Cerulia
In this meticulously crafted stop-motion menagerie, Cerulia may seem like delicate porcelain, but as the creepiness mounts, it’s the audience who just might crack first!
Age: 10+
A Field Guide to Being a 12-Year-Old Girl
Who doesn’t need A Field Guide to Being a 12-Year-Old Girl—whether you are, have been, or ever wanted to be one—in this wry comedy.
Xavier
A father is told his son isn’t like the others, but he knows his fledgling drummer boy will find his own beat.
The Shadow of Cairo
The Shadow of Cairo must take on a different mission and guise in the face of harassment during her first superhero outing on the streets of Egypt.
Penguin Highway
Precocious Aoyama is crazy for science. He calculates the days until he is grown up and keeps a scientific notebook at the ready. He’s got hypotheses and independent variables down pat. But some topics he hasn’t mastered: How do the laws of attraction operate? What is this emerging feeling for his hygienist-turned-tutor? As if puberty isn’t enough of a mystery, he must uncover what’s causing hordes of kawaii penguins to invade his suburban town, with help from the bright girl in his class. A charming tangle of scientific principles, fantastical physics, and baffling hormonal surges, Penguin Highway’s destination is the journey, all right.
Note: includes tween fixation with and objectification of female anatomy
Note: includes tween fixation with and objectification of female anatomy
Raoul Taburin
The truth takes some freewheeling liberties in this story based on the work of beloved writer and illustrator Jean-Jacques Sempé. Raoul’s hilly French town is crazy for vélos, bicycles that impart freedom and joy to all—all, that is, except Raoul. Everyone believes he’s the resident expert and champion stunt rider, but he’s never mastered cycling. Try as he might to reveal his secret, no one will buy it. Proving that even the biggest champ harbors a little imposter syndrome, Raoul Taburin warmly shows that weaknesses can be strengths when we learn to roll with them together.
My Extraordinary Summer with Tess
While Sam’s family heads out for a Dutch island holiday of togetherness and fun, the 10-year-old decides it’s the perfect time to train himself to be alone. Even if his teen brother is a know-it-all, Sam’s got a great family and no reason to worry. But as the youngest, he fears one day he’ll outlive everyone. His training is interrupted when he meets spirited Tess, who, on a pressing quest of her own, pulls Sam into her madcap scheme. The two discover that, as messy and vulnerable as it is, maybe togetherness isn’t so bad.
Note: includes some explicit language, including sexual references, by teen
Note: includes some explicit language, including sexual references, by teen
My Body
Sometimes you talk to the mirror, and sometimes it tries to talk back. But your body is your business—and yours alone—and one young woman has had enough.
Two Snails Set Off
A star-studded French voice cast joins in on this witty walk, or rather creep, to the dark side, which takes as its starting point a classic poem by Jacques Prévert.
Totems
A lumberjack is working in the forest when a tree falls on him and traps him. In his plight, his inner animal is awakened…
Shock Therapy
Spiders, snakes, monsters…You name it, Jim’s afraid of it. One day, he bravely decides to try a kind of shock therapy—facing your fears directly—by inviting the whole load of them into his home.
Notes on Monstropedia
A monsterologist in Medieval Europe crafts an intricate, illuminated bestiary. The result is a comprehensive monster archive, searchable by artful turns of phrase and set to the slightly creepy if classical strains of a harpsichord.
Eternal Hunting Grounds
Two children play on an island. Their favorite game: to search under stones, on the beach, in the mud, and in the fields, hunting for creatures that have given up the ghost.
Ellee
What’s a monster—eerie, creepy, not a “normal” creature? Ellee challenges us to rethink difference and test our lenses.
The Dinner Party
A mysterious host invites guests to a dinner party. However, his strange friends have even stranger eating habits…
Dentures of Death
When Tommy’s parents go out, he’s forced to spend a nervous night in the company of his very old great-uncle. With Tommy losing his first tooth and Great Uncle losing his last, all signs point to a harrowing conclusion in this comically dark tale of youthful misunderstanding.
The Burden
Upbeat, downbeat, and quirky beyond belief, this unique stop-motion short is filled with the unexpected, including catchy post-apocalyptic tap dancing, telemarketing, and auto-tune numbers that rattle your norm to the core.
Scrap Dolls
On the east side of Detroit, an 11-year-old boy discovers the transformative power of art over loss when he happens upon a self-fashioned conjurer of abandoned objects.
Princess
Behind Ole’s harsh exterior is a kid who misses his mom and feels misfit. Fortunately, his schoolmate Davie is a lot tougher than she looks, and she uses all her strength to push back against his bullying to model another way for him.
Note: contains strong language and verbal/physical bullying
The Number on Great-Grandpa’s Arm
Mixing documentary footage and hand-painted animation, this gentle yet powerful family story centers on Elliott’s connection to his beloved great-grandfather Jack, an Auschwitz survivor. Jack relates his important history and forges an indelible, tender bond between generations.
The King of Twirl
This dance-documentary follows 11-year-old Janero as he pursues competitive twirling and faces down both physical challenges and stereotypes about what most consider a girls’ sport.
Hello Salaam
Two boys from Holland are headed on a big journey, traveling to a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos where their mothers volunteer. How will the boys bridge such big differences in language, culture, and experiences to make friends and build meaningful bonds?
The Day I Beat the Sky
One boy finds a creative way to tap into his anxieties and transform them into art.
Cat Days
Jiro feels sick. When his father takes him to the doctor, tests reveal it’s nothing serious, and yet make for surprising news about Jiro. But who says you can’t challenge the results?
Albert & Aidan Sykes
Aidan starts this poignant animated interview with his dad by asking: “Do you remember what was going through your head when you first saw me?”
Tough
A Chinese mother and her British-born daughter trade perspectives as they look back in order to move forward in this culturally-nuanced story.
Sleepover
Silvia throws a sleepover party, but things can be complicated when your house doesn’t quite match what they think of as a home.
Scrambled
Whenever Esra misses her train, her go-to for killing time is playing a game on her smartphone. But soon, a classic Cube challenges her attention.
Safia’s Summer
Displaced from her home in Libya, Safia must take on the tricky balancing act of growing up without knowing where she and her family will settle.
Game
A.J. Green, a new kid in town, shows up at boys’ basketball tryouts and instantly makes an impression. Can it be sustained?