Category: short

The colour, the luster, the luminescence. “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” (2025)

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directed by Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski
© 2025 National Film Board of Canada. All Rights Reserved.

If you’ve been following me for some time, you may probably know that I’m a huge fan of stop-motion animation. And no matter what, I will always support such films. Luckily, this short is not only technically beautiful, but also moving when it comes to the story. A grandfather is telling his granddaughter a story about an unusual girl. She was very miserable and, instead of tears, she was crying pearls. One day, her neighbour noticed that and wanted to see whether those pearls are real. When he found out that they are indeed of a significant value, at first he wanted to sell them and improve his life situation. However, seeing the girl suffering so much was heart-breaking and the boy decided to do everything to make her happy, even though it means no more pearls to sell. It’s an adorable story about, well, being a decent person. Maybe it’s not that complex and surprising, but it’s simply pleasant. I’m sure that both children and adults might find something interesting for themselves in this film. As I said, I love every stop-motion animation, so maybe I’m not objective, but in the end – my blog, my rules. Jokes aside, making such short film takes so much effort and creativity that I’d award all filmmakers who choose this method. Besides, the production in this case might be quite unpredictable. I’ve read that the crew of today’s film left a part of the set outside and the unexpected rain changed the shape of it, which actually made it look unique and suitable for the story. That wouldn’t have happened if they were animating purely on the screen, right? If you’re still not a fan of this method, I hope “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” will change your mind. Enjoy!

My rating: 7/10
S.

I see you. “A Friend of Dorothy” (2025)

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directed by Lee Knight
© 2025 Filthy Gorgeous Productions. All Rights Reserved.

If you’re looking for a new friend, just kick the football really hard and see where it lands. Then go there, knock on the door and let the friendship begin! That’s basically how the story goes here. A teenage boy named JJ (Alistair Nwachukwu) meets Dorothy (Miriam Margolyes), who’s an elderly widow living alone. She’s a typical grumpy grandma from the neighbourhood, but somehow those two have a good vibe between each other. Instead of shouting at the boy for kicking the ball into her property, Dorothy invites him over for a cup of tea. And that’s how an unexpected friendship begins. It’s an adorable short film about building connections despite differences in age, gender, race, or any other. In fact, thanks to Dorothy and JJ, we get reminded that such unusual relations may be surprisingly beneficial for both sides. Also, recently I’ve learnt a new expression – “family by choice” – which refers to all our closest friend, to whom we’re not actually related, but they are like family members to us. Because sometimes, our real families might not fulfil our needs for affection, trust or support. And then, it’s important to search for that somewhere else. In this case, someone found a loving grandma, and the other person found a supportive grandson. If you’re in need for some serotonin, this short film definitely provides it. Make friends, my dearest readers!

My rating: 7/10
S.

How to make you cry in 13 minutes? “Forevergreen” (2025)

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directed by Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears
© 2025 Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears. All Rights Reserved.

Who would have thought that I would feel like crying while watching a short animation about a bear and a tree… Since it’s a short film, my post will be rather short as well, so I don’t spoil too much. It’s one of the animations nominated to Oscars and my personal favourite this year. It tells the story of a little orphaned bear that finds a friend in a big tree. They create a lovely bond and become a quite unusual family, I could say. However, one day the little bear is tempted by something strange in the forest that doesn’t belong there. The tree tries to stop the bear from following the unwelcome thing, but sometimes curiosity wins no matter what… I’m so impressed that the film crew managed to tell such a meaningful story in only 13 minutes. On the one hand, they presented the importance of keeping nature safe and not destroying its ecosystem by our silly human actions. On the other hand, it’s also a story about making mistakes, which are sometimes inevitable, and learning lessons that lead to positive changes in the future. Except the messages coming out of this film, I have to appreciate the beautiful and unique animation style. It took the film crew over 5 years to make it, which sounds incredibly impressive. Let me say – this production was worth all this time. It’s my winner this year for sure.

My rating: 7/10
S.

That was her safe place. “All the Empty Rooms” (2025)

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directed by Joshua Seftel
© 2025 Netflix. All Rights Reserved.

