Opening Night: Animation Springtacular! – May 17th 7pm
Kick off the festival with a family-friendly night of fun, laughter, and breathtaking animation that celebrates the global art of storytelling!
Kick off the festival with a family-friendly night of fun, laughter, and breathtaking animation that celebrates the global art of storytelling!
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Hands of Stone
In 2021, Anuhea Yagi participated in our collaborative Hui Mo‘olelo program with Hale Hōʻikeʻike at the Bailey House/ Maui Historical Society. In 2022, we captured this audio-recorded talk-story between she and Hōaka Delos Reyes, an expert in the field of stone-on-stone carving (kālai pōhaku). In 2024, professional artists from across the globe submitted proposals to translate this story as a work of public art. Upon selection by a community panel, artist Sasha Hercik entered a period of project development to meet the storytellers, learn more about the context of their story, and infuse the evolving design with a sense of place distinct to the recording.
Animation Director: Sasha Hercik
Country of Origin: Hawai'i
Length: 2:49 Minutes |
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How Do We Speak?
A young child loses her ability to speak her native language but discovers there’s more to communicating than just words.
Director: Julianne Li
Country of Origin: Canada
Length: 2:23 Minutes Student Film |
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Scrubby
Scrubby wants to live in his mother's thick fur forever, but she's starting to lose hair.
When he brings back a strand of hair that flew away, all he finds is a pile of hair and a trail in the snow. In search of his mother, Scrubby encounters a naked, freezing creature. Is his fur enough to warm both of them? Directed by: Paul Vollet Country of Origin: Germany
Length: 6:33 Minutes Student Film |
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The Journey
"The Journey" is a touching 2D animated film that challenges the stereotype of cats as selfish and aloof. Inspired by a true story, the film follows Mimi, a devoted cat who, after the loss of her beloved owner, continues to faithfully follow the same route every day to a park they once visited together. Each day, she sits on the same bench, waiting with unwavering hope for her owner's return.
As the seasons change, Mimi grows older and her energy wanes, but her loyalty remains steadfast. One day, feeling unusually tired, Mimi closes her eyes on the bench. When she opens them, she finds herself in a glowing, ethereal form. To her surprise and joy, she sees her beloved owner waiting for her, just as they used to be. In a tender and bittersweet reunion, Mimi and her owner embrace, symbolizing a love that transcends life and death. Through slow-paced cinema, intimate cinematography, and evocative sound design, "The Journey" brings the audience into the world of a grieving cat, challenging preconceived notions and revealing the depth of emotion and loyalty that cats are capable of. Directed by: Arundhati Pethe Country of Origin: United States
Length: 3:11 Minutes Student Film |
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Heads Full of Life
Some shells hold entire oceans. What can we do to break out of our shells? A mixed media animated short film about getting out of your head and accepting help from your friends.
Directed by: Teo Nalani Country of Origin: United States
Length: 1:43 Minutes Student Film |
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The Dream That Sets Us Free
Limited by his health, an elderly man feels trapped and unable to fulfill his dream of traveling the world. Unexpectedly, freedom arrives in a moment of sharing.
Directed by: 3.ºA Colégio do Marítimo / CENA Country of Origin: Portugal
Length: 3:00 Minutes Student Film |
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Piano Hand
A girl and her hands, while learning to play the piano, gradually lost the ability to “play”. Playing is no longer a game, she and hands seemed in dissonance with each other.
Directed by: Emi Yining Sun Country of Origin: United States
Length: 8:13 Minutes Student Film |
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Black Sanga: The Prototype
Black Sanga: The Prototype is an animated fantasy short film set in the magical world of Gaea. The titular protagonist, Black Sanga, and her companion, the talking sword Sphinx, will travel through a misty forest and encounter some friendly and not so friendly creatures along the way.
Directed by: Carlos Berenguer Carrión Country of Origin: Spain
Length: 13:43 Minutes |
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Bahr
While grieving the loss of his wife, a father struggles with faith in a chance to reconnect with her; the journey is portrayed as death being a beginning rather than an end, a simple line separating two worlds.
Directed by: Belal Abosamra Country of Origin: Egypt
Length: 7:30 Minutes Student Film |
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ELECTRA WASP
ELECTRA WASP is an experimental animated psychobiography about the death and life of trailblazing pilot Amelia Earhart. It is a retrospective of her emotional world and an exploration of what drove her to pursue her passion for flying.
Directed by: Wasan Hayajneh Country of Origin: United States
Length: 6:00 Minutes Student Film |
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Love and Death
The respective heirs of two warring kingdoms fall in love.
Directed by: Greg Radi Country of Origin: United States
Length: 1:31 Minutes |
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My Deer
When a young passer-by sees a set of stag antlers on a living room wall, he believes himself to be that deer. In search of his origin, he is led by the householder, an avid hunter, to a rocky landscape behind her house. Everything turns out to be a ghost train in which they all live.
Directed by: Juliane Block Country of Origin: Germany
Length: 6:40 Minutes |
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Whispers of Unspoken Moments
In 'Whispers of Unspoken Moments,' viewers are invited on a journey through the universal experience of love - a blurry memory about that special someone. Set against the backdrop of Taiwan, the film intertwines personal narrative with cultural resonance, painting love with its joys and tears. Through non-linear storytelling, the animation captures the essence of love, portraying this extraordinary experience from an ordinary perspective.
Directed by: Ameily Chang Country of Origin: Taiwan
Length: 1:35 Minutes Student Film |
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Tell me a story
The film was produced by a workshop with girls about their personal lives or their friends’ stories and an attempt to heal from them
Directed by: Marwa ali Country of Origin: Egypt
Length: 4:04 Minutes Student film |
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Shakespeare for all Ages
Shakespeare's works are timeless - this film proves it!
206 international festivals, 18 awards. Awarded with the Seal of Approval"Highly Recommended" the highest distinction of the FBW, the German federal authority for evaluating and rating film and media. "How can you give the target and age group "smartphone" an overview of the work of this unique literary genius without getting bogged down in long-winded lectures on verse and drama theory? The filmmaker and artist Hannes Rall has turned this consideration into a very short and yet for that very reason so great animated film. (...) He succeeds in depicting the poet's most famous plays in an immediately recognisable way with individual images that flow dynamically into one another. A smart, entertaining and coherent Shakespeare homage in about 3 minutes." Directed by: Hannes Rall Country of Origin: Germany
Length: 2:42Minutes |
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Rasmalai
Things get a bit tense in a conventional Indian middle class household, when the youngest member feels unseen. “ Guddi ( the daughter's name) feels crushed when Papa fails to acknowledge her achievements. Her silent revolution shifts the dynamics of the system, as the conversations become short and the family dinners turn cold. Rasmalai questions society's conventions about the role of the father in the family and the child's development . Papa’s love for his daughter and the respect he garners as the head of the family hangs on a balance. Torn between his daughter's love and his daughter's respect, will the truce coated in sweet rasmalai be enough to diffuse the stalemate.
Directed by: Debopom Chakraborty Country of Origin: India
Length: 8:48 Minutes Student film |
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Tennis, Oranges
A robotic vacuum suffering from burnout quits its job at a hospital and sets out to find community and a greater purpose on a quiet street where two lonely rabbits are stuck in perpetual loops.
Directed by: Sean Pecknold Country of Origin: United Dtates
Length: 10:53 Minutes |