Competition Programs | Commissioned Films Competition
UNIT.Core | B.8

01.10 | 18:00 Q&A

 

UNIT.Verse | B.12

03.10 | 18:00 Q&A

 

12+

Long ago, some clever minds realised that if animation could teach you the alphabet and how to count, it could probably shape your spending habits and musical tastes too.

This screening brings together 29 commissioned works — from music videos and film festival trailers to educational shorts, TV idents, and even an epic musical tribute to wool. There are films about love, Kafka, hope, grief, friendship, home, despair, unharnessed joy — and yes, we did mention the wool.

With a kaleidoscope of styles, rhythms, and stories, this collection offers plenty to ponder and plenty to simply enjoy. Expect your mind to swirl, your toes to tap, and the occasional moment of puzzled delight.

Running time 85 min.

  • Signal Film for 18th ZubrOFFka International Short Film Festival
    Sander Joon

    Estonia, Poland | 00:51 | 2024

    A sheep born from a pimple goes on a journey of self-discovery.

  • Mother Mother — Nobody Escapes
    Stefano Bertelli

    Italy | 03:00 | 2024

    We all have the same destiny.

  • BRUDNYY PES Promo №3
    Mykyta Lyskov

    Ukraine | 00:50 | 2025

    The reality of life for Ukrainian artists is rarely easy — the path from studio to stage is filled with unpredictable compromises. At the center is a guitar-playing dog who takes part in a sketchy energy drink commercial just to earn enough to fix his instrument and perform at the BRUDNY PES festival. This short by Mykyta Lyskov is both a concise, ironic manifesto of the independent artist and a sharp allegory of the gap between image and reality. Voiced by participants of the festival.

  • Nap Eyes — Dark Mystery Enigma Bird
    Jordan Minkoff

    Canada | 04:58 | 2024

    On an idyllic summers day, a group of friends roll through a world beyond their wildest dreams and onto their dinner reservations.

  • Teaser for Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin 2024
    Polina Piddubna, Andre Correia

    Germany | 00:43 | 2024

    Teaser for the Ukrainian Film Festival in Berlin: four friends unite to overthrow the regime that suppresses their freedom.

  • Julie
    Daphna Awadish Golan

    USA | 04:37 | 2024

    "Julie" is a music video capturing the bittersweet journey of moving out of a familiar home to the big city, balancing the excitement of newfound independence with the quiet melancholy of leaving the past behind.

  • Through the Eyes of Franz Kafka: Between Image and Language
    Hanna Palamarchuk

    Czech Republic | 00:20 | 2024

    Experience Kafka’s vision through a dynamic fusion of image and word. This captivating spot for the international exhibition brings his era to life with mesmerizing collage animation.

  • How are these fires burning underground?
    Ivana Volda

    Croatia, USA | 04:29 | 2024

    In 1997, a fire began in Indonesia that would rage for almost a year. Despite being one of the largest fires in recorded history, for months at a time it burned without a flame. This might sound like a uniquely freaky fire, but it’s actually one of many. So, is it possible to snuff out these bizarre blazes? And how do they form in the first place? This short animated film explores the phenomenon known as peat fires, smoldering fires that burn underground and can continue for months or even years.

  • Mary Coughlan — Is That All There Is?
    Josh O'Caoimh

    Ireland | 04:28 | 2025

    Created to accompany Mary Coughlan’s haunting rendition of 'Is That All There Is?' from her most ambitious project to date - Mirrors, a reimagining of Peggy Lee’s 1975 album written by Leiber & Stoller. Capturing its subjects in quiet moments of introspection, the music video explores themes of despair, loneliness, and the search for meaning in the 20th century.

  • The 6th Beijing Fenaki Animation Week Main Visual Animation
    Yuan Xu

    China | 01:31 | 2024

    The main visual animation of the 6th Beijing Fenaki Animation Week. The theme is Galactic Universe. It needs to show that there is no sole protagonist and that everyone is an important part. So a large number of characters were drawn in the film, from astronauts representing earthlings to various alien creatures, and everyone gathered at the animation screening to watch the great movie.

  • ECHT! - Highed
    Simon Breeveld

    Belgium | 03:59 | 2025

    From primal firelit rituals to Egyptian hieroglyphic grooves, revolutionary Parisian riots, and a deranged nightclub hurtling toward apocalyptic chaos, ECHT! morphs across eras in a whirlwind of absurdist theatrics

  • DAS
    Natia Nikolashvili

    Georgia | 01:21 | 2024

    In two parallel worlds of boundless creativity - one defined by depth and form, the other by vibrant motion - two distinct forces journey through their realms. Each explores the unique contours of its craft, guided by curiosity and the thrill of discovery. As their paths converge, their worlds intertwine, merging into a singular universe where imagination knows no boundaries, embodying the transformative spirit of the Design and Animation School.

  • Humblomusic — Tipping Point
    Sonia Leliukh

    Germany | 05:13 | 2025

    In a park, the protagonist detaches from the world, rubbing off sense organs. They gradually regrow - sight, sound, touch, smell, taste - scaling from microcosmic levels to perceiving big scary reality. As their body regenerates slowly, they transform into a hybrid of the organic and the unknown, adapting to a future they can barely comprehend. Using charcoal, watercolor, ink, and microscope footage, the music video explores adaptation and the search for connection in uncertain times.

  • The Choolers : Capitaine T
    Monsieur Pimpant

    Belgium | 04:53 | 2025

    Mise en abîme, the members of the group Choolers Division are filming a video clip in a toy store in the Belgian Ardennes, in Brussels as well as in a hi-tech studio.