Such documentaries are needed and it’s needed to talk about them. This year, one of the Oscars nominee is “All the Empty Rooms” – a short documentary that reminds us about what’s left after the tragedy. Steve Hartman, a journalist, and Lou Bopp, a photographer, decide to make a common project together – they visit empty rooms. But not just any empty rooms – they belonged to the children and teenagers who were killed during school shooting. The problem of such events is very big in the USA and we often hear the horrible news about yet another tragedy involving youth. When a school shooting takes place, the world stops for a moment to think about the victims. Then, life goes on. Unfortunately, for many families it’s impossible to deal with the loss and they decide to leave the victims bedrooms untouched. As if the child left it in the morning and was about to come back. Some of them don’t even wash the clothes or bedsheet not to forget the smell of their beloved one. Steve and Lou make sure to approach each family with respect and they wish to pay tribute to their late child. With each room you feel even more overwhelmed by the intensity of emotions, especially since you see all those toys and colourful decorations indicating how young its owner was. To me, it was difficult to watch, but sometimes I need such films. The idea to describe a person by the photos of their room is creative and it’s inspiring how this project may influence the victims’ families. Because even though they had to remind themselves of the tragedy, you can see gratidute in their eyes. That someone else remembers about their child. Make sure to put your phone away and focus on this short, but important documentary. Wishing them a win!

My rating: 8/10
S.

This is healthcare. Period. “The Devil Is Busy” (2024)

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directed by Geeta Gandbhir & Christalyn Hampton
© 2024 HBO Documentary Films. All Rights Reserved.

It’s 2025 and we still need to make films to share awareness about basic human rights. Oh well… but if that’s the case, then it’s great people make such productions. Today, I’d like to recommend you a short documentary about one of the most controversial issues nowadays. The person that we mostly follow here is Tracii, the head of security at one abortion clinic. We get to see the daily life of the staff from her perspective. And as you can imagine, it’s not easy. Such places are still not accepted by some groups, so you may not only see them protesting in front of clinics, but also use a variety of things to harm the employees and patients. That is why women have to be protected in order to go through the procedure. Before watching this documentary I was aware of the protests that happen nearby abortion clinics because I live in a country where such things take place as well. The protestants even use toxic substances against the staff or they break windows/doors. However, this short film actually opened my eyes on the level of fear, anxiety and pain that women go through. If a woman decides to have an abortion, she is already under a massive stress. You never know why she makes such decision and, let’s be honest, it’s none of your business, because, in the end, she’s the one who would have to raise this child. So imagine you’re in such situation, you dress up, go to the clinic and you see people willing to hurt you for even being there. It’s insane! Each person may have their own beliefs, but you have no right to traumatise others for making decisions about their own life. That is why I admire people like Tracii, who work everyday in such environment and still give so much support to their patients. They are those superheroes we don’t often hear about, so maybe it’s time to finally talk about them. You may start from this documentary. And I wish you such wonderful people on your path in case you need help.

My rating: 7/10
S.

CAPTCHA will catch ya. “I’m Not a Robot” (“Ik ben geen robot”, 2023)

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directed by Nicola Conversa
© 2023 The New Yorker. All Rights Reserved.

Oscars 2025 are coming soon, so expect a lot of recommendations from me with the nominated titles. This year, again, I have films that I strongly support and at least one film that’s a huge joke to me. What’s more, I’m actually worried that based on the Academy choices, that joke of a film might win the main Oscar… Stay strong, dear filmmakers. I know the Academy rules and restrictions for the nominees are already questionable, but please, keep making good cinema. There are so many horrible productions that have won Oscars and later on they are forgotten. I guess it’s better to do quality and skip the fancy party, right? Okay, enough complaining, because I actually have a wonderful short film to recommend you! It’s a Dutch production about a woman named Lara (Ellen Parren), who’s currently at work and is having some technical issues with her computer. The system update blocks pretty much everything unless she succeeds in a CAPTCHA test. Before you ask uncle Google, let me explain: CAPTCHA – Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. And before you think of using uncle Google again: that’s a series of online tests which most of us have seen at least once. Whenever you have to type the letters or numbers (often written by a 5-year-old with dysgraphia) from a picture, or you need to indicate which parts of a picture contain a certain object (for example a road) – that’s CAPTCHA. We’ve been there, done that. So Lara is asked to do such test and fails, several times. We even see her clicking the correct parts of the picture and still, the test says it’s incorrect. She cannot prove she’s human. Sounds ridiculous, right? She decides to call technical support and the gentleman from the other side says that perhaps Lara is in fact a robot who doesn’t know about it yet. And the rest is for you to see. I was thrilled to watch this short film because it kept me curious and engaged in the story from the beginning till the end. I’m a big fan of sci-fi, especially when it focuses on human/non-human matters. That’s great the filmmakers didn’t decide to make it longer, because those 22 minutes are absolutely enough to present the problem and give us some food for thought. Another brilliant story about people acting like gods and not thinking of the consequences of their actions. To me, that’s this year’s winner, so chapeau bas, my fingers are crossed and good luck!

