Official Selections: 5th LA Animated Film Festival
Congratulations to our accepted filmmakers!
Films are listed in alphabetical order, index to the left.
Scroll Down to learn more about each film.
Bad Dog
Short Short
A motorcycle-riding dog must compete with the Grim Reaper to save his soul.
Director: Erin Malfi
Producer: Erin Malfi
Writer: Erin Malfi
Cast: Mark Hunter
Editor: Erin Malfi
Sound Designer: Bob Pepek
Music: Blue Wave Theory
- New York International Film Awards- Winner
- The Motorcycle Channel Film Festival- Viewer's Choice Award
- MotoTematica Motorcycle Film Festival- Finalist
- New York Animation Film Awards- Semi-Finalist
Website: erinmalfi.wixsite.com/my-site
Instagram: @digitalfist, @baddogfilm
Twitter: @digitxo
Chihuahua Drama
Los Angeles Premiere
Short Short
Chihuahua Drama is a tale of crime and friendship where not everything is as it seems…
A loving couple rescue a dog, but little do they know of their new dog’s checkered and turbulent past!
In this film we sneak a peek at the memories of Paco, our pointy-eared protagonist and get swept up in the unbelievable journey filled with both sweet and unsavory characters as the wild events unfold leading him to his new loving home.
Director: Ozgur Karakucuk
Producer: Adryen J. Gonzalez
Cast: Peter Yasso, Bahar Karakucuk, Ozgur Karakucuk
Chihuahua Drama comes from a place very close to home for the director and art team…
Have you ever seen a scrawny, rough-around-the-edges rescue animal and wondered, “What have you been through, you poor thing?” This film is for them, a dedicated love letter to all those sweet, scraggly, quirky rescue animals who we cannot help but love.
Director Ozgur Karakucuk was inspired by his own rescue pup Bean and the fast paced, sometimes risqué, whirlwind storylines of mid-90’s cartoons for Chihuahua Drama’s rhythm and look. The peripheral story elements however, come from the team’s feelings on the current socio-economic climate here at home in the US. As artists, the whole crew behind Chihuahua Drama want to make fun cartoons about what we love, but also understand that we cannot turn a blind eye to the things affecting our lives and the lives of our furry friends.
Globby the Dragon (地图龙)
Los Angeles Premiere
Short
A unique story about the meaning of language, told in a wordless format. A deaf and blind elderly man visits the vet with his pet dragon Globby. Despite the language barrier, love transcends the boundaries of language in their profound relationship.
Director: Sun&Egg
Producer: Yi Liu
Writer: Yimu Ma & Hedwig Ma
Any awards, accolades or additional details about the process you would like to mention:
- Best International Short Animation of 35th Galway Film Fleadh
Website: insfilm.com/a.php?id=1#Little-Wonderers
Instagram: @insight_studios_hk
Twitter: @insightstudiohk
Facebook: @Insight Studios_HK
Inventing Father (海风)
Los Angeles Premiere
Short
In a tale of love and loss, one young girl finds the strength to confront the grief that has swallowed her up like a tidal wave. The film follows Bei Bei, a girl living in a seaside town with her mother. Bei Bei’s greatest wish is for her father to return from his work at sea, and everything changes when she finds a seashell with a message from him engraved on it.
Director: Xiang Yata (Hui Zhu)
Producer: Yi Liu
Writer: Xinda Chen
- Best Animation Short of San Francisco Arthouse Short Festival 2023
Website: insfilm.com/a.php?id=1#Little-Wonderers
Instagram: @insight_studios_hk
Twitter: @insightstudiohk
Facebook Page: @Insight Studios_HK
Love Bubbles
Los Angeles Premiere
Short
Floating on a pink cloud as a couple is easy. It is much more difficult to cope with everyday life and the future together - an amusing relationship drama.