  • Kolos & Fiolet — Words
    Antonina Derkach

    Ukraine | 01:40 | 2024

    From birth to death, we are surrounded by words. A simple combination of sounds and letters can turn our lives upside down, save, destroy, or give them meaning. But over time, words have turned into information noise, gradually losing their meaning and clouding our minds. In such chaos, it’s easy to get lost. But can the one who has found his way out awaken others? One windy day, the Old Man decides to try.

  • Horizon
    Pablo Rafael Roldan

    Argentina | 02:55 | 2024

    What are you going to do when I am no longer here? A question that is thrown into the air as a message that flies over a photographic nostalgia of what has been lived and still to live.

  • Lay Me Down (HMLTD)
    Emmanuelle Mohnblatt, Sébastien Kirszenblat, Marie Deboissy

    France | 05:05 | 2024

    Henry meanders through Wyrmlands, the remains of England consumed by the giant worm of capitalism. Amidst his despair, he recalls an act of kindness. As a child, innocent and loving, he saved an injured worm. Perhaps salvation is possible if he can reconnect with his inner child.

  • BRUDNYY PES 2025 Promo № 2
    Stas Santimov

    Ukraine | 01:02 | 2025

    A faceless man trapped in routine breaks through a wall to his true self. The film tells the story of an ordinary, invisible person undergoing a transformation — breaking free from the everyday and joining a pack of others like him. Set against the raw backdrop of BRUDNYY PES festival, it’s about the beast that lives inside each of us. And music is one of the most powerful tools to unlock the cage it’s trapped in. What if freedom isn’t outside, but on the other side of the wall?

  • Autopollo
    Julian Gallese

    Costa Rica, UK | 02:40 | 2024

    Music video for "Autopollo" by HPTA MENDEZ

  • Cartoon Lovers
    Qieer Wang

    USA | 01:24 | 2024

    Feature classic popular cartoons - Ed, Edd, Eddy; Rick & Morty.

  • Flowers
    Mathieu Labaye

    Belgium | 04:03 | 2024

    In the heart of the gloomy mountains, a young woman walks alone. Arriving at the entrance of a cave, she ventures inside and heads towards a shimmering lake. Inside her body, a fierce battle is taking place between black and color, between melancholy and happiness, between death and life.

  • Reason and Impulse — Disappear
    Ala Nunu

    Portugal | 03:30 | 2024

    One person's futile struggle to turn back time in a form of a music video / animated short film.

  • Coin Gecko
    Vitalii Nebelskyi

    Ukraine | 01:27 | 2025

    A brand film for the cryptocurrency company CoinGecko, celebrating their rebranding and the launch of their new mascots. These mascots are presented as the main characters who live on the planet of little geckos and travel through the crypto cosmos, earning great fame along the way. This animation explains different approaches to crypto investing while showcasing the company's main mascots in an exciting and engaging way.

  • Naive New Beaters & Star Feminine Band — Ye Kou Si Kuo
    Lola Lefèvre

    France | 02:29 | 2024

    After a wild party in their flat, three hungover friends get ready for the next one, while jamming to their favorite band.

  • Mind The World | Pune Design Festival 2025
    Suresh Eriyat

    India | 00:54 | 2025

    What happens when the world has had enough? When the scars of human greed, negligence, and mindless invention push nature to the brink—how long before it retaliates? This year, we partnered once again with Pune Design Festival to craft their signature film, bringing the 2025 theme—Mind The World—to life. Through the metaphor of a tormented bull, we witness a planet pushed past its limits, no longer enduring but fighting back. A world we tamed, controlled, and exploited finally turns—reminding us that nature is not an infinite resource, nor an idle spectator.

  • Coldplay — feelslikeimfallinginlove
    Raman Djafari

    UK | 04:22 | 2024

    Two friends, lovers, soulmates, a pair of two, searching and ultimately finding each other. This pair traveling between worlds and changing forms, expressed through 15 styles of animation, by 15 animators from across the world.

  • Okean Elzy — Mukachevo
    Vitalii Nebelskyi

    Ukraine | 04:17 | 2025

    "Mukachevo" is a Music Video for the legendary Ukrainian band Okean Elzy. The band wanted to announce the release of their new album with this clip. With only six weeks until the release and using a mix of traditional frame-by-frame and motion animation, we’ve created this intimate story, using even minor details of the lives of the band members, particularly the lead vocalist.

  • BRUDNYY PES 2025 Promo №1
    Feldman Sisters

    Ukraine | 00:59 | 2025

    Surreal adventures unfold against the backdrop of Podil, where imagined characters navigate a world constructed from real pre-invasion photographs. Created for BRUDNYY PES festival, the animation became an autonomous artistic statement — a visual dialogue built on abstraction and shaped by the atmosphere of a world that existed before the full-scale war. Music plays a key role, bringing emotional clarity and rhythm to the journey.

  • Desi Oon
    Suresh Eriyat

    India | 07:03 | 2025

    The film explores the deep connection between Deccani wool, the land, and its people, highlighting its cultural, spiritual, and ecological significance. It delves into the resilience of the Deccani sheep, the traditions of shepherding, and the sacred role of wool in daily life. Through the story of Balu Mama and his revered flock, the film contrasts a rich heritage with the modern neglect of India’s native sheep and wool industry. In the face of this decline, it raises a poignant question—can the wisdom of the past inspire a future where shepherding and pastoral traditions are valued once again?