The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931–32, to the present.
The term independent animation refers to animated shorts, web series, and feature films produced outside a major national animation industry.
Ryan is a 2004 short animated documentary film created and directed by Chris Landreth about Canadian animator Ryan Larkin, who had lived on skid row in Montreal as a result of drug and alcohol abuse. Landreth's chance meeting with Larkin in 2000 inspired him to develop the film, which took 18 months to complete. It was co-produced by Copper Heart Entertainment and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), and its creation and development is the subject of the NFB documentary Alter Egos. The film incorporated material from archive sources, particularly Larkin's works at the NFB.
Torill Kove is a Norwegian-born Canadian film director and animator. She won the 2007 Academy Award for Animated Short Film for the film The Danish Poet, co-produced by Norway's Mikrofilm AS and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).
Cordell Barker is a Canadian animator, director and screenwriter based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He began animating in his late teens after taking on an apprenticeship at Kenn Perkins Animation. A two-time Academy Award nominee, Barker is an animation filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).
The Canadian Screen Award for Best Animated Short is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian animated short film. Formerly part of the Genie Awards, since 2012 it has been presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards.
World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb, best known as Animafest Zagreb, is a film festival entirely dedicated to animated film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA), the event was established in 1972. Animafest is the second oldest animation festival in the World, after the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
Theodore Asenov Ushev is a Bulgarian animator, film director and screenwriter based in Montreal. He is best known for his work at the National Film Board of Canada, including the 2016 animated short Blind Vaysha, which was nominated for an Academy Award. He is a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France.
Gloria Victoria is a 2013 3-D anti-war animated short by Theodore Ushev, produced in Montreal by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). A film without words set to the music of Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony, Victoria Gloria is final film in a trilogy of NFB animated shorts by Ushev on art, ideology and power, following Tower Bawher (2005) and Drux Flux (2008).
Tragic Story with Happy Ending is a 2005 animated short by Regina Pessoa.
TVPaint Animation is a 2D paint and digital animation software package developed by TVPaint Developpement SARL based in Lorraine, France. Originally released for Amiga in 1991, version 3.0 (1994) introduced support for other platforms. In 1999, the last Amiga version 3.59 was released as free download. TVPaint Animation currently runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, and Android operating systems.
I Like Girls is a Canadian short animated film, directed by Diane Obomsawin and released in 2016. Based on Obomsawin's 2014 graphic novel On Loving Women, the film features anthropomorphic animal characters acting out stories of lesbian same-sex attraction.
Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days is a 2019 Canadian-Portuguese-French co-produced animated short film, directed by Regina Pessoa. The film is a tribute to Pessoa's real-life uncle Tomás, who suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder but was a key inspiration on her decision to pursue a career in the arts.
Affairs of the Art is a 2021 British-Canadian traditional animation short film directed by Joanna Quinn and written by Les Mills. Quinn also co-stars as the voice of Beverly.
Mum is Pouring Rain is a French animated short film produced by Laïdak Films written by Hugo de Faucompret and Lison d'Andréa and directed by Hugo de Faucompret. Released in 2021, it won the Jury Prize in the Special TV category at the Annecy international animated film festival the same year. The film was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for the 94th Academy Awards but ultimately was not nominated.
Louis' Shoes is a 2020 French animated short film directed by Marion Philippe, Kayu Leung, Théo Jamin and Jean-Géraud Blanc and produced by Anne Brotot with MoPA 3D School. The short has been presented in a number of festivals including in Clermont-Ferrand Festival, DOK Leipzig and won awards in 2021 in Stuttgart Trickfilm International Animated Film Festival, Student Academy Awards, and a Gold Medal in Best Animation International category.
The Flying Sailor is a 2022 Canadian independent animated short film directed by Oscar-nominated directors Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis. The film debuted at the 2022 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and has received several nominations and awards, including a nomination for Best Animated Short Film at the 95th Academy Awards, and winning the award for the Best Canadian Film at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
Armat is a 2022 animated short film directed by Élodie Dermange. The 11-minute short premiered at DOK Leipzig 2022. The film is an animated documentary about Dermange's Armenian origins, and it has been featured in a number of international film festivals, such as Aspen Shortsfest, the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film and the Fest Anca International Animation Festival, where it won the award for Best Short Film.
Miserable Miracle is an animated short film, directed by Ryo Orikasa and released in 2023. A coproduction of the National Film Board of Canada, Miyu Productions of France and New Deer of Japan, the film is an experimental abstract animation based on the poetry of Henri Michaux, which features words from Michaux's work that morph into shapes and human-like figures as an exploration of sound and meaning.
Maybe Elephants is a 2024 Canadian-Norwegian animated short film written and directed by Academy Award winner Torill Kove. The 16-minutes animated film about family and memories has been selected in various international film festivals, including Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Spark Animation Film Festival where the film won the Canadian Film Prize. The film is listed as part of the qualified shorts under consideration in the 2025 Academy Award Best Animated Short Film Category.
