Times of Plenty

BEST ANIMATION SHORT - Sponsored by Real Gusto Restaurant

Claudio Costa

13 min | 2020 | Italy | US Premiere

Italy is revealed through a satirical comedy told by Cesare, a young boy living with his family in Rome.  TIMES OF PLENTY is a reference to the socio-cultural climate of the 80’s and 90’s in Italy, a time of the Socialist Party and young, upwardly mobile yuppies…a time of Silvio Berlusconi’s privately owned TV channels, the new agreement with the Holy See…a period in which Italy came to be the fifth leading industrial country in the world, but also a time of spiraling growth in public spending, growth that many knew could not last 

Awards: Willlachen Comedy & Satire Filmprize - The Golden Cellar Rattle (Wien Austria), Honorable Mention/New Generation Film Festival (Belgrade Serbia)
Official Selections: David Donatello (Rome Italy

System Error

Piotr Kaźmierczak

5 min | Animation | 2020 | Poland | US Premiere

Jury Statement: “This is a beautiful piece. love how it transcends language. There is a lot of talent here, and I would love to see what you do next. The message is only rivaled by how the message will remain in my mind.”

Awards: He is a laureate of many competitions for children and youth animation in Poland and abroad.

Magic Head

Shinkarenko Anastasia Vadimovna

4 min | Animation | 2020 | Ukraine | US Premiere

Jury Statement: “It is clear the director has developed a style. Magic Head tackle’s mature themes of morality and consequence. The film feels like an interpretation of god’s power and hold on the world “

SPECIAL MENTION: Anastasia is in the 2nd grade.

Dumplings

Rebecca Feng

2 min | Animation | 2020 | Kansas, US | Massachusetts Premiere

Jury Statement: “Loved this! A great cultural insight. The animation not only stood alone as great, but the mixture of audio, angles, and lighting really made this immersive.”

Cloudy Dream

BEST ANIMATION - Sponsored by ACMi/Arlington, MA

Rayhaneh Einollahi and Bahareh Einollahi

5 min | Animation | 2021 | Iran | US Premiere

Jury Statement: “What a great message! Easy to follow, and enough left to think about as an audience member. This is a great effort and hit on all elements of technical requirements. Well, done! Keep using your voice!”

Egg

Mahdi Barqzadegan

2 min | 2020 | Iran | US Premiere

An unfortunate situation, but we all seem to be abused today, lulled to sleep with our most basic needs met. However, this mindset does not allow for any significant change. 

Official Selections: Asian Cinematography Awards (Hong Kong China), Animart Festival (Athens Greece, 7th Siding Festival of Films (British Columbia Canada), Lima WebFest (Lima Peru).

The Man Who Never Saw the Rain

Miguel Muñoz

2 min | 2020 | Spain | East Coast Premiere

What if you had never seen it rain?

Awards: Festival Int’l de Curtas-Metragens de Fargo (Portugal), Concurso de Cortos RNE (Spain)

Official Selections: Festival de Cine de Madrid (Spain, Portobello FF (UK), Star Fest (Croatia), Festival de Cine Hispanofono de Athenas (Greece), Cluji Shorts Int’l Short FF (Romania, Anilogue Int’l Animation Festival (Hungary), Cleveland Int’l FF (USA), among many others.

Senses

Udo Prinsen

8 min | 2021 | Netherlands | US Premiere

Five short animation chapters, touch, sight, sound, scent, and taste are represented in this colorful poetic music film, a visual poem portraying the senses. The musical heritage of Paul Crucq inspired this project. With Paul’s passing, he left a beautiful collection of songs, compositions, and experimental sound archive that were used as a base for this short, celebrating the immense creativity, integrity, and love Paul represented. The film was created in close collaboration with Nina Linde Jaspers, the Crucq family, and animation designer Anna Koppen. Support came from Foundation Frank van der Wal. "The film was created in close collaboration with Nina Linde Jaspers and the Crucq family and animation designer Anna Koppen."

Official Selection: Buzz IFF – Romania. 

Creative Mind

Mahdi Barqzadegan

3 min | 2019 | Iran | US Premiere

The challenges that we all have with our minds. The story is about a man who wants to sleep but can’t because his brain continues to produce ideas.

