Playtime: Animation

Bats, birds, dogs, rams, monsters, and even mushrooms get their stories told in this wide array of animated delights from around the world.

Films

honeyheart

Alice Langlois | Rhode Island | Age 21

Nestled in her cozy tree trunk home, a bird goes about her day until the arrival of a wild honeybee sets her on a strange and tumultuous journey of anxiety, fear, and self-acceptance.

Comfortable Position

DRF Children Animation Studio | Uzbekistan | Ages 8 to 12

When a person falls asleep, they’re immersed in another reality where anything can happen. Through a series of animated vignettes, the beautiful and sometimes menacing world of sleep comes to life.

Monster Land

Students of Toon Club | India | Ages 8 to 13

A free form series of hand-drawn scenes that showcase the precarious routines of several silly monsters as they squash, fight, transmogrify, and bend the rules of their own universe.

Kinoko

Erika Gomi | California | Age 22

Two curious mushrooms embark on a whimsical adventure in the woods. Curiosity, though, may get the better of them when they stumble upon a seemingly cozy woodland residence.

Baofahu (The Evicted Millionaires)

Yufei Xiao | China | Age 17

A resident of an urban village set for demolition ignites his fireworks in view of the police, seemingly in an effort to destroy his livelihood, yet a frequent patron of his shop sees it differently.

Yayoi Kusama’s Magical Circles

Students of Eleni Pehlivani’s Art Workshop | Greece | Age 5

Setting off on a globe trotting hot air balloon journey, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama visits various lands and collects their magical circles. How will she use their power to rebuild?

Password to the * * * * *

Adél Szegedi | Hungary | Age 22

Haunting pen and paper illustrations bring a poem to life, evoking the way childhood memories and diary notes take on new meanings later in life.

Followers

Students at Veselka TV | Ukraine | Ages 12 to 16

Through vibrantly colored claymation, we witness a herd of curious rams as they’re led to a suspicious venue hosting a grand dinner. But what’s the main course?

Gekou

Ajisa | Japan | Age 22

On her commute home, a young woman finds inspiration to take a different route. The mundane reality of her daily life suddenly shifts and she discovers a different world isn’t so far after all.

Best Seat in the House

Lily Gibbons | New York | Age 11

As the age-old sibling argument over “who gets to sit where” begins to escalate, is there anything that will make them give up their seat before mom intervenes?

Meeting at Half Past Five

Daria Litvichenko | Estonia | Age 17

Combining an unusual perspective with a variety of physical animation styles, this amusing short features the somber Philip as he comes to terms with how cruel and corrupt the world can be.

Night-Riders

Jules Chin Greene | New York | Age 22

Losing their natural habitat due to climate change and encroaching forces, an endling bat reflects on displacement, colonialism, and extinction in this hauntingly beautiful gothic animation.