Block H · Saturday Morning Cartoons · SNAFF

A mystical tale of cloaked identities, systemic traumas, and insatiable consumption: The ecology burns, reclaiming its environs.

A place where dreams are real, wishes come true, and everything is always awful for everyone.

Using rotoscope animation and the stylized aesthetic of classical airline safety brochures, the short film “Jet Lag” adapts Christopher Schaberg’s acclaimed nonfiction book "Airportness: The Nature of Flight" for the screen. Using the seemingly simple concept of ‘waiting in an airport’, the film explodes notions of not just modern air travel, but everyday life – how we struggle to get along with one another, manage our time, and use the space around us to maximum efficiency. Employing a tongue-in-cheek, almost stream-of-consciousness narration, the film playfully communicates the shifting complex emotions, anxieties, frustrations, and excitement that coincide with air travel. The tedium of waiting, the confusion of boarding, the nervousness of departure, the euphoria and relief of arrival. Beginnings and endings. At the airport.

On a pale savanna plain lives the Organoid, a strange fleshy creature that eats, drinks, and sleeps. In the distance, a menacing figure approaches. When the Organoid notices, it flees, only to discover the figure is a fellow of its kind. In a mating ritual they merge into a pulsating tower that hurls new life into the world. A new Organoid rises, and the cycle begins again.

Ella works at a lost-and-found desk in a large train station. Every day, she collects the abandoned belongings and stores them in her booth. At first glance, it seems like a random assortment of trinkets—books, wallets, and other items. But what no one knows is that Ella is creating something extraordinary with these lost objects. In a world defined by hurried efficiency, is there still someone willing to pause for a moment of wonder?

The MadHaus is a tragicomedy about a successful stage director who begins to cast homeless people to star in his last play at the Madhaussen Theatre.

Congo Free State, late 19th century. An enslaved man tries to break free but is killed. He reincarnates into a mystical nail statue and sets out to find his murderer. In this short animation film, filmmakers of African and European descent highlight the indomitable resistance against (neo)colonial powers and their local henchmen.

A man secludes himself in the forest with his cat. The ghosts of his past begin to torment him, being forced to face his fears and guilts in a try to not be consumed by madness.

Stick With Me explores the overwhelming fear of merging with a partner and losing all sense of individuality. It starts out small, wearing the same clothes, having the same friends, maybe even the same hobbies until it spirals out of control, and you find yourself fighting not to become a monstrous entity so that one can’t function without the other. At a party, Tina notices several couples who have become so alike they can’t seem to separate from each other. In a blind panic she flees to the safety of her own home. Once she’s caught her breath, she’s relieved to see her boyfriend, who is completely different from her. Right? In a sticky struggle to hold on to her identity, Tina becomes worse than the very thing she despises most.

In a karaoke bar in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, an expired can of tuna fish and a fake Louis Vuitton purse encourage each other to believe in their artistic voices even if the world sees them as trash.