Invention Of Love

A love story from the world of gears and bolts. Inspired by Lotte Reiniger works and Antony Lucas’s Jasper Morello film.

Apart from the music, this is basically a one-man job by Russian Andrey Shushkov; and what a beautifully made job it turned out to be! With an art style that feels truly different without really breaking any new ground, reminding me slightly of the graphics from the PSP game Patapon at times, this near-silent movie is an unspoken gem. The final scene especially uses it’s art style in an extremely clever way too, whilst other moments left me pausing just to take in how gorgeous it looked.

Year: 2010

Director, Animator, Editor & Written by: Andrey Shushkov

Music by: Polina Sizova and Anton Melnikov

From: Russia

Lavatory

A story about love and the random nature of when it strikes. The main character is a lonely female restroom attendant who discovers she has a secret admirer and searches frantically for his identity.

This was nominated for the Best Animated Short Film in 2008, and it’s a sweet little love tale (if you like that sort of thing).

Year: 2007

Director: Konstantin Bronzit

From: Russia

The Spine

A group therapy session for couples begins. The therapist asks Dan, a small, shrunken man, to comment. Dan is interrupted by Mary, his huge wife, who complains about Dan and scolds him.

I’ve only just discovered the work of Chris Landreth, an award-winning animator who won the Oscar in 2003 for his work on the short ‘Ryan’, and this is a great introduction. Stunning visual, that at times are eery in their lifelike textures, merge with cinemography and imagery that are like a collaboration of Dali and Kaufman. A must-watch.

Year: 2009

Director: Chris Landreth

From: Canada

Subsidized Fate

A man unquestioningly follows bright signs lit up with neon lights, but when they guide him into a strangers bedroom things get out of hand…

One of my favourite parts of London is Piccadilly Circus, emblazoned with giant adverts for big-name brands, so it’s with grudging admiration that I enjoy this short so much. This cutting and clever animation is a satirical commentary on the effect advertising has on our psyche in the modern days of adverts seemingly everywhere.

Year: 2010

Director: Lance Myers

From: USA

Le vilain petit carré

A stop-motion short delicately put together on colour paper, this is basically a charming version of the Ugly Duckling. It’s worth a watch mainly for the great music and inventive world they create – and the psychedelic scenes later on are quite something too.

Year: 2010

Director: Tout Court

Sound Design: Neal Williams

The End

A wonderfully told tale conjured up from a story that has a great premise – what happens to scarecrows if they commit treason. Especially good is the music throughout, guiding us across the canvas of this tale with beautiful melodies right to the end of the credits.

Year: 2006

Creators: Maxime Leduc, Michel Samreth and Martin Reyant

Music: Arnaud Liefooghe

Ark

Some works define why short animated films are so special and this is one of them. Truly spectacular to look at (especially in HD) and an ability to transport you to another world in only seven minutes. Writer and director Grzegorz Jonkajtys has worked on the visual effects of Sin City and Pans Labyrinth (amongst others) and the visual computing stylings on display here are, at times, breathtaking.

Year: 2007

Director & Writer: Grzegorz Jonkajtys

Jack

Created from ‘inside the freezing cold garage of my parents’, Emma Ewing’s first animation is a simple but great one. The experience of making Jack lead to her working full-time in animation, and with such a polished first attempt it’s not hard to see why.

Year: 2007

From: England

Director & Animatorr: Emma Ewing

Script: Jennifer Ewing

Special-Effects: Brad Silby

Narrator: Anthony Green

Polaris

From Finnish newcomer Niina Suominen, this is a haunting stop-motion gem that uses already well-used visual techniques but against a backdrop of music and cinematography that make this well worth a watch.

Year: 2010

From: Jalonen Brothers, London, England

Director & Scriptwriter: Niina Suominen

Cinematography: Ossi Jalonen

Music: Bjorn Ekstrom