2027 Oscars Short Film Contenders: ‘Please’ Director Anna Mantzaris

Welcome to Cartoon Brew’s series of spotlights focusing on the animated shorts that have qualified for the 2027 Oscars. The films in this series have qualified through one of multiple routes: by winning an Oscar-qualifying award at a film festival, by exhibiting theatrically, or by winning a Student Academy Award.

Today’s short is Please, written and directed by felt specialist Anna Mantzaris, whose previous shorts include Enough and Good Intentions. Apparat Filmproduktion produced it as a Swedish, French, Czech, Norwegian, and Finnish co-production. It qualified for Oscar consideration by winning Best Nordic Short Film at Nordisk Panorama.

Through loosely connected encounters, the film follows people searching for affection, intimacy, and acceptance, often in painfully awkward ways. Mantzaris approaches their neediness with empathy, allowing feelings that self-improvement culture encourages us to suppress to take center stage. Built and shot across three countries, the production also challenged her to direct remotely while developing richer characters and environments without sacrificing the visual simplicity that leaves room for her puppets’ subtle performances.

Cartoon Brew: What was it about this story or concept that connected with you and compelled you to direct the film?

Anna Mantzaris: I’m interested in how we are as humans, especially our flaws and contradictions, and trying to depict them with distance but at the same time with empathy.

We all want to be loved and feel seen, but so many of us struggle to find this. I was curious to explore how we go about finding love, and how we handle the struggle of not finding it. We live in a society focused on the self, self-improvement, and “becoming our best selves.” But feeling pathetic or needy is part of being human, and I think there is something beautiful about these slightly unwanted sides of us. All of these were themes I felt really drawn to and wanted to explore more.

What did you learn through the experience of making this film, either production-wise, filmmaking-wise, creatively, or about the subject matter?

This was my first international co-production. With the film being built and shot in three different countries, I did a lot of directing from a distance. I learned that I prefer to be on set, haha. But also how to be clear as a director, how to communicate what I want without being in that room, and how not to lose my vision for the film while also being open to input from my coworkers.

It’s also quite a strange film. It always made sense to me, but I had no idea how people would receive it or if they would get it. The fact that it resonated with so many people has also taught me to trust my gut feeling even more.

Can you describe how you developed your visual approach to the film? Why did you settle on this style and technique?

Stop motion is my language, so the technique was not a question.

There is something about a more simplified approach, both in characters and in environments, that I’m really drawn to: leaving space for the character to breathe and space for us to see their more subtle acting. I wanted to work in a similar style as I have before, but elevate and improve it, pushing the boundaries of that style. Adding more richness to the world and the characters, while not losing the simplicity and slightly illustrative quality.

Your characters often behave in painfully awkward ways. How did you approach making their neediness uncomfortable without making them unsympathetic?

I think I have a lot of empathy for my characters. Even though they are awkward and very imperfect, I’m not trying to mock them. I’m just trying to portray all the sides of us. I’m interested in the things we feel on the inside but don’t always show to the world, the feelings and urges we are less proud of but can all relate to. In a way, I’m letting the puppets do those things for us. Maybe they are even more true to themselves than we are in certain respects.