A cook is offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to act in a film. “The Role,” directed by Paolo Chianta, is a hand-drawn animated film that traces a quiet man’s foray into an unfamiliar world. After discovering that he bears a striking resemblance to their father, a pair of siblings ask the co...

A renowned novelist is stuck in a rut when he runs into an old flame at a bookstore. “The Flavor of Cassava Leaf Over Rice,” directed by Tracey Todd, is an animated drama about a rainy weekend in L.A. where a trio of characters reflect on their lives as they begin to move into middle age. Married...

The most beautiful woman in the galaxy is less interesting than Brad Pitt aging backwards. “Alien in Love,” directed by Corinne James, is a brief, colorfully animated satire on modern socio-filmic culture and its primary users. A young cinephile reviews a film on Letterboxd while his girlfriend p...

A group of scavengers navigate a surreal, acid-colored planet in the aftermath of an ecological reckoning. Emily Halaka’s “Organic Matter” is a post-apocalyptic animation made of obscure landscapes, secondary colors, and a whimsical score. The palm-tree-headed scavengers rise from a beach-front p...

A young man writes to his maybe-lover from his uncle's castle complex. Fergus Campbell directs, animates, and narrates “Telling George" (2020) and “Telling George Again” (2024), two animated films composed as adult storybooks about a young man’s romantic experiences with art, literature, and recr...

A young man writes to his maybe-lover from his uncle's castle complex. Fergus Campbell directs, animates, and narrates “Telling George" and “Telling George Again,” two animated films composed as adult storybooks about a young man’s romantic experiences with art, literature, and recreation. Moving...

A lonely marijuana farmer begins having strange waking dreams and gaps in his memory. Abyn Reabe and Nico Tepper direct “Thrashing,” a stoner sci-fi satire built entirely in Grand Theft Auto V. Out of black, the malfunction term used in computer-science — “thrashing” — appears on screen with its ...

An elf and a deadbeat try to raise ten million dollars to pay their rent. Hamilton O’Toole directs “Lucky and Charlie in the Hole With Lots of Money,” a bizarre animated film rendered in the style of early Y2K console graphics that follows a roommate duo in an attempt to confront their landlord. ...

When User's world sim is compromised, a customer service AI walks him through a perplexing account recovery process. “Recovery,” directed by Nick Lane, blurs reality and the digital world through a hyperactive first person POV. After a failed log-in attempt, our User turns to assistance from an e...

In a rapidly gentrifying dive bar, two men pick a fight. “Last Nite at Sam’s,” directed by Devon Manney, is an intense animated film that depicts a violent night spiraling out of control with vivid soundscapes and compositions. What starts as an ordinary evening — one patron picks a song from the...

A frustrated husband spirals during his pre-planned fight with his wife at Ruby Tuesdays. Luke Strickler directs “I Decided To Fight With My Wife Over Salmon,” a constantly morphing digital art collage about love, hate, and death. The misogynistic man sees fine dining as the perfect opportunity t...

Two sisters fight to save their digital utopia from demise. “Welcome to the Enclave,” directed by Sarah Lasley, is an inventive experimental animation framed as an absurdist crowdfunding video. The Enclave is a virtual street created by a woman named Moni, but at the moment she’s under attack fro...

In this surreal odyssey, a young boy walks through a series of doors opening up visions of the past and future. “Mi,” made by Masayoshi Nakamura and Zak Engel, is beautifully animated, vibrating with color, shape and possibility. Emerging from abstract geometric landscapes, we lock in on a boy wi...

A harrowing account of a leadership seminar gone rogue in 1970’s California. In “You've Never Been Completely Honest,” a hybrid-documentary directed by Joey Izzo, a mixture of animation and reenactment footage brings to life a brutal audio interview. In 1972, a man named Gene recounts his experie...

A man reconnects with an old friend from his days in the theater. “My Breakfast with Barf,” is an animated comedy directed by Peter Javidpour, a lighthearted send-up of the 1981 film, “My Dinner with Andre.” Leonard, a man of culture and intellect (whose head is shaped like an egg), meets up for ...

In a dystopian future, it’s one man’s job to check faucets for leakage and wastage. Paolo Chianta directs and animates “Tap Runner,” an animated sci-fi short, hand-drawn with a ballpoint pen and characterized by a melancholic spirit. His job does not permit him to actually fix the taps — that’s t...

A colorful compendium pairing musical genres with varieties of flowers. Luke Strickler directs and animates “Music for Plants,” which visualizes a series of melodic mash ups — “Sunflower Ska,” “Punk Petunias,” “Dandelion Dubstep,” et al. Morphing seamlessly between styles and tones, each chapter ...

A medley of overheard banter and personal musings about love and the cliches of love, i.e. “the same little message every night.” Directed by Peter Wagner, “It's All Related!” is an experimental animated film where mundane conversations about nachos, bitcoin, and psychiatry are flavored with a de...

A young girl connects deeply with nature while fearful of her brutish father. “Ciervo,” directed by Pilar Garcia-Fernandezsesma, is a coming-of-age animated film — a sensory exploration of girlhood, family life and country living, particularly on the themes of freedom vs. captivity, and hunter vs...

A young woman copes with heartbreak, blackheads, and bad therapy. Emily Ann Hoffman directs “Blackheads,” a study on relationships and gender roles, melding stop motion and 2D animation with a nuanced sense of realism. Sofia has just broken up with her boyfriend and she’s struggling with anxiety ...

A world decimated by a meteor tries to put itself back together. “Le Saucier,” directed by Eric Paschal Johnson and Liana Finck, is a lovely assemblage of hand-drawn illustrations, narrated by Tom Felton telling a story of the rediscovery of some of mankind’s finest achievements. Digging through ...

During the Covid-19 pandemic, a mother returns her son’s missed phone call. “It’s Your Mother Calling,” directed by NoBudge favorite Travis Wood, is a touching animated micro-short that uses a real voicemail message over a series of colorful visuals. It’s a portrait of longing and motherly advice...

In 1968, a young flight attendant bought 900 lbs of marijuana in Jamaica and tried to smuggle it out. Directed by Matthew Salton.