Although no physical puppets make an appearance, the pull of the marionette’s strings is present in this year’s block of animated shorts. Some films address this theme head-on with government decrees, sinister priests, and traitors motivated by gold. Others take the more oblique approach of dangers hiding in the dark, growing in the garden, or simply the circle of life. But there are also those who refuse the call of the puppet master and embrace their inner monsters to find freedom. Showcasing a range of animation styles including cut paper, stop motion, hand drawn, and computer, the BUFF animation block is a diverse collection of films from across the globe. Will you follow in the footsteps of the ragdoll dance?

– Rebekah Murphy

Programmers: Rebekah Murphy, Jozef R. Kluczkiewicz

NOTE: The themes and content of this program are not suitable for young viewers. We’d rate this one PG13.

Lilly Visits the Hospital
Medina Dennie, Ocean Demuth, Zaiyah Dennie, Sol Demuth, Xstine Cook, and Heather Cook, Canada, 7 minutes
Lilly, a 12′ tall orange monster, takes her friend Fluffle to visit patients in a hospital. What could go wrong?

Les Bêtes
Michael Granberry, USA, 12 minutes
A mysterious rabbit with a set of magic keys summons a host of strange creatures to entertain a wicked king and his decadent court.

Peeping
Yixuan Wang, China, 4 minutes
A dance show adapts its act to government bans dictated by a tomato-shaped surveillance machine.

Pocket Princess
Olivia Loccisano, Canada, 10 minutes
A young girl must take part in a dangerous task in order to complete her doll collection.

Pippy and The Typist
Rachel Nemez, USA, 5 minutes
Pippy discovers that a magical typewriter controls the events happening down below.

The House of Weird
Mark Reyes, USA, 4 minutes
Can you escape The House of Weird?

Poppa
Peter Ahern, USA, 2 minutes
I’m sorry, what just happened?

The Garden Sees Fire
Kiera Faber, USA, 15 minutes
A mystical tale of cloaked identities, systemic traumas, and insatiable consumption.

Red Thumb
Kolya Kishinsky and Geneva Huffman, USA, 6 minutes
A gardener tries to control his environment as he discovers a pulsing red plant.

Demons in the Closet
James Smith, Germany, 2 minutes
A resident is challenged by demons from another realm in his closet.

A Walk in the Park
Jay Marks, USA, 14 minutes
A late night dog walk becomes a desperate escape from a neighborhood being warped and distorted by an unfamiliar presence.

Howl if You Love Me
John R. Dilworth, USA, 8 minutes
Boy has girl. Boy loses girl. Boy wins girl back, but girl is a werewolf.

Brattle Passes Not Accepted