The nominees were announced during the Celebration of Animation: Animation Day May 18 -23
This is California by Gongqi Yu 0:51 United States
The day I realized that beauty and surprises are not at the end of the world, but right in front of my eyes. After living in California for 4 years, I want to share the beauty of California, the place I call home, with the rest of the world.
Rebel by Elle-Maija Tailfeathers 14:16 Canada
"Mixing archival footage, re-enactments and animation, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers’ extraordinarily beautiful and poignant documentary Bihttos (Sámi for "rebel") explores how past injustices impacted the marriage of her mother, who is of Blackfoot descent, and her Sami father." - Steve Gravestock, TIFF Top Ten
EmBarked by Mikel Mugica Amann 4:20 United States
A tree house embarks on a journey to find his lost friend.
The Importance of Lios by Danielle Edwards 8:00 United States
The Importance of Lios is the story of a young earthworm named Lios who longs to know his place in the world. He spends most days alone in his room, reading books. Here he learns of many things but what he loves most is animals. Large, powerful animals that walk the earth above him. Lios feels unimportant, forgotten about in the soil, while larger animals like dogs and horses star in movies above ground. However, his sadness has not gone unnoticed. His father, Toor, has been watching for quite some time. Toor wants so badly to show his son that earthworms are important too, especially the soil around them. He takes his son on a journey where Lios learns just how important their ecosystem is and that without it, there could be no life on Earth. In promotion of the International Year of Soils, IPNI has partnered with Masters Candidates of The University of Georgia Dramatic Media Program to produce this short film.
Urban Beauty by Zoe Miller 2:48 United States
An abandoned building stood tall in a desolate Detroit neighborhood. It was a foster home for a lost juvenile delinquent that went by the same of Street Rat. She lost her real name long ago when she died. Street Rat did not know how or why she was killed, but somehow it trapped her soul on earth. She was nothing more than a dead rat, crawling amongst the scummy underworld of the city of Detroit. She traveled sometimes by foot, as well as through graffiti in the walls, it was her only form of enjoyment within the dark realm that confined her. Painful, unexplainable flashbacks brought her back to her life when she was alive. Visions of battles with her father filled her mind and drove her mad. He suffered from extreme mental illness, and no matter how much she tried she could not eliminate his pain. The memories dragged her spirit down, making it impossible to escape her dreadful fate. Her symptoms only got worse when the Street Demon came around. Standing on the outside walls of an abandoned factory, Street Rat wept over her dismal fate. She broke down and crouched with her head in her knees, trying to wake up from what she hoped was a horrible dream. Just then, a burning house flashed in Street Rat’s mind. She stood up quickly and alert, sensing that something was not right; something was behind her. The Street Demon raised itself to her as she turned around, looming far above like a storm cloud, becoming more and more fierce the more it grew. She continued to see images flash through her mind as she reluctantly stared into its eyes, a flaming house and vivid images of her father; they disturbed her but she could not look away. Street Rat broke free from the glaring eyes of the demon and flew away into the abandoned building; the demon was close on her tail. She was in a sea of pillars, and quickly became lost inside the desolate building. Each time she tried to escape, the demon appeared, and the disturbing images flashed through her mind and sucked her into its grasps. She found an escape from the building, and ran down the street trying to escape the beast. To her demise, the demon could follow her from building to building, it trailed behind her as she found her way into another structure, hiding herself among the vast variety of debris that filled the inside. She cowered in fear of the beast as the flashbacks ran through her head. She saw herself standing outside of a house. It appeared to be her father’s house. She saw him light a match, and suddenly the house burst into flames, thrusting her back into reality. It was a successful suicide attempt that took two lives, not just one. She now realized that that was why she was trapped. Street Rat gathered all of her strength, and raised herself to the beast. It launched itself at her, and she met that attack with a blow so fierce the demon was destroyed almost instantly. In a flash of red light she is transported into a dream world. She woke up lying on a checkered floor in a huge empty room. The sky was purple and dark, the floors a strange checkered board pattern. She looked and saw a tall rectangular structure looming above her. A man who resembled her father sat high above, looking down she saw his eyes were filled with sorrow. She looked to him, and told him she was sorry. He looked deep into her eyes, and smiled. With that smile he drifted away, as does she, and they exit the dream world together. They both could finally be at peace.
FLIPPING by JIN KYU AHN 8:00 United States
FLIPPING is an automatic animation (action animating) created by applying ‘flipping’, a traditional hand-drawn animation technique. The spectrum of a soundless collision between cuts created by a collision of two different physical properties again collides with the sound made by playing two improvised scores folded after burnt. This work has a structure with the complex relationship that two planes are oppositely located in the light and dark space, two materials exist between the two planes, and two sounds permeate between the two materials. And it stays between the life (time) and sensibility of the artist himself.
Painter by jisu park 8:13 Republic of Korea
Painter accidentally pulls-off pigeon's feather which was pride of pigeon. Because of that, angry pigeons vengeance starts. During fight of Painter and pigeon accidentally draws fantastic painting on building. Pigeons and Painter gets great cheer.
Damn Those Crows by Rotem Hermoni 5:28 Israel
An ancient ceremony is taking place at a ghost town in the middle of the desert. Human indifference leads to the end of what naturally grows.
Redpoint by Motahareh Ahmadpour 4:43 Islamic Republic of Iran
you can see wonderful city...with heart and brain!!
Switch Man by Hsun-Chun Chuang 3:38 Taiwan
In a normal quiet Sunday, Dr. Evil Mantis attacted K-City unexpectedly with his gigantic claw, the entire city in panic and in danger. At the very critical moment, one young man stood out and fight the Dr. Evil Mantis. This is the moment for the hidden superhero, and his secret power is about to turn this chaos upside down. The Legend is about to begin...
CHATELIN Bruno 
