The filmmaking urge to abstraction and fantasy that compels the creation of animated works does not lend itself to neat categorization. And yet, a theme emerges all the same. The struggle to transform (and the desire to stay as we were) infuses these films. Many live in the unquiet center between decisions. Patterns repeat, but nothing is ever the same.

If you are looking for the experimental side of BUFF, this is the block for you. The thirteen shorts presented here are sometimes funny, sometimes haunting, often deeply, deeply strange, and only occasionally contain a traditional narrative structure. Enjoy the weird.

– Rebekah Murphy

Brattle Passes not accepted.

Please Note: All in-person screenings at the Brattle now require proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test (within 72-hours). See the Covid Response page for complete details.

Featuring:

fulcrum

Timothy David Orme, USA, 9 min.

Rowing through space, self, and consciousness, the math of the universe unfolds.

In the Water’s Wake

Sarah Kennedy, USA, 3 min.

A boy washes up on an island shore and is swept into a mysterious parade of life.

Johnny Crow

Jesse Gouchey and Xstine Cook, Canada, 7 min.

A young man’s struggle to return to his son through the criminal justice system and the layers of colonization it represents.

PORT

Andrew Lehman, USA, 2 min.

A young boy. A mysterious island. Who else is there?

Hakkori

Aya Yamasaki and Jason Brown, USA, 14 min.

Offerings are brought to the spirit of a mountain where mischievous creatures dwell.

Pottero

Lindsey Martin, USA, 10 min.

A woman tries to outrun a cryptid from her hometown. Turns out they have a lot in common.

Posted No Hunting

Alisa Stern, USA, 3 min.

When a trail cam captures a frightening encounter in the woods, the scariest part is what you don’t see.

Everybody Goes to the Hospital

Tiffany Kimmel, USA, 9 min.

Little Mata is taken to the hospital in late 1963 with appendicitis.

Petal to the Metal

Emily Pelstring, Canada, 3 min.

A song written for night-crawlers, compost, and shadows, inspired by human flower-lust.

Lilly Goes to the Dogs

The Bum Family, Canada, 6 min.

Our favorite 10-foot tall orange monster visits the Victoria Dog Show where her friend Fluffle starts a Communist revolution.

Argus

Ethan Barrett, USA, 9 min.

A man begins a seemingly pointless, mundane job and starts aging rapidly and without control. His reality and mind unravel as he searches for the purpose behind it all.

O, What Rice! O, What Beans!

Jer Moran, USA, 6 min.

This is the story of a man who is driven mad by his obsession with the most delicious dish in the world: Rice and Beans.

Pancake Panic!

David Filmore, USA, 8 min.

Murder, mayhem, and maple syrup wreaks havoc for a group of strangers in a series of interconnected stories.