The World Cup is over. Messi finally won. But this is the real deal: Kaboom's International Short Film Competition.

Once upon a time ... Films from all over the world came together on a glorious battlefield. Victory would be for one of them. But there would be no losers, because talent and art are there to be celebrated, to be loved, to be remembered and to be devoured by you ... the audience. The battle would forever be known as Kaboom's International Short Film Competition. And we are honoured to organise that competition year in year out. In 2023, a large number of short films battle it out for our coveted awards!

This program screened as part of Kaboom Animation Festival 2023

Showing in this program

Aldo

• Sara Priorelli / Maria Zilli
• Italy, 2021

Aldo is just an ordinary man who killed a mosquito. He is lying on his harmchair in a hot afternoon, he is watching a tennis match following the ball only with the movement of his eyeballs. At a certain point the appearance of an annoying humming disturbs Aldo, who manages to kill the noisy mosquito by a loud slap. After the murder, he feels at first relieved and in peace. However, thanks to a dream in which a court of moqsuito judges appear in his house, he is going to regret what he did. The big and sad eyes of the mosquitos and the angriness of the court judge who declares Aldo guilt of murder makes him realize how wrong and mean was his jesture.
After confirmed the poor animal’s death, he can only say goodbye to her. The last kiss whose delicate sound closes the film is useless but moving because of its innocence.

Au Cas où le Corps Exulte

• Florian Genthial
• France, 2021
• 7 min.

On a movie set, Johann, a young camera opérator, shoot a rape seen. Even he is friend with the actress, he became more an actor of this decad system than a witness.

FMK

• Chris Ullens
• United Kingdom, 2022
• 4 min.

This bright and colourful dark comedy sees miniature Gayle and blackbear failing at being good neighbours in the most extravagant ways. Think Celebrity Deathmatch meets Groundhog Day, a playful stop motion tale of human behaviour gone wrong.

It’s Nice in Here

• Robert-Jonathan Koeyers
• The Netherlands, 2022
• 15 min.

It’s Nice in Here is a short animated film that paints a fragmented portrait of a young boy called Crimson, named after the color of the hoodie he always wears. We follow him and his best friend as they make their way to a corner store. When a young police officer gets a call regarding a possibly dangerous altercation that the two youngsters might be involved in, he rushes to the store and enters the site with his gun already drawn. They now find themselves in a situation we have unfortunately seen play out countless times.

The plot is a deliberately simple one, but the way the story is told and structured is where we start discovering the nuances and complexity of the story. Everything we see is told and processed through the tainted and entirely subjective points of view of Crimson's best friend, Imani, as well as that of David, the police officer. Their memories contradict each other, they intersect at points, and at others completely take a life of their own. Which of these truths are we more likely to believe?

The film becomes an exploration of how stories surrounding police brutality get told, what points get conveniently forgotten, and how those who don’t make it out alive get remembered. With two opposing narratives being presented, we are reminded that we are constantly swimming in a carefully curated reality where we have to question our biases in order to reach a version of the story that rings most true to us.

No Lullaby

• Ezequiel Torres
• Argentina, 2022
• 3 min.

A girl tries to go back home with her little brother while she protects him from this wild imagination.

Persona

• Sujin Moon
• South Korea, 2022
• 6 min.

The process of being encroached by the persona.

Shall We Talk?

• Katya Mikheeva
• Russia, 2020
• 5 min.

An animated documentary tells a story about a coming out of bisexual Russian girl Polina to her family and the different reactions of her relatives.

Sunset Singers

• Jessica Poon
• Germany / Hong Kong, 2022
• 10 min.

The retired Hong Kong couple, Long and Sophie, as amateur singers, attend their singing performance separately. Despite social unrest, their performance sets off as usual. While Sophie arrives early at the venue and gets herself prepared, Long is caught up in the subway by an unexpected circumstance. Employing both animation and documented materials obtained during the Anti-extradition Protests 2019, Sunset Singers presents a fictional commentary on the parallel lives of Hong Kong’s individuals.

The Invention of Less

• Noah Erni
• Switzerland, 2021
• 3 min.

In those frustrating times we wanted to tell a motivating and optimistic story about change
and the global challenges we all feel today more than ever before. In the end it probably
won’t be a polar bear who saves us, but she shows us, that we all can be the change
needed.

The Record

• Jonathan Laskar
• Switzerland, 2022
• 8 min.

An antique music instrument dealer receives a magical vinyl record from a traveller: “It reads your mind and plays your lost memories”. Obsessed by this endless record, the antique dealer listens to it again and again and the forgotten memories of his childhood reemerge.

Zoon

• Jonatan Schwenk
• Germany, 2022
• 4 min.

Small shimmering animals are in heat. A two-legged forest dweller encounters the lustful group. He and his companions snack on the little creatures and soon a feast begins.