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20thAnnual Animation Show of Shows
Various Directors
Friday, December 21, 6 pm
Saturday, December 22, 3 pm
Saturday, December 22, 6 pm
Sunday, December 23, 1 pm
Sunday, December 23, 3 pm
Friday, December 28, 6 pm
Saturday, December 29, 3 pm
Saturday, December 29, 6 pm
Sunday, December 30, 1 pm
Sunday, December 30, 3 pm
Returning to theaters across North America this fall, the 20thAnimation Show of Shows features 15 thought-provoking, poignant, and very funny animated shorts from around the world. In a year when the best and worst of human nature has been on constant display, the works in this year’s show remind us of both the universality of shared ideals, and the diverse challenges we face.
“Animation is such a flexible and open-ended medium that it lends itself to exploring the innumerable aspects of what it means to be human,” says founder and curator Ron Diamond. “And this year’s program, as much as any of our past presentations, really illuminates human strengths and foibles, and the bonds that unite us across cultures and generations.”
Four of the fifteen films have qualified for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. 2018, France, U.S., Germany, Brazil, The Netherlands, and Argentina, DCP, 98 minutes. Recommended for 13+.
The 16 animated short films presented in order of appearance:
The Green Bird
Directed by Maximilien Bougeois, Quentin Dubois, Marine Goalard, Irina Nguyen, and Pierre Perveyrie
The soundtrack alone is worth the price of admission in this mordantly funny computer animation, in which the eponymous character suffers an unfortunate series of setbacks when she finds herself a mother-to-be. 2017, France, 7 minutes.
One Small Step
Directed by Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas
A young Chinese-American girl yearns to be an astronaut in this touching story about the importance of pursuing your dreams and never giving up. 2018, U.S., 8 minutes.
Grands Canons
Directed by Alain Biet
Composed of thousands of drawings of familiar objects painstakingly created by the filmmaker, this extraordinary, compulsively watchable film is a symphonic celebration of materiality in its innumerable forms. 2018, France, 11 minutes.
Barry
Directed by Anchi Shen
A wry and touching moral tale of an aspiring doctor who triumphs over the prejudices of his critics through talent and tenacity. 2018, U.S., 4 minutes.
Super Girl
Directed by Nancy Kangas and Josh Kun
An exuberant and gleeful exploration of the yearnings and imaginings of one irrepressible four-year-old poet. 2017, U.S., 1 minute
Love Me, Fear Me
Directed by Veronica Solomon
This tour-de-forceof claymation explores the ever-changing roles we play and the shapes we assume in our continual efforts to impress others and to be accepted. 2017, Germany, 6 minutes.
Business Meeting
Directed by Guy Charnaux
Based on a short story by Brazilian writer Rafael Sperling, this very funny short film may confirm your worst fears about business meetings. 2018, Brazil, 2 minutes.
Flower Found!
Directed by Jorn Leeuwerink
A case of mistaken identity has seriously unpleasant consequences in this unsettling arboreal tale that might be a parable of our times. 2017, The Netherlands, 7 minutes.
Bullets
Directed by Nancy Kangas, Josh Kun
A short film based on the writing of a group of preschoolers. 2017, U.S., 1 minute.
A Table Game
Directed by Nicolás Petelski
The film is an exercise in patience, for both the characters and the audience members of the film, who must sit through its monotonous events in order to be rewarded in the end with an unexpected outcome. 2017, Argentina, 4 minutes.
Carlotta’s Face
Directed by Valentin Riedl and Frédéric Schuld
Prosopagnosia is a rare neurological disorder in which individuals are unable to recognize faces, including their own. This poignant and beautifully stylized animation is based on the first-person account of a woman who suffers from this ailment, offering an intimate look at the difficulties she encounters in her life and, ultimately, the salvation she finds through art. 2018, Germany, 5 minutes.
Age of Sail
Directed by John Kahrs
Set on the open ocean in 1900, this hair-raising and poignant tale chronicles the adventures of an old sailor who rescues a teenaged girl after she falls overboard from a passing steamship.2018, U.S., 12 minutes.
Polaris
Directed Hikari Toriumi
This wistful and very touching film, conveyed with an almost childlike visual design, centers on about a young bear setting out on her own for the first time. 2018, U.S., 5 minutes.
My Moon
Directed by Eusong Lee
This charming and ethereal short depicts the interplay among the moon, earth, and sun in terms of human relationships – a celestial love triangle replete with jealousy, recriminations, hurt feelings and, ultimately, forgiveness. 2017, U.S., 8 minutes.
Weekends
Directed by Trevor Jimenez
In this beautifully designed, hand-drawn film set in 1980s Toronto, a young boy shuttles between the homes of his recently divorced parents. 2017, U.S., 15 minutes.