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Banner: the 61st Chicago International Film Festival

Genre: Animation


A webcam image of a woman holding a cat is superimposed over an animated background showing a cluttered round table.
After DarkShort Film

Abortion Party

Julia Mellen  |   Spain
English  
Animation, Social Commentary, Women-Centered
As the filmmaker narrates the events surrounding an abortion she had in college, the events she describes play out behind her in animated form. The initially irreverent tone, matching the [...]
An animated young girl sits on the shoulders of a man in a large rainbow cloak. Beams of light shoot from his forehead.
Snapshots

Arco

Ugo Bienvenu  |   France
English  
Adventure, Animation, Environmental, Science Fiction

When a curious time traveler falls from the sky, 10-year-old Iris resolves to help her new friend return to the future in this thrilling animated adventure.

An illustration of a station wagon with luggage strapped to the tops flies through a blue sky.
Short Film

Are We There Yet? (Gahts no lang?)

Sven Kristlbauer, Raul Bison, Marion Zeder  |   Switzerland
Swiss-German  
Animation, Family Friendly
During a long car ride, nine-year-old Timo escapes his parents' bickering by creating a fantasy world in the passing landscape. A spaceman and T. rex battle across the skies and [...]
In the center of a dark, flooded room with large windows, an animated ghost hunches over a grand piano.
After DarkShort Film

Arguments in Favor of Love (Argumentos a Favor do Amor)

Gabriel Abrantes  |   Portugal
English  
Animation, Drama, Romance
Against a backdrop of flooded apartments and fiery forests, two animated ghosts rehash old arguments. This anger, however, contains other feelings: the grief of loss and the love that bound [...]
An illustration rendered mostly in shades of green and white depicts a young girl with two braids walking through a forest.
Short Film

Autokar

Sylwia Szkiłądź  |   Belgium, France
French, Polish  
Animation, Comedy, Coming of Age
As eight-year-old Agata boards a full bus from Poland to Belgium by herself, she notices that those around her seem different. The magical realism of Autokar authentically recalls how strange [...]
Shorts Program

Best of CineYouth 2025

Various  |   Poland, Spain, U.S.
English, Korean, No Dialogue, Spanish  
Action, Animation, Drama, Horror, Music, Science Fiction, Social Commentary, Thriller

The award-winning shorts of CineYouth 2025 showcase the talent and vision of eight young filmmakers from around the world.

The profile of an animated coyote holding an umbrella and standing in the rain, illuminated by streetlights.
OutLook

Bouchra

Orian Barki, Meriem Bennani  |   Italy, Morocco, U.S.
Arabic, English, French  
Animation, Family Affairs, Film on Film, LGBTQ

In this animated docu-fiction hybrid, queer coyote Bouchra sets out to make a film, hoping to make sense of her mother’s struggle to accept her sexuality.

An animated man, with chainsaws for his arms and his face, stands with his arms spread. Blood and debris fall around him.
After Dark

Chainsaw Man—The Movie: Reze Arc (Gekijô-ban chensô man reze-hen)

Tatsuya Yoshihara  |   Japan
Japanese  
Action, Animation, Horror

For the first time, Chainsaw Man slashes his way onto the big screen in an epic, action-fueled adventure that continues the hugely popular anime series.

A colorful illustration depicts a floating hollow head split open to reveal landscapes, skies, and a cat
Short Film

dipolar bipolar

Li Quankai  |   Japan
Chinese  
Animation, Drama
The busy and whimsical visual world of dipolar bipolar stuffs each frame with elements to mirror the workings of an anxious mind. As the protagonist recounts their experience of bipolar [...]
A illustration desaturated of color depicts two women sitting on a stone ledge facing away from each other
Short Film

Dog Alone (Cão Sozinho)

Marta Reis Andrade  |   Portugal, France
Portuguese  
Animation, Comedy, Mystery
Marta Reis Andrade weaves thriller overtones throughout this autobiographical tale exploring loneliness. Featuring the voices of her family members, a subdued color palette, and sharp-angled character design, the story follows [...]
A colorful painted image of three chidren standing with their heads together in front of a door in a striped hallway
Short Film

Dollhouse Elephant

Jenny Jokela  |   Finland
No Dialogue  
Animation, Comedy
In this swirling flight through a busy apartment building, each resident navigates the unintended consequences of their neighbors' attempts to find equilibrium. Animating with acrylic paint on paper, Jenny Jokela [...]
A rough line illustration of a boy opening a door to a pair of green monster eyes staring at him.
Short Film

Lily

Kate Siegel  |   U.S.
English  
Animation, Family Friendly, Lierary Adaptation
Adapted by Stephen King from one of his first short stories, Lily is a spooky tale about the terrors of elementary school. Between a cruel teacher in the classroom and [...]
An animated man in a yellow cap holds a plastic bag of pills in one hand and his phone in the other while driving a car.
After DarkShort Film

Luz Diabla

Gervasio Canda, Paula Boffo, Patricio Plaza  |   Argentina, Canada
Spanish  
Animation, Horror, LGBTQ
On his way to a rave in the Argentine Pampas, a young queer man gets into an accident. Taking refuge in a mysterious rural tavern where he is conspicuously out [...]
An illustration of a large brown rat reading over the shoulder of a boy as they sit on a green chaise lounge.
Short Film

On the Mat Outside My Door (Vor meiner Tür auf einer Matte)

