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.
Festival Year: 2018
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.
Superperson
A citizen needs rescuing. Luckily, there’s a superhero on hand who just needs somewhere to get into costume…
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.
Henriyeti: Sock it to Me, Yeti!
Henriyeti—a little bit girl and a little bit Yeti—demonstrates that great matches go beyond appearances. It’s just about teaming up and putting one fearless foot in front of the other.
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?
Flip the Record
It’s 1984, the dawn of the DJ era, and Vanessa’s had it with piano lessons and the constraints of her conservative Filipino-American family. Slowly, on the sly, she sets about learning how to scratch on her older brother’s turntables and spins herself a new persona.
Note: contains strong language
Black Barbie
Confronting limited mainstream media depictions, this artful animation poetically explores the filmmaker’s challenges with self-acceptance growing up.
TIS
Are you a cut-out, or will you define the contours of your character and shape your own path?
Scent of Geranium
When you are new to a country, even the simplest things can trip you up, until you learn that blossoming on your own time is just fine.
Poles Apart
Nanuk, a tough-talking polar bear, meets Aklak, an enthusiastic grizzly, when he encroaches on her own dwindling turf, and she’s understandably a little less than patient with his clueless cheer.
Old Bear
A girl and a bear share an apartment, and, like most roommates, they try to balance their own quirky habits to make harmony. But they may need to reexamine what’s polite and what’s way too wild in order to become true friends.
Negative Space
The art of packing bags—and memories—is beautifully examined in this 2018 Oscar® nominee for Best Animated Short Film.
The Geneva Convention
When tensions run high at the school bus stop, a budding diplomat steps up to broker peace.
Fired Up!
Never underestimate the power of one voice to change things, as wittily illustrated by 14 artists from around the world in this animated speech by Barack Obama.
The Fancies
The Fancies are brainless, peaceful prehistoric fungi with hollow bodies and an ability to “eat” through their feet. They enjoy singing, dancing, and living happily in an isolated place called Fancytown.
Fly Lady Fly
Dani has almost cracked the code to set her drone on a very important mission. Will her dad Juan put up a roadblock or let her ideas soar?
Zara and the Others: Gorilla Brains for Dinner
Zara’s a little self-conscious about sharing her unusual family with her friends. But dinnertime is here, and why not make the playdate last just a little longer?
The Theory of Sunset
Deep at night, a dedicated cyclist traverses the wintry forest. The challenge: make sure this new day gets off to a fresh and timely start.
Samedi Cinema
Two young film lovers, Baba and Sembene, pool skills and resources to raise enough cash to see a movie at their local cinema before it closes its doors forever.
Iron Hands
As a 12-year-old preps for her final try-out for the traditionally all-boys Chinese youth Olympic weightlifting team, she gets some valuable pointers from a surprising source.
If You Fall
Eight-year-old Lila takes on the daunting task of learning how to cycle, while she and her beloved Baba must also balance Mom’s work, his art, and everyone learning to grow and let go.
Home
One family learns you can’t always judge a book by its cover—or a sheep by its skin—in this wooly stop-motion tale.
Bird Karma
In this World Premiere that kicks off Dreamworks’ exciting new series of theatrical shorts, a leggy bird discovers that you get as good as you give.