My rating: 8/10
S.

I choose to be joyful! “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó” (2023)

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directed by Sean Wang
© 2023 Even Odd. All Rights Reserved.

Ladies! Today is your day and you deserve all the best that’s on this planet (and beyond). So in order to sweeten your holiday, I’d like to recommend you a short documentary that’s nominated to Oscars, which, in my humble opinion, is a beautiful 22-minute-long wish to you all. It’s a story about two lovely elderly women, who share their everyday life with us. They live together as best friends and their house couldn’t be happier. Despite their age, they know how to have fun and they don’t slow down, oh no. They play, they dance, they fart loud and nobody is allowed to change that. They are a human form of “you only live once” and to me, this short documentary is filled with inspiration, love and warmth. Since the film isn’t long, I won’t keep this post long either. I believe this nominee is a winner (at least my personal), because it’s unique, funny and tells an incredible story, which seems so common, yet eye-opening. I wish you all such friendship and so much joy in life. You already have this joy – all you need is to spot it. Sometimes it’s hidden in your morning coffee or favourite armchair you like to sit in. So it’s time to notice such joy and your life will be sweeter. Stay lovely, stay strong and watch wonderful films!

My rating: 8/10
S.

The purest form of love. “The Elephant Whisperers” (2022)

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directed by Kartiki Gonsalves
© 2022 Netflix. All Rights Reserved.

Before Oscars 2023 happened, this film was my favourite short documentary and during the event I was thrilled they got appreciated. Although I find it ridiculous that the Academy awarded a film about the purest love between humans and animals and in the same evening they forced a poor donkey to be brought onto the stage so a bunch of wealthy and famous people could have a laugh. I wish common sense could be bought with money. Anyway, let’s focus on this beautiful story as it actually brings me lots of joy. In “The Elephant Whisperers” we get to meet Bomman and Bellie – a couple living in South India. They are both indigenous people sharing a rather simple yet happy life together. And just like some of us have different pets such as dogs or cats, Bomman and Bellie have their own baby elephant Raghu. The little-not-so-little fella is a true sunshine that needs a lot of attention from their humans, but also brings a lot of happiness to their family. I was incredibly moved by this film because it shows the purest form of love. Bomman and Bellie didn’t have to accept the elephant – they could have just let the animal be or find someone else to worry about that. Their life is not that easy and they struggle to provide for themselves, so having such a baby pet is a huge challenge. And still, they didn’t give up on Raghu. They live all together and you can’t even imagine any different scenario for this little family. I love how much time and effort they’ve been putting into caring about Raghu and how much they’ve learnt about the animal, as if that was their human baby. This film really reminds us that we don’t have to be able to change the entire world with our actions – it’s enough to make a little step, especially in our surrounding. Besides, we could really live in peace with animals. This cruelty that has become our everyday life is completely unnecessary if you think about it. We really don’t need to hurt animals to have food, clothes or any other products. Just because certain things are common or have become our traditions, doesn’t mean we should be blindly following them. Try to take a break from it all and reflect on the topic yourself. Today’s documentary is full of peace and affection and I hope that by recommending it to you I’m also reminding you to seek for the same in your realities.

My rating: 8/10
S.

