Announcing with Zest: DCIFF 2020 Animation and Web Series Finalists
Short Animation
- Abe’s Story (Ireland/2019/12:21mins) directed by Adam H Stewart. An overworked Irish writer in Victorian London gets an idea for a bloody brilliant novel but his megalomaniac boss intervenes.
- A Moonlight’s Tale (USA/2019/6:21mins) directed by Ron Spivak, Andrew Noh, Elena Spina, Aarif Attarwala and Tony Gaeta. Where the stars gather to dance, the lightless Moon is rejected until one night the Sun appears at the celestial ball.
- Chapped (USA/2019/7.52 mins) directed by Chelsea Rugg. His and hers chapsticks are separated by a seemingly insurmountable obstacle—a full size bed.
- Crossing (India/2019/6:14mins) directed by Arvind Jeena and Nikhita Prabhudesai. A father and his daughter experience a driving accident that makes him rethink his actions.
- Daughter (Czech Republic/2019/14:44mins) directed by Dria Kascheeva Should you hide your pain while longing for a father’s love? Or understand and forgive?
- Ek Cup Chaha (One Cup of Tea) (India/2019/2:23 mins) directed by Sumit Yempalle. Pappa euphemistically explains to his son the meaning of life. Stop motion animation using fine tea powder.
- Falafel Cart (Kuwait/2019/13.55 mins) directed by Abdullah Al-Wazzan. During a stormy night, a lonely immigrant falafel vendor is whirled into the memories of his past.
- Faithy, hey (USA/ 2019 /3.53 mins) directed by emily hubley. Artist/filmmaker Faith Hubley drew a self-portrait in her journal every day. Decades later, her daughter revisits and remembers.
- Handmade (UK/2019/ 2:10mins) directed by Phoebe Morrison. An exploration of animation processes through expressive hands interacting with a book.
- Heat Wave (Greece/2019/7:13mins) directed by Fokion Xenos. In the midst of a searing heatwave, two children find a way to cool everyone down.
- Her Head (Finland/2019/7mins) directed by Emma Louhivuori. A woman’s life is difficult because her head is a cat.
- Infraction (France/2019/4.17mins.) directed by Marion Decoste, Mickaël Nezreg, Manon Ryckelynck, Maiwen Koskas Jeremie Hannoah, Florian Morelli, Raphael Halle and Aurélie Vanden Borren. Amandine, an inflexible traffic warden, takes perverse pleasure in punishing every little infraction by handing out a fine.
- Lost and Found (Israel/2019/4:07mins) directed by Shimon Engel, Ofer Winter. A young boy is lost in a shopping mall, foreshadowing his story as a soldier in the 1982 Israel-Lebanon War.
- Lost in Place (USA/2019/4mins) directed by Morgan Holub. A young girl and her pet robot go on a journey, physically and emotionally.
- Put Your Heart Into It (USA/2019/2:20 mins) directed by Cory Kerr. After a struggling artist pours his heart into his book, he sells the rights, but the deal isn’t what he expected.
- Sea Shepherd (Portugal/2019/4:50mins) directed by Débora Mendes. A girl serves fish in a restaurant until there are no more fish.
- Stuffed (USA/2019/2.40mins) directed by Brad Pattullo. A taxidermist chases a squirrel around his house with a shotgun.
- Titan (France/2019/1:32mins) directed by Guillaume Bricout , Gary Jeannot , Lorraine Jacquot , Leonard Laville. A white page is an opportunity to bring forth the creative spirit.
- The Ball’s Run (Italy/2919/3mins) directed by Hermes Mangialardo. In a playground a child tries to play with others but the ball gets farther and farther away.
- The Cage (France/2019/3:17mins) directed by Jinlan Shi. Michael is a man who has gender dysphoria.
- The Sun Will Fool You (USA/2019/4:42 mins) directed by Daniel Bigelow and Talon Nightshade with music by The Claudettes. The blinding bright light of the sun doesn’t always come with warmth.
- The Tale of Bunnyman Bridge (USA/2019/2:12mins ) directed by Eric Lochstampfor. An eerie tale.
- Trauma Chameleon (USA/2019/2:50mins) directed by Gina Kamentsky. An escaped laboratory rat navigates through a sea of punctuation.
- Umbilical (USA/2019/6:53mins) directed by Danski Tang How her mother’s abusive relationship with her father shaped her experiences in a boarding school in China.
- Urbanality (Australia/2019/3:28 mins) directed by Evan McInnes. The city folk are about to get a wake-up call. But, will they stop and listen?
- Wherefore Art Thou Theo? (USA/2019/ 4:38mins) directed by Theodore Schaffer. The series of voicemails the director’s mother left during a time of loss
Web Series Episode or Pilot
- Adult A.D.R. (USA/2018/28:46mins) directed by Topher Hansson & Chris Goodwin. A home recording studio takes on a job helping a local actress and winds up being forced to sound design an adult film.
- Bubbly Brown Sugar (USA/2019/15mins) directed by Tamala Baldwin and Lavarro Jones. Lifestyle blogger and entrepreneur Jewel Patterson has psychic dreams that throw her life upside down.
- Ember (USA/2019/35mins) directed by Seth Gitner. A post-apocalyptic series where the crops no longer grow, and man has receded back to a tribal state.
- Rubber Room (USA/2019/20mins) directed by Dugan Bridges. An uptight School Principal is sentenced to a detention center for misfit teachers.
- Good Genes (USA/2020/19mins) directed by Hannah Welever. Tayla is a black, queer, fashion intern. When her deadbeat father shows up strange other-world things start happening.