Shorts Programs

Enjoy the best animated short films created by the next generation of up-and-coming animators from top colleges and universities around the globe. 

Stone Lions Don’t Roar

Directed by Le Hang Whalen 
USA, 11 min.
Southeast premiere

In a world where one’s deepest emotions manifest as a living stone beast, a young refugee struggles to keep her naïve little sister safe and her anger restrained as they traverse the military-occupied countryside. 

Producers: Avery Stratton, Rebecca Otto 
Cast: Aimi Le, Tricia Nguyen, A. Phan
School: SCAD

Cardboard Heart

Directed by Catalina Ferreira Martín 
Colombia, 2 min.
Georgia premiere

Cardboard Heart explores illegal organ trafficking through a poetic and surreal language. Built entirely from cardboard, a symbol of fragility and precariousness, it tells the story of a father who sells his kidney to feed his son. 

Producer: Catalina Ferreira Martín 
School: ESDESIGN, Escuela Superior de diseño de Barcelona

Au gré de l'iode

Directed by Léa Deprez, Pierre-Luis Bordes, Elliot Desmarets, and Jeanne Finet 
France, 8 min.
Southeast premiere

By the seaside, the water knocks at the door of a fish taxidermist. 

School: Piktura (Rubika)

Sunburn

Directed by Esther Son 
South Korea/USA, 5 min.

A timid bookworm girl begins to notice a boy. As she steps outside her shell, her blush deepens into a sunburn. 

School: SCAD

Me in a Nutshell

Directed by Joshua Higgs and Elena Krasteva 
USA, 5 min.
World premiere

Me must find his place in the forest, but through his searching he finds himself stuck in a nutshell. He does everything he can to try and break out. This film is about appreciating childlike wonder while accepting the responsibilities that adulthood brings.

Producers: Jordyn Tyber 
School: SCAD

Our Fleeting Soul

Directed by Marin Caquez, Eva-Louise Moreau, and Nour Kharraz 
France, 8 min.
Southeast premiere

Albert, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, clings to a memory he shared with his childhood friend Maya. But the phases of the disease are inexorably invading his memory and altering his only recollection. 

School: Piktura (Rubika)

Kenopsia

Directed by Camille Redon, Sélène Le, Alice Hegymegi-Kiss, Gregoire Pezzulo, Fanny Belougne, Quentin Szczygiel, and Adel Tebib 
France, 7 min.
U.S. premiere

Young Native American hunter Nikan wakes up in a destroyed village after dying in battle. As he journeys toward the summit of the sacred mountain hoping to reach the afterlife, a giant raven pursues him, forcing him to relive what haunts him and what he cannot accept: his guilt. 

School: Supinfocom Rubika

CHAI

Directed by Aryan Anand 
USA, 5 min.
Georgia premiere

As thunder cracks and the tea kettle hisses, Ajmer prepares a "special order" to support his ailing mother, remembering the fateful night his saint-like father, Baba, passed away. Now, standing at Baba's shrine, clutching a broken prayer bell, Ajmer deals with the grief created by the bitter conflict between his pragmatism and Baba's unwavering faith in God. 

Producers: Aryan Anand 
Cast: Rajesh Kava, Aryan Anand 
School: School of Visual Arts

The Memory Clocksmith

Directed by Jing “Rickie” Liu and Gracie Colwill
USA, 5 min.
U.S. premiere

In a world where memories are preserved within timepieces, young clocksmith Victor restores the pasts of others, until a mysterious woman’s pocket watch awakens memories that were long forgotten. 

Producers: Michelle Yunger 
Cast: Markus Pichardo, Abby Kay, Diana Diriwaechter 
School: SCAD

The Moon Stole My Stripes

Directed by Sarah Buckley
USA, 7 min.
Georgia premiere

The Moon Stole My Stripes invites you into a whimsical world where we learn that the best way to fit in isn't by changing, but by being yourself. 

Producers: Jay Paterno, Michelle Shumaker 
School: SCAD

Sundown

Directed by Jérémie Jayraj Itty
Switzerland, 7 min.
North American premiere

Joakim, a young, compassionate caregiver working in a dementia ward, navigates the emotional toll of his work as he learns to accept the limits of his ability to help. 

Producers: Jürgen Haas 
Cast: Gianluca Pinarello, Anna Campisano Provenzano, Sandrah Mahler, Françoise Schweizer
School: Lucerne School of Design

The Nest

Directed by Aurélien Coquery, Léa Kermanach, Soline Mauguin, Abel Tixador, Jean Baounon, and Romane Selter-Fiette
France, 7 min.
Georgia premiere

A shy young luthier, Aurore returns to work in the family’s prestigious workshop. As she reunites with her beloved mother, she uncovers a monstrous family secret. What seemed like a safe haven may in fact be the most insidious of traps. Will she find the strength to break free? 

School: Supinfocom Rubika

Moticos

Directed by Paige Meakin 
USA, 7 min.
Southeast premiere

In rural Texas, a driver embarks on a solitary road trip where she is overcome with memories of her past relationship, each one represented in various degrees of reality. These flashbacks eventually bleed into her present as she is forced to confront her ex. 

Producers: Valeria Gallegos Toriz, Carter Chadwick 
Crew: Tess Smigel, Cara Trenkle, Mary Mihalko, Sal Asimos 
School: SCAD