Starter, main course and dessert all in one: Kaboom's International Short Film Competition.
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Remember that time when cinema was not a thing yet? When animation only existed within faraway dreams? Dreadful. And then Kaboom came along. Dreams became reality, and animation was king of kings. Okay okay, perhaps our story is missing a few beats, but here’s the gist: after more than a century of cinema, it all comes down to this: a showdown between animators from all over the world, dubbed the Kaboom International Short Film Competition. Whoever comes out on top, know that the one true winner is already known: the art of animation.
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On a hot summer’s day at the local swimming pool, 14-year-old Louane is enjoying a moment of peace and quiet until she is approached by Aïssa. Sheltered from the world around them, the two friends share an intimate moment. A sweet and well-told coming-of-age film by the talented Juliette Ragot.
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In a beautifully designed world by South Korean director Jonghoon Lee, an architect picks ripe cherry tomatoes from a small garden by the window, preparing a lunchbox for work. Eco-energy flows from the tomato vines—an invisible force born from small acts of environmental care. This quiet energy accompanies the architect as they head out once again to face the frontlines of the climate crisis. Get ready to feel warm inside.
In 1934, Professor Vangengheim is condemned to the Solovski Gulag, a remote prison camp in Russia. As he pretends to be on a grand voyage of exploration, he crafts imaginative tales in letters to his daughter Eleonora, shielding her from the truth of his sentencing as a "traitor to the motherland". Breathtaking and award-winning document of the political repressions in Russia, by Russian director Alexey Evstigneev.
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A dog loses grasp of its shape and time while balling like Shaquille O'Neal in this psychedelic short film. The colorful animation feels as if you’re constantly stretching and reshaping your own handmade Play-Doh figure. Larry is an intriguing ongoing project by director Takeshi Murata in collaboration with Christopher Rutledge.
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Revisiting her childhood memories, including her restless mother, her father struggling with potatoes and herself growing up in the bustling city of Nairobi alongside her two sisters, Norwegian Oscar winner Torill Kove (The Danish Poet) looks back at those flickering memories that have matured into key experiences. Maybe Elephants is both a playful coming-of-age story and a loving autobiographical homage to family and the therapeutic power of memories, however unreliable.
Sylvie and Karim have given it a lot of thought. At every breakfast and on every walk from the loo to the bathroom. They're ready to put the money they earned from scrubbing toilets in the hotel into Sylvie's latest aspiration: acquiring a domestic football player! Absurd and original story that makes you think, by the talented French director Cheyenne Canaud-Wallay.
For those who feel time-poor and overwhelmed by choice, this is a must-see. In the throes of his overstimulated, energy-poor midlife, Ray (Domhnall Gleeson) fantasises about everything he’d love to do in retirement, once he finally has ‘the time.’ Irish director John Kelly manages to capture the essence of life in just a few minutes in this poetic short film, which is nominated for Best Animated Short at the 98th Academy Awards (2026).
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On a summer's afternoon, a kid gets involved in a car accident and ends up in a field surrounded by the rolling hills of rural Italy. There seems to be a lunch party, to which he is summoned to be late. During the meal and conversation, he tries to piece together what actually happened to him. Visually charming student work by Emma-Claire Sardoni.
Kaboom Animation Festival is the one-stop-shop for the latest and greatest in all things animated. Ranging from cutting-edge experimental arthouse to colorful stories for families and kids, Kaboom will cater to the animation needs of all. Yes, even yours, my amazing weirdo friend!
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