Antje Heyn  |   Germany
English  
Animation, Family Friendly
Rhymed couplets express the irritation caused by an uninvited rat guest. Based on a book by Nadia Budde, this short humorously advocates for sharing space and time with others. This [...]
An illustration rendered in muted pastels depics a woman's hand gently lifting the lip of a white dog with a black nose
Short Film

Ordinary Life (Futsu no Seikatsu)

Yoriko Mizushiri  |   France, Japan
No Dialogue  
Animation, Art
Yoriko Mizushiri's gorgeous short lulls the viewer into a dreamy tactile world. A meditation on the beauty of simplicity led by a graphic design that seems at once exacting and [...]
Paper cut-outs of various creatures crowd the frame, one holds a broken heart.
Short Film

Paper Love

Jeremi Rzadowski, Age 9  |   Poland
No Dialogue  
Animation

When a princess decides to escape from a possessive ruler, she wonders if her desire for freedom will triumph over the king’s despotic visions.

An illustration of a girl sitting on an airplane with her knees pulled up to her chest.
Short Film

Paradaïz

Matea Radic  |   Canada
No Dialogue  
Animation, Comedy, Family Affairs
In her first film, Canadian artist and animator Matea Radic imagines an impossible return. Paradaïz follows a young woman as she travels back to a city still unstable with the [...]
A woman wearing an apron in a dark hallway looks up in awe, her face is lit up.
Short Film

Perfect Casting

Autumn English, Age 22  |   Chicago, Illinois, United States
English  
Animation

Told through dynamic visuals and quirky character designs, this animated tale follows the founding of an unlikely friendship.

A colorful illustration of two people in traditional indigenous dress standing on the floor of a gym
Short Film

Pow!

Joey Clift  |   U.S.
English  
Animation, Family Friendly
An intertribal powwow struggles to hold Jake's attention despite his family's encouragement to participate. As his mobile video game console's battery grows worryingly low, Jake tries everything in his power [...]
A simple line illustration depicts a man with glasses sitting on a bus staring ahead
Short Film

Retirement Plan

John Kelly  |   Ireland
English  
Animation, Comedy
John Kelly's simple and short animation has been a notable crowd-pleaser on the 2025 festival circuit. Featuring beloved Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson and a delicate score, this witty film lists [...]
Shorts Program

Shorts 2: Animation

Various  |   Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Finland, France, Ireland, Japan, Portugal
Chinese, English, French, No Dialogue, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish  
Animation, Art, Comedy, Coming of Age, Drama, Environmental, Family Affairs, Mystery

Some worlds can only truly be conjured outside of physical reality. These eight thrilling shorts unfold in an inventive array of visual and narrative styles that come together to form a vibrant snapshot of contemporary animation.

Shorts Program

Shorts 9: Family Friendly Animation

Various  |   Brazil, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, U.S.
English, No Dialogue, Portuguese, Swiss-German  
Animation, Environamental, Family Friendly, Literary Adaptation

Clever animated shorts from across four continents appear in this delightful family program full of polar bears, empty cans of tuna, and beloved grandparents. Presented as a relaxed screening and recommended for cinema-enthusiasts ages 8 years and older.

After DarkShorts Program

Shorts 10: Outré

Various  |   Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Philippines, Portugal, Spain, U.S.
English, French, Spanish, Tagalog  
Animation, Comedy, Drama, Environmental, Horror, LGBTQ, Romance, Social Commentary, Women-Centered

The creators of these shorts unabashedly follow their own singular visions into wildly new and weird territories.

An illustration of a polar bear walking on transparent ice while a whale swims beneath him framed from overhead.
Short Film

Snow Bear

Aaron Blaise  |   U.S.
No Dialogue  
Animation, Environamental, Family Friendly
Due to changing conditions in his snowy home, a polar bear must adapt to keep from being lonely. The hand-drawn animation by Disney alum Aaron Blaise depicts the wondrous beauty [...]
A computer-generated image depicts the outlines of a tree in a forest with tiny dots of light.
Short Film

This is not your Garden (Este no es tu jardín)

Carlos Velandia, Angélica Restrepo  |   Colombia
Spanish  
Animation, Environmental
In this hypnotic short, new media artists Carlos Velandia and Angélica Restrepo use data visualization to document mist forests and páramos near Bogota, ecosystems that are facing existential threat due [...]
An orange empty can with arms and a face hugs a meatball
Short Film

Tsuna the empty can – Meatball and Spaghetti

Iku Ogawa  |   Japan
No Dialogue  
Animation, Family Friendly
A cute empty tuna can makes a new meatball best friend. All is well on the kitchen counter until a jealous mess of spaghetti begins to act suspiciously. Tsuna must [...]
An illustration of a young man and an older man playing chess in a sun-filled room,
Short Film

Wednesdays with Gramps

Chris Copeland & Justin Copeland  |   U.S.
No Dialogue  
Animation, Family Friendly
Written and directed by two brothers who grew up in Chicago, this funny and stylish new animation from DreamWorks follows the relationship between grandfather and grandson. The pair bond over [...]
A painterly illustration of a small boy with dark curly hair standing next to a giant whale on a beach
Short Film

Yore Gramps and the Whale (Seu Vô e a Baleia)

Mariana Elisabetsky  |   Brazil
Portuguese  
Animation, Family Friendly
As a child in a fishing family, Mundinho's life is connected to the sea. When his beloved grandfather dies, a magical whale that only Mundinho can see appears on the [...]

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