Drawback

Volpina

A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.

A man finds his reality and dreams colliding as he is enticed by a heavenly figure.

A man searches for the source of an increasingly disturbing sound until he finds its source to be something unexpected.

An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.

A little man tries to save a bird that fell from its nest. A stop-motion adventure drawn and animated on paper.

a man is walking alone at night until a strange man bumps into him.

Self-replicating entities that have evolved on different planets merge and proliferate exponentially. In search of more energy sources, they consume other stars.

An ant colony finds that the strange new food source they've discovered may be something more of a curse than a boon.

LATE NIGHT (2018) is a contemporary neo-noir short film depicting a single night and morning in the life of a first-time contract killer. With virtually no dialogue, it aims to visually illustrate and probe themes of conscience, greed, guilt, and the interplay between fate and circumstance.

When a woman working in an office is tempted by the final cupcake from the snack stand in her office, she must fight tirelessly to have it from a colleague who keeps getting there before her.

A young hare named Ferdinand is playing the harmonica before the battle. Soon the signal for attack will be given, and Ferdinand will face the terrible enemy on the battlefield.

A puppet, newly released from his strings, explores the sinister room in which he finds himself.

Kappo

Follow Napoleon Bonaparte, everyone’s favorite vertically challenged dictator, as he learns to interact with the modern day world. When his trusty stead gets a parking ticket, Napoleon is forced to come to grips with his new stature in society.

Boxxy is a cardboard box left by the roadside, full of dreams, watching the world in motion. One day, an unexpected push sets off a wild ride through obstacles and emotions — and from that moment, nothing will ever be the same.

In an isolated country house close to the shore near Saint-Tropez, seven young women share a bedroom. Over two days, they wake, shower, breakfast, play dress up, bathe in the sea, picnic, ride bikes, pick flowers, have a pillow fight, run on the strand, practice ballet stretches, groom themselves and each other, and laugh. Anne returns a horse to Renaud; the next day, he's in a rowboat and meets her by the pier. By the film's end, all are celebrating with the lovers.

Fish Out of Water manages to unfurl its light-hearted tale of young man and the sea, without a word of dialogue. Avoiding the morning traffic jams, our man (Nick Dunbar) finds peace by rowing each day to work in the city. But when a seductive blonde unexpectedly enters the picture, he finds his morning boat ride heading in unexpected directions. Directed by Lala Rolls (Land of My Ancestors), Fish Out of Water was invited to play in the 2005 NZ Film Festival, plus another 10 overseas fests. Victoria Kelly composes the brass and banjo-inflected soundtrack.

This stop-motion animated short film draws us into a post-apocalyptic world through the eyes of a solitary hamster. Wandering through the ruins of once-thriving cities, he scavenges for objects, searches for water, and tries to care for the last surviving plants. One day, he stumbles upon a pair of binoculars. Through them, he spots a strange house covered in flowers, standing in the middle of the urban desert. Intrigued, he sets off to explore and discovers the Giant, a plant-like creature trapped inside its own overgrown sanctuary. Terrified of the outside world, the Giant dares not cross the walls of its home. Petit decides to help. Together, they embark on a journey that’s as simple as it is extraordinary: to make the Earth bloom again.

Toyoda Toshiaki went to Sado Island and filmed musician Koshiro Hino and Kodo, the local Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble, while they performed music composed especially for Shiver.