Awards: Asian Cinematography Awards (Hong Kong China); Official Selections: Flatness Film Awards, Animart Festival (Athens Greece, 7th Siding Festival of Films (British Columbia Canada), Lima WebFest (Lima Peru), Veracruz World FF, New Generation FF, Constantine’s Gold Coin FF, Neum Animation FF, 3rd National Festival of Digital Arts, among others.

Autumn

Sofia Gutman

2 min | 2019 | France | East Coast Premiere

Its Autumn, birds are migrating to warmer climate. On the gray streets of Paris, illegal immigrants are selling shoes. Winter is near.

Official Selections: Arouca FF Portugal, San Francisco Frozen FF US, Copenhagen Short FF Denmark, London Migration FF UK.

The Cat

Mary Apick

13 min | 2020 | US | East Coast Premiere

The story of a happy little girl who is selling flowers on the street…. until the idyllic world she knows is enveloped by an oozing, malevolent darkness that destroys everything in its path. She is forced to run for her life as the darkness consumes anything that it can’t control – art, education, religion, society, and even the people themselves. The darkness and oppression are so relentless that the exhausted girl gives up. But she can’t go quit; she continues to fight whatever the cost. Her strength and determination bring light back to her life and repel the darkness. She is free once again and the world is beautiful once again. The filmmaker was born in Iran and has created a parable about life – especially for women – in Iran since the Revolution and what we hope the future will bring.

Official Selections: Cinema St. Louis, Prague Int’l FF, Moscow Int’l FF, among others.

The Sea Within the Room

Fang-Yi Hsueh

5 min | 2019 | Taiwan | Massachusetts Premiere

Rape victims sometimes experience what is referred to as “freezing behavior”, allowing them to emotionally detach, compensating for their inability to control their body and resist. The director hopes to convey this inability to resist where we, the audience can better understand the mental state of victims and hopefully remove the blaming of victims.

Official Selections: World Festival of Animated Film Varna Bulgaria, Porto Femme Int’l FF Portugal, Chaniartoon Int’l Comic & Animation F Greece, Int’l Short FF The Unprecedented Cinema Estonia, Anima F Int’l de Animacion de Cordoba Argentina, San Francisco Frozen FF, Linz Int’l Short FF Austria, Copenhagen Short FF Denmark, Constantine’s Gold Coin Serbia, Int’l FF of Animation Cinema & Comics Italy, Lanterna Magica F Int’l de Animacao Brazil, Health for All FF US, Tres Court Int’l FF France, Festival Int’l de Cine de Lanzarote Spain, Hiroshima Int’l Animation F Japan, Womanimation-US, Zabut Int’l Animated Short FF Italy, AnimaFest World F of Animated Films in Zagreb Croatia.

White Night

Issam Taachit

7 min | 2020 | Algeria | US Premiere

The event takes place at the top of the high Aures Mountains and precisely in one of the tall Atlantic cedar trees. In those mountains, in the cold winter, when snow covers all the place, with light winds, the snow masses accumulate, to roll down the mountain reaching the bottom. In front of a warm house, it divides into three balls forming a snowman and there is a beautiful happening that takes place.

Awards: Best Short Animation - Karnataka Youth Int’l Short FF (New Delhi India)

Official Selections: Int’l Xposure FF (Sharjah UAE), Int’l Quarantine FF (Kenya Africa), CONA 2020 Animation Festival (Athens Greece), Vues D'afrique Int’l FF (Quebec Canada), Cinetudantil Guaiba (Brazilia Brazil), China Int’l Green FF (Peking China), Box Short FF (London UK), Buenos Aires Int’l FF (Argentina), Alexandria Short FF (Egypt).

Family Name in the Pocket

Stepan Koval

14 min | 2019 | Ukraine | US Premiere

Based on a real-life story, a woman is walking a long way from one village to another, where everyone has died of famine. All she can think about is how to rescue her son from starvation. The only way to do it is to put the child on a train heading out of the countryside to any town with possibilities.

Official Screenings: Mubi Int’l FF, Animator FF, among others.