Program 21
TUESDAY
OCTOBER 25, 2:00PM

Thanks Again!
China / Animation / 5 mins
Director/Writer: Yifan Jiang
Producer: Hiroshi Onishi, Yuehan Zhao
Cast: Yifan Jiang
Each character symbolises a tone and appears in front of the vending machines common in the Showa era, forming a melody from memory. As the music ends and people leave, the lone owner says "thanks again" once more.

The Thief
United States / Animation / 3 mins
Director/Writer: Arturo Brena
Producer: Arturo Brena
After stealing a treasure from a nearby castle, a thief in medieval times finds a talisman that actives a magic mirror that confronts her with her early childhood and makes question her current lifestyle.

Dogwood
United States / Animation / 5 mins
Director/Writer: Will Hochman
Producer: Will Hochman
Cast: Will Hochman
A young boy discovers a mysterious stick. With his mother’s help, he plants it in the ground. A short, poetic meditation on time, family, and the healing power of the natural world.

The Boy
United States / Animation / 4 mins
Director: Jonathan Gibney
Producer: Victor Garritano
At the dawn of the Viking era, a young boy yearns to protect his bedridden mother, unable to foresee an onslaught of Vikings, he is thrust into chaos when he loses everything.

99¢ Pizza
United States / Animation / 2 mins
Director: Lucas Ansel
Writer: Lucas Ansel, Aidan Burke
Producer: Lucas Ansel
Cast: Lucas Ansel
On a stormy New York City night, a man finds shelter in a small 99¢ pizza shop. However things begin to quickly unravel when he asks for a slice of pizza, and it's revealed that all is not as it seems.

Birthday Wish
United States / Animation / 2 mins
Director: Min Lee
Birthday Wish is a 3D narrative animated short film about a fairy godmother who works digitally. Today is a five years old girl’s birthday so the fairy godmother needs to grant the girl’s wish using her wish tablet. But on this birthday, she is having one small problem.

Blue
United States / Animation / 7 mins
Director: Robert Petrie
Writer: Robert Petrie, Angus Kneale
Producer: Angus Kneale, Melanie Wickham, Verity Grantham
The film leans into the sci-fi genre in creating a space of wonder and heroism for young people amidst a time where the world can be a scary place with a lot of fear and uncertainty. Our protagonist Jules looks up to the stars and wonders if we will ever get to explore the worlds and galaxies we are yet to see, or even begin to imagine. Love and exploration are the central themes that bind the story together.

The Last Plaque
United States / Animation / 2 mins
Director: Balázs Simon
Writer: Ron Larson, Diana Krulik-Bentzen, Sara Blank
Producer: British Randle, Donat Aron Ertsey
Launching on World Psoriasis Day, The Last Plaque is an animated short film that takes viewers into a utopian future where plaque psoriasis no longer exists. With a glimpse into what a world without psoriasis looks like, we can start to fully understand the emotional toll of the disease, empathize with sufferers, and grasp the importance of finding a cure.

Little Hurts
United States / Animation / 11 mins
Director/Writer: Debra Solomon
Producer: Debra Solomon
Cast: Debra Solomon
An errand at the dry cleaners unleashes a free-for-all of fat-shaming, body image demons and family dieting obsessions.

My Tiny Friends
United States / Animation / 2 mins
Director: Jiyoung Park
A 3D animation about an artist who does not like her work. The video shows her inner space during her journey of artistic creation. The main character, Sasha, meets cute imaginary creatures that pop out from her imagination. But she destroys them because she doesn't like them.

The New Yorker Presents: Dear Max
United States / Animation / 5 mins
Director/Writer: Alex Kahn
Producer: Alex Kahn, Ben Altarescu
In “Dear Max,” the filmmaker Alex Kahn interrogates his struggle over whether—and why—he should give his pandemic newborn a bris.

Where Did You Go Little Souls?
United States / Animation / 6 mins
Director: Loredana Gasparotto
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Hardboiled
United States / Animation / 28 mins
Director/Writer: Peter Sluszka
Producer:Peter Sluszka
Cast: Anne Heche
Food and felonies are inseparable in Hardboiled, a stop-motion animated satire of the classic urban American crime drama. Gritty, noir-ish, and absurd, the story follows the exploits of tough-talking detectives Harry and Callaham (an egg and a slice of ham) as they frustrate their boss, an irascible knish, shake down a sleazy bacon pimp, and tangle with a megalomaniacal strawberry.