Student Competition 5

1. Moonbeams for Ellen 04:32 United States 2023
   

   Directed:	Holland Elizabeth Gillis
   Screenplay:	Frederick J Gillis
   Dialogue Language:	English

   
   

   Seeking inspiration, a grandpa is drawn from writing letters to the top of his hill. At the base of the Water Tower, he is enlightened by the cosmos.

2. Clinical Lycanthropy 06:06 Italy 2022
   

   Directed:	Emilio Giacomelli, Francesco Pesiri
   Screenplay:	Emilio Giacomelli

   
   

   Ava suffers from a mental disorder that makes her perceive loved ones as menacing bears and herself as a goldfish. Her mind spirals out of control as her girlfriend Emma tries to take care of her.

3. Stuffing Up 02:33 South Africa 2022
   

   Directed:	Rachel Berkowitz
   Screenplay:	Rachel Berkowitz
   Production:	The Animation School College

   
   

   A teddy attempts to lose her roundness after being rejected by her weight-obsessed owner. After her original attempts of exercising her belly away prove fruitless, she takes to more drastic measures to take control of her image, purging her stuffing. This causes the teddy to fade away along with her self-confidence.

4. Stay 03:22 South Africa 2022
   

   Directed:	Blaze Ballantyne
   Screenplay:	Skye Coombes, Blaze Ballantyne, Aylah Martin
   Production:	The Animation School College

   
   

   A story of a dog named Diego and his loving owner, John. They share their days together until the day John falls ill in his old age. That evening John and Diego are visited by the Grim Reaper. Diego fights to protect his owner’s life, only to be stopped by John accepting that it is his time to go. John and Diego say their goodbyes before john is guided into the afterlife leaving Diego behind.

5. The Ocean's Child 02:44 South Africa 2022
   

   Directed:	Jemma Purdon, Taryn Basel
   Screenplay:	Taryn Basel
   Production:	The Animation School College

   
   

   The magical, shape-shifting Ocean Child bursts out of the sea to meet two amazed schoolchildren. When the sound of a school bell summons away Ocean Child’s new friends, they curiously follow. In this small fishing village is a gloomy classroom, where the slicing of scissors and the looming shadow of the teacher cause the children to cower in fear. Ocean Child is thrust into a confusing new world where children are divided on whether a bow or a tie is pinned to their shirt. Can Ocean Child keep their playful, free spirit alive?

6. The Present 04:58 South Africa 2022
   

   Directed:	Arowan Parker
   Screenplay:	Arowan Parker
   Production:	The Animation School College

   
   

   In a post-pandemic world where memories are bought instead of made, John and his wife Julia spend their evenings engrossed in experiencing other people’s memories – allowing the memories' vibrancy to give life to a dull existence. One day John goes to pick up a memory from the global conglomerate, MemCorp, only to find that all the memories are sold out. He returns home empty-handed and he and Julia find themselves painfully aware of the dull nature of their existence. Through a series of humorous events Julia and John find joy in their reality and realize that living other people’s memories had prevented them from making their own.

7. The Story of Little Stone / 小石头记 05:16 China 2023
   

   Directed:	淼淩 杨
   Screenplay:	淼淩 杨
   Production:	淼淩 杨
   Dialogue Language:	Chinese

   
   

   Stop-motion animation made from wool felt，It's a story about a soulful stone that meets ants looking for fire and travels together，The theme is reincarnation.

8. Dragon Soul 02:04 Singapore 2022
   

   Directed:	Noel Tay
   Screenplay:	Noel Tay
   Production:	Noel Tay

   
   

   A tiny fish who wants to be something more. A story of perseverance against all odds

9. SLEEPLESS 03:08 Singapore 2022
   

   Directed:	Keziah Gan Hui Xin
   Dialogue Language:	Mandarin Chinese

   
   

   In collaboration with Math Class' debut single, Sleepless, SLEEPLESS is a 2D B&W animated music video about a girl plagued with endless nightmares of her alter ego.

10. The Figure of Unconscious Mind / 당신의 사과나무 03:40 Korea 2022
    

    Directed:	Jaehyeon Kim
    Screenplay:	Jaehyeon Kim
    Production:	Jaehyeon Kim
    Dialogue Language:	No Dialogue

    
    

    In the unconscious space, seeds grow, form trees, and bear apples.

11. Symbiosis / Simbiosis 06:20 Mexico 2023
    

    Directed:	Andrea Carpio
    Screenplay:	Andrea Carpio, Mauricio Maqueda, Izumi López, Abigail Luna
    Production:	Izumi López
    Dialogue Language:	English

    
    

    In a world where love exists between mushrooms and plants, Kia is a young flower that has been abandoned and will have to learn about heartbreak and love accompanied by her faithful friend Toñito.

12. Jamais vu 03:00 Cyprus 2023
    

    Directed:	Maria Panayi, Eleftheria Papadopoulou, Katerina Constantinou
    Dialogue Language:	Modern Greek (1453-)

    
    

    Following a person stuck in their routine, the film explores in a nonlinear narrative of the psychological phenomenon of jamais vu. in psychology, jamais vu, a french loanword meaning “never seen”, is the phenomenon of experiencing a situation that one recognizes in some fashion, but that nonetheless seems novel and unfamiliar.

13. Worrywart 02:15 Cyprus 2023
    

    Directed:

    Panagiotis Christou

    
    

    An experimental animated short film depicting alienation and the psychological torment that accompanies isolation.

14. BEYOND 05:45 France 2022
    

    Directed:

    Zephyr MARTIN

    
    

    On an unknown planet with glacial air, creatures live in a valley surrounded by "luminous cliffs", overhung by an abyssal black sky. The beings go about their business under a greenish light beyond the cliffs. From time to time, a bright white light gently rises on the cliffs. For a moment, the entire planet is illuminated except for the sky, which remains pitch black. But one day, the white light does not go away and their daily life collapses.

15. DA ETERNAL CATERPILLARS 05:03 France 2022
    

    Directed:

    Abel BOURREAU

    
    

    Two police officers wondering about life at the bend of a gas station. three Gangsters are preparing to avenge one of their friend killed by a rival gang through a bloody "drive by". A child desperately trying to recover the controller of his console. The story of three groups of individuals which interweave in Compton, the suburb of Los Angeles, known to be one of the most dangerous cities in the United States.

16. ACCOMPAGNÉE 02:10 Canada 2022
    

    Directed:

    Leung Winnie

    
    

    A young girl, lost in her sad thoughts, crosses the forest to get to her grandmother's grave. Behind her, small beings follow her closely..

17. FLUIDE 02:04 Canada 2022
    

    Directed:

    Terrien Jay

    
    

    "Fluide" tells the struggles of Haku, a high school student who often deals with dysphoria : the uniform she was given doesn't always correspond to who she really is.

18. Lights 08:26 Czech Republic 2023
    

    Directed:	Jitka Nemikinsová
    Screenplay:	Jitka Nemikinsová
    Production:	Veronika Kührová, Michal Kráčmer

    
    

    Lightbulbs are throwing a party for growing up flames to welcome them in the system that will let them shine and protect them. But one flames likes to play with fire and rebels against the system. ----- In a small town inhabited by lightbulbs, a big public birthday party is taking place. It's an initiation ritual for small flames. A glass bulb is placed on them, so that they can shine forever. This means they are adults and are a part of the lightbulb community. But eternal life isn't for free. The last flame in the row notices that with every new adult, candles on a cake are dying out. He points this out to the flames before him. One flame decides to take off its bulb and keep its candle alive, but it dies out trying this. The last flame isn't waiting for anyone, he grabs his last candle and he runs home. He meets his mother at home. She tries to convince it to give lightbulbs a chance. The mother is a lightbulb herself and she tries to stop her child. But the flame isn't listening to her and runs away. Lightbulbs follow him as he runs away from the town and continues its rampage. Anything he sees, he sets it on fire. The mother is worried about him. When it starts raining, she sneaks out of the town and saves her child right before he dies out completely. When Flame wakes up, he's a lightbulb. His mother calms him down and sits him down at the table. She brings out a birthday cake and she shows Flame that he can light the candles when nobody's looking. And that he can take off his bulb only for a second. One by one, they light all the candles.

19. Kukunochi 03:12 Australia 2022
    

    Directed:	Naomi Hermans, Mia Dator
    Screenplay:	Michael Gould-Brown
    Dialogue Language:	English, Japanese

    
    

    Kukunochi is a 3 minute 3D animation film set within the Edo Period of Japan, depicting the story of a young girl who learns about humility. The short presents a bout between two children, encapsulating their relationship, and how they emotionally evolve after confrontational events with an angered ancient spirit. Using Unreal Engine 5, our team of talented artists have created an endearing fable within a short time span, implementing a proficient studio production pipeline as all assets, environments, and sound are created from scratch.

20. Croak Croak Croak / 呱呱呱 06:06 China 2023
    

    Directed:	Ziqi Wang
    Production:	Yupu Wu
    Dialogue Language:	Chinese

    
    

    The protagonist does not want to inherit the solitary and selfish character of her father. One day, the young protagonist realizes that her father has gradually infiltrated her with this annoying character, so she decides to break away and move in the opposite direction and try to get along with her friends. At some point when she grows up, she suddenly finds that she has become what she once hated. In the end, the protagonist finds a new way of self-exploration deep within himself.

21. Human Perfecting Program 05:18 United Kingdom 2023
    

    Directed:	Yunqi(Floria) Yang
    Screenplay:	Yunqi(Floria) Yang
    Production:	Yunqi(Floria) Yang

    
    

    ‘Human Perfecting Program’ is a film about traditional education concepts and family relationships. This story begins with an obedient child who grows up under the traditional education concept, she is taught by the adults to plant flowers while instilling their educational ideas and perceptions of the world. The child then grew up rebelliously, and adults regard this as wrong, so the child is sent to the ‘Human Perfecting program’ by adults, trying to remove the filth from the child and make her become ‘perfect’.

22. Nonno boomer 05:58 Italy 2023
    

    Directed:

    Mena Solipano

    
    

    Nonno B., nostalgico e sentimentale, riceve uno smartphone come regalo di compleanno. Dopo i primi disastri, riesce a comprenderne il funzionamento in modo da creare conseguenze positive anche sulla vita reale.

23. Of Stars and Fables 06:40 Slovakia 2023
    

    Directed:	Alla Dmitrievna Prokopyshyna
    Screenplay:	Alla Dmitrievna Prokopyshyna
    Production:	Terézia Pupalová

    
    

    "Of Stars and Fables“ is a short animation about a boy teenager, who is not identified with the outer world and runs away from it to the bizarre imaginary world.

24. Woodfish / Il Pesce di Legno 03:09 Italy 2023
    

    Directed:	Virginia Ardizzone, Giorgio Avano, Giulia Brighenti, Stefano Villari
    Screenplay:	Virginia Ardizzone, Giorgio Avano, Giulia Brighenti, Stefano Villari
    Dialogue Language:	No Dialogue

    
    

    Dottie is obsessed with accumulating objects of all kinds, sizes, shapes and colors. When a new object arrives at her door, she must do everything to find a place for it within the four walls of her home. But is there truly an empty space? This short film sheds light on the intricate topic of hoarding disorder, prompting viewers to reflect upon their own tendencies towards accumulation and consider the ways in which these habits may be impacting their lives.

25. Violation / انتهاك 02:55 Egypt 2023
    

    Directed:	Zeinab Ahmed Elhadad
    Screenplay:	Zeinab Ahmed Elhadad
    Dialogue Language:	Arabic

    
    

    "Violation" is an Egyptian animated short film, And a graduation project. The film discusses an important societal issue, usually rooted in Egyptian society, especially in countryside, which is "female genital mutilations", in a short animated film, in which the viewer goes through the journey of pain and psychological conflict, resulting from this assault and violation. The film revolves around a girl and her doll, in the Egyptian countryside, who embarks on an adventure full of horror. The girl enters a strange world, full of deformed dolls, and the person responsible for that is a woman, wearing black clothes and golden jewelry – a midwife – then the child finds herself in the future, specifically on her wedding day, and she sees herself as a Scary lady. crying in her wedding dress, then is seen by the lady, who takes her doll. In the end, the child wakes up, only to discover that she was having a horrible nightmare, only to find out that the midwife is right there in her room, about to carry out what she was working on with the dolls in the dream, but this time in real life.

26. Before / Dati 08:25 Philippines 2022
    Honorary Mention - International Student Short Animation- Jury
    

    Directed:	Arlo Jhan Bayot
    Screenplay:	Arlo Jhan Bayot
    Dialogue Language:	Tagalog

    
    

    In a hidden paradise somewhere in the Philippines, two brothers share a simple but sufficient life. Things change when an unexpected visitor brings a new-found attention to their island home. With their idyllic island now on the tourism spotlight, they're now forced to cope with the perils of uncontrolled urbanization.