Sunscreen Film Festival West's Official Animation Picks
"MONSTRO!" (Dir. Christopher Romano) -- A rickety science expedition ventures down the Amazon to a dark lagoon in search of a mythic creature... Only to find the creature has a less than mythic agenda!
"CELESTIAL" (Dir. Ashley Jane/Philip D. Wigner) -- "Celestial" is a science fiction short about a supernatural being’s destructive obsession to replicate a beautiful distant star. The celestial being goes through great lengths to create the star and in the process unknowingly destroys life. It takes an outside perspective to show him that his creations are already beautiful and hold extraordinary beauty within.
"YOURS, MIME AND OURS" (Dir. Teresa Falcone) -- Gus is just a regular father, except he happens to be a clown. All he wants to do is entertain his mime baby, Marcy. Marcy is excited about her first major milestone as a mime; her first invisible box.
"LOCKED" (Dir. Madaline Barwegen) -- A man spends his life sorting through a room full of keys in hopes that he will find the one to let him out of the room in which he is confined. Just as he is about to try the very last one, he is forced to start over by an unknown force.
"DINNER FOR FEW" (Dir. Nassos Vakalis) -- Inspired by the economic recession that shook Southern Europe, DINNER FOR FEW depicts a sociopolitical allegory of modern society. During dinner, ‘the system’ works like a well-oiled machine, feeding only the select few who sit at the table, while the majority survive on the scraps tossed aside. The more the elite consume, the more they diminish everyone’s resources. Inevitably, when the supply is depleted, the battle for what remains leads to catastrophic change. Sadly, the offspring of this profound transition turns out not to be a sign of hope, but the spitting image of the parents.
"TREASURE NEST" (Dir. Joy Tien/Allison Botkin/Mike Bourbeau) -- Treasure Nest is a 3D animated short following the adventures of Blue, a cat-like creature in search of hidden riches. Along his way Blue discovers a bird-like creature, named Peanut, who he reluctantly brings along in hopes that she will be the key to unlocking the treasure.
"SOMETHING IMPORTANT" (Dir. NaiWei Liu) -- NaiWei Liu’s Something Important (2014) is a 2D animation, which presents the filmmaker's personal journey of self-discovery woven as a tapestry of his memories. Liu uses an abstract montage style that combines hand-drawn elements with composited photo realistic scenes in tandem with music to express his life experiences filtered through time and remembrance. The resulting film conveys a positive perspective that transforms psychologically difficult occurrences into a field of creative insights.
"LOAD" -- A man is sinking under the weight of his own memories. To survive, he must confront the question: Is our past more important than life? What would we give up in order to keep on going?
"I Need My Monster"
"Fluffo"
"Mike & Wayne: The Grind"