founder of Fabian&Fred, notes,  “This film is a reflection of the strong and authentic personal touch of the filmmaker’s vision. Zohar delves deep into the innermost feelings of a romantic relationship and the uncomfortable feeling of self-doubt. Combined with the use of both 3D animation and TVPaint for the hand-drawn 2D animation, the this created the film’s angular world that perfectly supports the its core narrative.”

Founded in 2010, The Hive Studio specializes in the development and production of animated episodic programming, short films, and commercial content. With four branches across the Mediterranean, the studio employs a team of 40 highly skilled artists, led by Oscar-nominated producer Gicelter.

Fabian&Fred, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, was founded in Hamburg by Fabian Driehorst (producer) and Frédéric Schuld (writer, director) and has produced 30 films in 20 different countries to date. The animation studio’s films have been nominated for the European and German Film Awards, the Annie Awards, and have been shortlisted twice for the Oscars.

See more of this year’s Oscar-qualifying animated shorts in our annual Oscar Watch dossier here.

Tune in to the Vimeo Staff Picks page on Friday, November 7 to watch Butterfly Kiss in full. Watch the trailer below: