Tennis, Oranges (United States) by Sean Pecknold

A robotic vacuum suffering from burnout quits its job at a hospital and sets out to find community and a greater purpose on a quiet street where two lonely rabbits are stuck in perpetual loops.

Running time: 00:10:53

Lunch Break (Belgium) by Reinout Jan Swinnen, Bram Van Rompaey

Joe is a crane operator. This crane is made for lifting heavy things, Joe is not. He's an overweight middle-aged man  stuck in a daily routine, in a confined space high up in the sky. Nothing much excites Joe, except for this one thing, this one moment which shines a dim light on his otherwise dull existence: lunch-break. As long as he has that, Joe can manage to retain a slither of sanity. 

But today disaster strikes...

Running time: 00:01:30

Dog Years (United States) by Maxfield Biggs

The search for the self and the memories and emotions associated with it lead us through forgotten and dark places of an inner world. We move in an apparent interactivity, generated by the camera work, through spaces created from around 150 3D scans, torn between curiosity and resistance.

Running time: 00:07:05

Oxide (Belgium) by Emma Emily Daelman

“Oxide” tells the story of two creatures, crossing paths in an abandoned bus shelter. With apprehension and caution they seek closeness. A quest for intimacy ensues as they grapple with the blurred lines between connection and separation. Their playful pursuits of togetherness permanently alter their refuge.

Running time: 00:06:08

Tall Wall (United States) by Bea Qian

"Tall Wall" is a short animation depicting the stories hidden underneath a smallpox epidemic. Through the CCTVs and webcams, we see the stories of the citizens in Las Nieves, a fictional city in lockdown, unfold throughout the film. The "Tall Wall" in this title implies not only the walls that lock this city up because of the smallpox outbreak, but also the disconnection between people. In this film, you will tour the intriguing world of "Tall Wall" with the unignorable presence of CCTV everywhere, the metabolic buildings that grow higher and higher, and the constant humblings of the air conditioner,  as the people underneath continue to sophicate.

Running time: 00:04:17

The Bear's Clan (Canada) by Arielle Moreau, Laurie Filion, Tommy Leblanc

A Wendat couple is captured and forcibly restrained by Bears in Monts Rouges, a forbidden place. Surprisingly, the beasts seem very generous but refuse the lovers' departure.

00:04:37

Crash (United States) by Dale Zhou, Hongxiang Zhou

Tao is a thing, but it is only in a trance. In a trance, there is an image in it; in a trance, there is an object in it. The metaverse may be an infinite idea, a fuzzy cube, a house to live in, or other life forms. . . . .

Infinite, infinite possibilities of regeneration.

Running time: 00:06:35

The Tone Of The Sea (Mexico) by Mica Bolaños Meade

Through a series of voicemails, a Mexican migrant worker struggles to connect back home, while the harsh environment she now lives in is reflected onto the only thing she thought would be familiar: the sea.

Running time: 00:05:39

Project Saudade (United States) by Ragroller Studio

Project Saudade is a meditation on modern dissonance. The film gives viewers space to reflect and mourn the current disconnected state of the world. Project Saudade was brought together by a team working remotely across Asia, Africa, and North America - divided by time zones, and united in their collective grappling with human disconnection. In the context of a shorts grouping, Project Saudade offers the audience a reflective mode which creates an opportunity for curating contrast between films. 

Running time: 00:05:07

Dramaturgy (Netherlands) by Denise Bakker

The fashion film ‘Dramaturgy’ forecasts the ways we could outperform ourselves within Web 3.0 and lose touch with our ‘real’ selves, which we had before shifting daily life all online and being behind a VR headset 12+ hours per day, and illustrates the effect of performing on social media: young adults suffer from depression and anxiety in ‘real’ life while showcasing a perfect cheerful version(s) of themselves online. This creates an absurd dystopian, where ‘real’ life and our ‘online’ life will contradict, diverge and accelerate.  The story plays in a futuristic 2032. We follow protagonist Roxy who is dealing with online & offline self-destruction due to their loss with their real-life self.

Running time: 00:06:35

The Core (Romania) by Robert Obert

This short animated film illustrates a common consciousness from which materialized instances of feminine and masculine emerge, only to morph again into a single core. It is a metaphor of a love connection between two partners, fueled from the same source, but also for the power of creation that consciousness holds. This  also collects and shows sections of each partner’s transformation process, revealing and underlining that everything begins and ends from and into a single point, it shows the nucleus of narratives from each individual,  their symbiosis and eventually their exit. The author considers this animation a meta frame where we can be spectators to a process of creation and emotion.

Running time: 00:01:11

Chain (United States) by Ling Han

"Chain," directed by Ling Han, is a 3D animated short film featuring charming characters and a sophisticated environment. It uniquely tells the story of the mantis catching the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. 

Running time: 00:04:49

La Foule (Taiwan) by Tone Su

Tom is tormented by memories of his past during a parade, he feels that he is about to suffocate and chooses to leave the crowd, he sees a dog tied to a street lamp, the clash of different values on the street eventually leads to a disaster in the crowd, in which Tom must make a choice that he will not regret.

Running time: 00:08:29

The Italian Gaze (United States) by Sandro Del Rosario

An Italian artist looks at his native country through an animated film made with thousands hand colored oil painted photographs. Created as a visual poem that bridges filmmaking language and visual arts, 'The Italian Gaze' portrays the intoxicating beauty of Italy that many visitors still get looking at its landscapes, at thousands of years of history, art, and architecture, as well as it denounces the disillusionment, inner conflict, and hopes of an emigrant. 

Running time: 00:13:39