Director: Marcel Hobi
Producer: Marcel Hobi
Writer: Marcel Hobi
Animation: Joana Toste
Sound Design & Mixing: Peter Bräker, Oscar van Hoogevest
Music: Mario Batkovic
Editor: Marcel Hobi
Website: looping-animations.ch/11371730/love-bubbles
Instagram: @looping_animations
Buckets City
Short Short
The trials and tribulations of two
best friends playing streetball against neighborhood bullies throughout their lives.
Director: Dave Quion
Producer: Dave Quion
Writer: Dave Quion
Cast: Kyle Blanton Ross, Dave Quion, Desnar Pandiangan, Jana Joy Quion
Editor: Dave Quion
-Dances With Films LA 2023 - Official Selection
-Hong Kong Kids International Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
-San Diego International Kid's Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
-Boston International Kids Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
Instagram: @buckets_city_film/
Facebook: fb.com/bucketscity
Gene’s 6th Symphony
World Premiere
Short
The original animated short “Gene’s 6th Symphony” is based on a true story and was born with only six notes of music that became a symphonic magical story that defines true love a life-long journey ending with a hope that lives forever.
Director: Jordi Garcia
Producer: Larry Wilhite/Rick Silanskas
Writer: Gene Bicknell/Jordi Garcia/Rick Silanskas
Editor: Jordi Garcia
- Tokyo Film Awards Silver Winner
- Washington DC International Cinema Festival Winner
- Garden State Film Festival Winner
- Julien Dubuque International Film Festival Winner
- WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival REMI Winner
- New York Animation Film Awards Winner
Website: mansionanimation.com
Instagram: @mansionanimation
Twitter: @mansionanimation
Facebook: fb.com/mansionanimation
Innermost
Los Angeles Premiere
Short
The background of the stop-motion animation short film Innermost is set in the future featured by highly advanced technologies but collapsed society and civilization system. The cyberpunk-style science fiction world coexists fantastically with the traditional oriental martial arts world. The story follows the emotional entanglement between a long-lost chivalrous couple and a person with regenerated organs starting from a fight for a mystic magic lyre. From the perspective of what regeneration technologies are able of, the short film will arouse the audience to think of how the value of emotions can be magnified or dissolved.
Director: Caochong Maing
Producer: Echo Ni
Writer: Caochong Maing
Production Designer: Stan Liu
Cinematographer: Quill Yang
Art Director: Sue Sun
Animator: Matt Liu
Editor: Night Congee
- Fantasia International Film Festival 2023 ASIA Short Film Official Selection
- 27th Bucheon International Fantasia Film Festival Bucheon Choice: Shorts Official Selection
- 12th Animation Studio Festival Best Film Stop Motion Winner / Best Design Winner
- Paris Art & Movie Awards∣PAMA Sessions Best Animation Short Winner
- 10th ARFF Barcelona // International Awards Best Animation Honorable Mention
- Animation Dingle 2023 Best International Professional Award Nominee
- 2022 HiShorts! Film Festival Main Competition Animation Nominee
- 17th FIRST International Film Festival Main Competition Official Selection
- 10th Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival Animated Film Official Selection
- 15th San Jose International Short Film Festival Animation Official Selection
It Was Up There
West Coast Premiere
Short Short
The true story of a couple who are driving through an unpopulated region of the New Mexico desert when they see something unexplainable up in the night sky. This amazing and hilarious story, told by the filmmakers' parents, is lovingly animated by hand and brings to life a family legend that has remained a secret for over 15 years.
Director: Jesse Willmon
Producer:Jesse Willmon
Writer: Jesse Willmon
Cast: Fred Willmon, Sarah Willmon
Editor: Jesse Willmon
- Woodstock Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
- Rhode Island International Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
- Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival 2023 - Finalist
- Elgin Short Film Festival 2023 - Finalist
- Animation Block Party 2023 - Official Selection
- Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Fest 2023 - Official Selection
- Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
Website: itwasupthere.com