SHORT FILM

Two Candy-Crazed Monsters Battle For Sweet-Tooth Supremacy In This Short

Brown-eyed beastie Chubzilla may seem like a harmlessly delusional fellow (except for all the indiscriminate stomping), but don’t get between him and dessert. Seriously, DON’T. This thesis film was co-directed Elizabeth Lee and Dominik Koscinski, students at New York City’s School of Visual Arts. [Via Kuriositas]

io9 Cheryl Eddy May 2

Incredible Short Film The Reward Gets An Equally Amazing Prequel Film

The Reward was one of our favorite short films of 2013, a dialogue-free animated tale of two men who go on a heroic quest and become great friends in the process. Now the creators have released a longer prequel film and are raising funds for a webseries. The First Hero tells the backstory behind the…

io9 Lauren Davis May 1

When The Seas Dry Up, Air Pirates War Over The Last Water Source: Clouds

Short animated film The OceanMaker is set in a world where the lakes and rivers have gone dry but sparse clouds still serve as a source of precious source of water. But when air pirates come to poach the local clouds, a lone pilot battles them to change her corner of the world. Animator Lucas…

io9 Lauren Davis Apr 29

Cute short shows a digital animation vs a traditional drawing

Digital animations are great! But so are more traditional drawings! This cute short film by Nata Metlukh pits a digital animation against a traditional drawing and we see the strengths and weaknesses of each as they battle for supremacy. The slickness of digital vs the nostalgia of drawing traditionally. Versatility vs what’s simple. And so…

Sploid Casey Chan Apr 29

Short film: Being in a relationship is never easy

Being in a relationship is hard. It doesn’t matter if it’s brand new or long term or just casual or really serious, trying to balance and figure out what two very different people want is so impossible that it’s remarkable that it ever works out. This short by Sam Boyd starring Dakota Johnson shows how…

Sploid Casey Chan Apr 29

This Fantasy Cartoon Reveals The Hilarious Truth About Bureaucrats

You may think that the bored-looking bureaucrats sitting behind the windows at offices and agencies have to do nothing more complicated than stamping your paperwork, but the short film Office Kingdom reveals the truth: they’re fantasy warriors who must quest for that all-important approval stamp. Eleonora Bertolucci, Salvatore Centoducati, Giulio De Toma, and Ruben Pirito…

io9 Lauren Davis Apr 28

Move Over Michael Bay, This Transformers Fan Film Is Pure Delight

While Harris Loureiro (who filmed that Optimus Prime/Devastator battle we loved) may not have the giant special effects budget of the Transformers feature films, his stop-motion Transformers fan film is great fun to watch thanks to its choreography, sound effects, and those wonderful toys. Loureiro mixed the stories from the cartoon, the 1986 movie, and…

io9 Lauren Davis Apr 28

This Ghost Story Will Make You Shiver Whenever You Look At A Fur Coat

In the short film The Tannery, a fox dies at the end of a hunter’s rifle and becomes a ghost. The first moments of the afterlife are rather sweet, however, at least until the fox’s situation turns horrifying. In an interview with Directors Notes, director Iain Gardner explains how a friend’s tale his grandmother’s stole…

io9 Lauren Davis Apr 26

Dazzling Short Film About An Alchemist Whose Invention Feeds On Memories

John Hurt voices a dead alchemist in the gorgeously animated short film The Alchemist’s Letter. A young man arrives at his late father’s lab and learns all about his father’s invention, a device that can turn objects into gold, but at the price of his most precious memories. Director Carlos Andre Stevens tapped Hurt and…

io9 Lauren Davis Apr 25

Beautiful short film uses alchemy to tell a touching story about life

The Alchemist’s Letter by Carlos Stevens is a beautifully animated short film about a father’s letter to his son. It’s imaginative and touching and worth the watch just for the visuals alone. The story progresses through a machine that turns memories into gold and you get to see wonderful little worlds pop up in the…

Sploid Casey Chan Apr 24

What Would Life Be Like For A Man With Two Mouths?

William is an ordinary fellow in all respects but one: he has two completely functional mouths. In this fake documentary, we learn about the advantages and disadvantages of having two mouths that can taste, talk, and sing independent of one another. The Man With Two Mouths, which was directed by Marc Ortiz with cinematography by…

io9 Lauren Davis Apr 24

This Film About High-Diving Giraffes Is An Instant Cure For The Blues

We’re not sure what possessed director Nicolas Deveaux to make a five-minute film about animated, acrobatic giraffes diving from the high board into a swimming pool, but we’re glad he did — because we’re grinning ear to ear watching them tuck and plunge. 5 mètres 80 won best in show at SIGGRAPH Asia for its…

io9 Lauren Davis Apr 23

Short film animates people’s stories about their first time

Jonas Odell asked four different people about their first time having sex and then animated their stories in this wonderfully intimate short film. Some of the stories can get funny and familiar, other are touching and enlightening while another unfortunately is really sad. But even though the stories all very personal, they’re all relatable and…

