Zippy Frames, a solid European resource that covers animation festivals and films, surveyed an esteemed group of 28 industry professionals, including festival programmers, academics, and filmmakers (among them Tomm Moore, Konstantin Bronzit, and Sarah Saidan), about their favorite animated shorts of 2016.
Each particpant was asked to list three independent animation shorts that impressed/impacted them during 2016 (films that started their festival run in 2015 were also eligible). Two films tied for first place, with six votes apiece: Theodore Ushev’s Blind Vaysha (Canada/France) and Špela Čadež’s Nighthawk (Slovenia/Croatia). Rounding out the top five were Alberto Vázquez’s Decorado, Marta Pajek’s Impossible Figures and Other Stories II, and Réka Bucsi’s Love.
The top twelve films are listed below, along with trailers for each. Overall, it’s an excellent group of films. When I was on the jury at 3D Wire Fest a couple months ago, we recognized three of the films on this list with awards, and I highlighted another three of the films in a single post earlier this year.
