Category: Animation

Synopsis: Beside the clouds, a city like an abyss, detached from the ground but not from time and impermanence. After graduation, four children set off on their own paths, each branching into their unique journeys and each experiencing their own profound changes. Life hangs by a thread, rising and falling like dust, where to seek those beautiful bygone days? Meetings are fleeting, with no promise of a next time, where then to seek the beauty of endurance? From the oil painting series “Concrete Heaven” by Pu Yuemei, featuring a unique worldview, whimsical plots, and intricate metaphors, it’s an ode to the song of life.

Submitter Statement:  ，I kept this story for ten years, intermittently drawing it into a cartoon, and then made up my mind to finish it during the lockdown in 2022. This is more like the moral of me and my living environment. Everyone in the story is like my old friends, and maybe my own thoughts diverged. I will try my best to finish it and tie a knot in our life together with Pu Yuemei’s series of works.
这个故事被我放了十年，中间断断续续的在把它画成动画片，2022年被封城期间我又下定决心去完成它，这更像是我和我的生活环境的寓意，故事里的每个人就像是我的老朋友，也可能就是我自己的那些思想分岔道，于是在这个需要做一个阶段总结的时候，我去努力的把它完成了，合作蒲粤梅的系列作品一起在我们的人生中打上一个绳结。

Director: Qiang Chen

Writer: Qiang Chen

Producer: Qiang Chen

Key Cast: Yi Lang Chen

Country of Origin: United States

Language: Chinese – Min Nan

Subtitles:

Runtime: 00:34:00

Project Website: https://www.chenqiangart.top/index/works/index.html?id=6

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chenqiangpuyuemeiart/

Student’s Project: No

Qiang Chen

Synopsis: Nuunzaya is an animated short film centering the dilemma faced by generations of Mongolian women – their struggle against the harsh environment, and the conflicts between their nomadic lifestyle and the traditional marital constructs.

Director: Lan Wang

Producer: Fanfan Zhou

Country of Origin: China

Language: Mongolian

Subtitles:

Runtime: 00:07:37

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/landulake/

Student’s Project: Yes

Lan Wang

Synopsis: In any war, there is always a soldier who has lost and the women who are waiting for him to return. The dreams these women weave carry them to the farthest seas. Knowing there is no return, they weave and weave to treat the wounds of war.

Submitter Statement:  I am passionate about telling stories through animation. With this medium, I discover the details of the world as well as the magical interrelationships between people, nature, and objects.

Director: Maryam Khalilzadeh

Writer: Maryam Khalilzadeh

Producer: Maryam Khalilzadeh

Country of Origin: Iran, Islamic Republic of

Language: English

Subtitles:

Runtime: 00:08:00

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maryam.khalilzade/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mimaryamkhalilzade/

Student’s Project: No

Maryam Khalilzade

Synopsis: During the war years when women were kidnapped and tortured in concentration camps, a young woman was struggling to cross the border with her newborn baby and three elderly relatives. However, their ox-cart got stuck on a muddy road near the security post. While their minds were obsessed with the possibility of being apprehended by the enemy, the magic of humanity brought out something unexpected.

Submitter Statement:  Encouraging viewers to avoid quick judgments and premature conclusions, the animation’s central message urges them to step into others’ shoes, fostering empathy even in challenging situations. This empathetic act often reveals the enchanting essence of our shared humanity. Deep within each of us lies an inherent goodness that, given time or the benefit of doubt, can emerge, promoting mutual understanding. By recognizing ourselves as interconnected threads in the same social fabric, bound by common concerns, joys, and happiness, we unveil the magic that defines our collective existence.

Director: Merve Cirisoglu

Writer: Merve Cirisoglu

Producer: Merve Cirisoglu

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Language: No Dialogue

Subtitles:

Runtime: 00:08:30

Project Website: https://www.animatick.com/the-silent-route

Student’s Project: No