Sploid Casey Chan Apr 23

During Martial Law, A Man Falls For The Girl Next Door—Who’s A Terrorist

Despite living in a town under lockdown, Nevin lives in relative comfort — at least until his beautiful next-door neighbor shows up in his home. In this dark comedy short film, Nevin becomes an anarchist it win her affection — but how devoted is he really to the cause? Drew Mylrea directed Next Door, and…

io9 Lauren Davis Apr 21

Video: The fascinating world of kite fighting for sport

All my life, I’ve been flying kites for fun. Little did I know that there was a sport of fighting kites that I could have playing instead! This fascinating short documentary by Victory Journal explores the kite fighters of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and shows how kids and adults participate in the sport. It looks…

Sploid Casey Chan Apr 21

A Forensic Photographer Explains The Fine Art Of Capturing A Crime Scene

Forensic photographer Nick Marsh discusses his 20-year career in David Beazley’s five-minute documentary. Among the revelations: lighting, composition, and keeping an open mind are of utmost importance — and technology has actually harmed his profession by flooding the field with undertrained shutterbugs. He also shares why going out to dinner with a forensics expert can…

Tech News Cheryl Eddy Apr 16

Fun short film about time travel is like a silly verison of Terminator

When a film sends a robot back into time to kill a baby, it’s always going to bring back memories of the Terminator movies. But this short, Future Hero by Ramin Serry, is so much sillier and goofier and weirder that you almost forget about Ahnold. It’s about a lazy dad and his future, time…

Sploid Casey Chan Apr 15

Father And Son Work Out Their Issues While Battling Time-Traveling Robot

A new father meets the time-traveling adult version of his infant son in the comedy short Future Hero. When an android is sent from the future to kill his son as a baby this father has to team up with the resentful adult version of his boy. And while trying to save his son, he…

io9 Lauren Davis Apr 14

Child Star Of An Educational TV Show Gets A Message From His Future Self

When Elle arrives at the home of famed educational TV host in the short film Dear Lucas, the second biggest surprise is connecting with the host’s son and former co-host, Lucas. But the biggest surprise comes later that night when Lucas receives a message from himself — written in the year 2067. Dear Lucas was…

io9 Lauren Davis Apr 13

The Life Story Of Isaac Newton, Compressed Into 90 Animated Seconds

Animator Kevin Orzel offers a rapid-fire, adorably-animated look at the life and times of Isaac Newton, whom “you may know from every science book you’ve ever read.” (Spoiler alert: Newton was a genius.) [Via Kuriositas]

io9 Cheryl Eddy Apr 11

Two Candy-Crazed Monsters Battle For Sweet-Tooth Supremacy In This Short

Incredible Short Film The Reward Gets An Equally Amazing Prequel Film

When The Seas Dry Up, Air Pirates War Over The Last Water Source: Clouds

Cute short shows a digital animation vs a traditional drawing

Short film: Being in a relationship is never easy

This Fantasy Cartoon Reveals The Hilarious Truth About Bureaucrats

Move Over Michael Bay, This Transformers Fan Film Is Pure Delight

This Ghost Story Will Make You Shiver Whenever You Look At A Fur Coat

Dazzling Short Film About An Alchemist Whose Invention Feeds On Memories

Beautiful short film uses alchemy to tell a touching story about life

What Would Life Be Like For A Man With Two Mouths?

This Film About High-Diving Giraffes Is An Instant Cure For The Blues

Short film animates people’s stories about their first time

During Martial Law, A Man Falls For The Girl Next Door—Who’s A Terrorist

Video: The fascinating world of kite fighting for sport

A Forensic Photographer Explains The Fine Art Of Capturing A Crime Scene

Fun short film about time travel is like a silly verison of Terminator

Father And Son Work Out Their Issues While Battling Time-Traveling Robot

Child Star Of An Educational TV Show Gets A Message From His Future Self

The Life Story Of Isaac Newton, Compressed Into 90 Animated Seconds

Amazon Is Sticking With ‘Rings of Power’ to the End

Trump Is Reportedly Going Full Steam Ahead with the Golden Dome

‘Kamen Rider’ Is Ready to Take on the World

Twitter Just Can’t Stop Leaking Movies

The ‘Mass Effect’ Show is Getting Rewritten to Get Greenlit

See the Early Stages of How ‘Project Hail Mary’ Brought Rocky to Life

‘Cognitive Surrender’ Is a New and Useful Term for How AI Melts Brains

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Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

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