This is going to sound weird… “An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It” (2021)

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directed by Lachlan Pendragon
© 2021 Griffith Film School. All Rights Reserved.

If you’ve been following my blog for quite some time, then I bet you know I’m a big fan of stop motion animation. There’s something fascinating about it that never gets boring to me. Maybe I’m not being objective since I used to play with stop motion animation myself and I know how much effort and creativity it takes to make even the shortest film using thing method. Today I’d like to recommend you “An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It”, which is a title that definitely catches attention. Before watching this short production with a title of considerable length, I had no idea what to expect. At first, I was thrilled it’s a stop motion animation, obviously, but then, the longer I was watching (funny to say considering it’s only 11 minutes long), the more I was getting excited by the idea. We get to know Neil who is an ordinary office employee. At some point, the man starts questioning whether the world he’s living in is real. And all that thanks to his observations and, yes, you’ve guessed right, an ostrich. An ostrich which told him the world is fake. And Neil thinks he believes it. I have to say I’m thankful to the director for choosing such a title because it saves my time writing this post. Everything you need to know is pretty much explained. But perhaps you’ve already glanced at my rating and if you haven’t – you’ve just done this at this very moment. Indeed, this short has won my heart and I really hope it’ll win an Oscar. The idea is so simple, yet not shallow or disappointing. I honestly had a lot of fun watching it, especially since it’s filled with my kind of humour. If you’d like to get some philosophical messages – I bet you can, even from these 11 minutes. But if I told you what I see hidden in this short story, it would be pointless for you to watch. And since it’s just 11 minutes long, then you have no right to skip it explaining you’ve got no time for films. For this one you do. And you should. And you won’t regret. To me this little animation is a real gem that will hopefully be awarded, because I can tell it was made by a very conscious, imaginative and hard-working filmmaker. Crossing my fingers hoping they won’t fall off and no ostrich comes out of my closet.

My ratings: 9/10
S.

Connection restored. “An Irish Goodbye” (2022)

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directed by Tom Berkeley & Ross White
© 2022 First Flights. All Rights Reserved.

It’s not a long film so my post won’t be such either, yet I hope you’ll feel encouraged to see it because to me – it’s one of the best nominated productions this year. And I swear, it could have been nominated as the Best Picture among all those big titles and I’m guessing that would be my personal winner. We’re moving to Northern Ireland where two brothers – Turlough (Seamus O’Hara) and Lorcan (James Martin) – are trying to manage their new reality after just recently losing their mother. Lorcan wishes to stay at the family farm as he feels home there and cannot imagine leaving it behind, while his brother is not really willing to get back to rural life. Why don’t they just keep on living the way each wants? Well, the thing is that Lorcan has Down syndrome and, despite being very skilful and quite independent, he cannot be left on his own. So the two brothers have to agree on something, whether they want to or not. In the meantime, they get a list of things their mother wished to do before her death, but unfortunately didn’t have enough time for. Lorcan encourages his brother to experience all the things from the list together with the ashes of their mother, and then he’ll agree to follow Turlough wherever he’ll decide to go. This film is only 23 minutes long, yet it managed to melt my heart and put a smile on my face. I honestly wish more films were made so conscientiously. There’s everything there – a good story, great acting, well-written characters, engaging drama mixed with honestly amusing humour, spiced with a bit of sarcasm and with an adorable message coming at the end. Besides, technically it’s just beautiful. Quality editing definitely adds a lot to my experience while watching a film, so whenever there’s a smart camerawork and decent editing, I’m satisfied. And these 23 minutes are just perfect in my eyes. I was enjoying every second and I believe that this short film may have a huge impact on many people. If I was to tell you what it’s about in one word, I’d say “connection”. So no matter at what stage of your life you are right now, I believe you may take a moment after seeing it and reflect on yourself deeply. And if you’re a cinephile who appreciates meticulousness and aesthetic balance – this film will please you for sure. I guess I don’t need to add that it’s my winner as the Best Live Action Short Film? Well, I don’t. But I will. It is my winner. And let’s hope not only mine. I wish you good connections, my dear readers. And more of such perfect productions.

My rating: 9/10
S.